Two Case Studies of Successful Strategic Communication Campaigns - Personal Experiences in Bosnia Stabilization Force (SFOR) and Formation of U.S. Africa Command, Pettigrew's Triangle and Propaganda

This report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. Strategic communication has historically been cited as a weakness in U.S. military operations, both at the operational and strategic levels. Numerous studies have highlighted problems with U.S. abilities to promote a coherent message and influence the environment to be favorable to its strategic interests. Failures are easy to identify. The effects of poor communication can manifest themselves quickly; however, what about successes? Rarely are they discussed, perhaps because it is difficult to know when a campaign achieved enough of the desired effects such that leaders can claim success. In this book, Dr. Thomas Galvin suggests two more reasons—that contemporary metaphors or measures of success are flawed, and campaigns can only be studied longitudinally. Using his personal experiences in Stabilization Force-Bosnia and the formation of U.S. Africa Command, Dr. Galvin presents both a framework for analyzing strategic communication campaigns and the stories behind the two campaigns, which have succeeded in achieving long-term effects on their environments. The lessons learned from these cases are important for strategic leaders who must undertake the difficult challenges of crafting new communication campaigns for their organizations.

This compilation includes a reproduction of the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.

Chapter 1. Introduction * Chapter 2. The Problems with “Strategic Communication" * Background on the Term “Strategic Communication” * The Strategic Communication Campaign * Impetus for the Case Studies * Pettigrew’s Triangle as a Lens * Chapter 3. Case Study I: The Bosnia Multi-Year Roadmap (MYRM) * Background of the MYRM * From the Dayton Accords to the Turn of the Century * Genesis of the MYRM * Maturity—Early 2001 and Beyond * Implications for Communication Campaigns * Limitations of the Campaign and Conclusion * Chapter 4. Case Study II: Creation of U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) * Presidential Decision in a Caustic Environment * The USAFRICOM Leadership Team * The First Month—Analysis Phase * Winter 2007-2008: Continuing Analysis and Movement to Planning * Planning Phase and Rapid Growth— March-October 2008 * Full Operational Capability—October 2008 and Beyond * Implications for Communication Campaigns * Chapter 5. Analysis of the Case Studies * Content * Process * Context * Chapter 6. Implications for Strategic Communication Campaigns * Reasons to Create Named Campaigns * Six Essential Questions for Planning a Communication Campaign * Campaign Architecture * Conclusion

The approach of the book is to use a simple model from organizational development―Pettigrew’s Triangle of process, content, and context―to understand both the communication environment and the campaign initiated within it. The Triangle is a useful lens to analyze and plan organizational change. Process refers to the processes of communication, or how organizations craft and spread messages. Content refers to the message itself: How well formulated is it? How aligned is it to the situation and the perspectives of audiences? How well does the message spread itself without extensive energy being expended by the organization? The two cases follow. Chapter 3 is the case study of the Bosnia Multi-Year Roadmap (MYRM) developed by the Stabilization Force-Bosnia (SFOR) in 2000-2001. The MYRM emerged from an internal project assigned by the commander of SFOR to foster greater integration and cooperation between the civilian and military organizations in theater.