text: Command and Control During Multinational Operations
  AGENCY COOPERATION AND COORDINATION
  2-78. Multinational force commanders focus on cooperation and coordination rather than C2 when dealing
  with most nonmilitary agencies. These agencies have their own purpose with missions and goals. Coalition
  commanders have a limited ability to influence these agencies’ actions. Commanders seek agency
  cooperation to ensure that they accomplish the mission and achieve the end state while allowing these
  agencies to do the same. Agency cooperation also requires that each agency and multinational force staff
  coordinate to prevent interference in one another’s missions. A civil-military operations center is one way of
  achieving cooperation and coordination with nonmilitary agencies. The civil-military operations center
  provides a single point of contact between agencies and the commander.
  PURPOSE OF MULTINATIONAL FORCE STAFFING
  2-79. The multinational staff organization is based on the option used to form the headquarters, either the
  lead-nation concept or a composite headquarters. The commander has a choice if the establishing authority
  designates an organization. If the establishing authority uses the lead-nation concept, the lead nation’s
  doctrine assigns the commander and staff’s duties. The doctrine is modified as necessary for the specific
  situation. If the establishing authority uses a composite headquarters, the commander and staff specify duties
  in more detail. A composite headquarters combines national capabilities from participating nations into a
  deployable multinational headquarters, specifically designed for commanding task-organized formations.
  This approach provides participating nations with a capability that exceeds the sum of their individual
  national contributions. The multinational functions’ names change based on sensitivities when working with
  organizations such as the UN.
  2-80. Appropriate members in key positions from each country that provide forces are a part of the
  multinational staff. These positions stem from the mission and type of operations conducted. Multinational
  commanders look at force composition as it applies to capabilities, limitations, and required support. The
  importance of knowing, trusting, and quickly reaching a comfort level with staff members makes it desirable
  for the multinational commander to choose members of the staff such as the G-3 or S-3.
  2-81. When mission requirements exceed staff capabilities, the commander requests the necessary personnel,
  facilities, and equipment from either the national chain of command or the multinational force’s establishing
  authorities. These commands and authorities have experts prepared to augment a multinational force to assist
  in the early stages of organization and planning. The staff includes experienced operators for C2 information
  systems who establish a trusted COP, procedures, and overall information fusion. Personnel nominated to fill
  multinational augmentation billets possess the following attributes:
  • Knowledge, confidence, and forcefulness.
  • Professionalism, character, and commitment.
  • Preparedness to represent their nations and units.
  • An understanding that they are the de facto national subject matter experts.
  • An ability to work as part of a multinational force without national parochialism.
  2-82. The command establishes a staff orientation program to ensure that all individuals joining the staff
  become familiar with their surroundings. Establishing a multinational personnel reception center under the
  assistant chief of staff is accomplished by the adjutant general-personnel (G-1) or S-1. The buddy system is
  another program that the command establishes with the reception center or by itself. This system assigns an
  experienced staff member to a new staff member to help with familiarization.
  MULTINATIONAL FORCE COMMANDER
  2-83. The multinational force commander is responsible to the member nations to accomplish the mission.
  The following responsibilities are a guide. Commanders adapt these responsibilities to the specific mission
  and forces assigned:
  • Exercise control over assigned and attached forces. The commander determines when to transfer
  forces to the multinational force operational control or tactical control.
  • Develop an operation order or campaign plan in the planning guidelines as directed by the
  establishing authorities.