text: Chapter 8
  Advisor Art and Science
  8-93. The most important mission of an advisor is to enhance the military professionalism of his
  counterpart. Rapport, credibility, and legitimacy can only be established through time, proximity,
  and interaction. Advisors mentor HN leadership at every opportunity. Partner units are engaged in every
  aspect of the HN’s development.
  8-94. Advisors sleep and eat daily with HN security force units. They must “leave the wire.” The closer
  they operate with the HN security force, the faster the unit will improve. The social and cultural aspects
  of the mission are just as or more important than patrolling with the unit.
  8-95. Just as the credibility of US advisors is critical for influencing the leadership and men of the HN
  security force, the actions of these advisor teams are equally vital to winning the population’s confidence.
  Advisors build their credibility by contact, visibility, technical and tactical proficiency, the ability
  to provide resources, success in battle, and respectful interaction with civilians.
  8-96. Often, to be successful, advisors partner with their HN equivalents. For instance, US leaders
  partner with HN leaders, US staffs partner with HN staffs, US soldiers partner with HN soldiers.
  8-97. Combat advisors go on patrol and operations in order to—
  • Lead and advise by example.
  • Share the risk.
  • Improve legitimacy and unity of effort.
  • Bond with the counterparts.
  • Coordinate assets (CAS, QRF, EOD).
  • Prevent fratricide.
  • Provide accurate and specific AARs.
  • Prevent, report, remedy human rights violations.
  • Gather information for intelligence.
  • Ensure site exploitation is thorough.
  • Ensure evidence is correctly gathered and processed.
  • Improve situational awareness.
  Challenges
  8-98. US advisors and units share the same challenges and often develop the same practices. Some
  of these practices are negative while others are positive. Some challenges are common to all US advisors
  and units. They include aspects often referred to as the American military culture.
  8-99. Just as in counterinsurgency operations, advising is an iterative process. The advisor team and the
  HN unit will not get it right the first time. However, both the HN unit and the advisor team must “learn
  and adapt” faster than insurgents.
  8-100. Some typical advisor challenges include—
  • Adjusting to native cuisine can pose a problem for the advisor. Refusal to accept food and
  beverages when offered might be considered an insult.
  • The advisor does not become discouraged. Not all advice will be accepted. Some will be
  implemented later.
  • The advisor cannot forget that a careless word or action can cost the United States dearly
  in good will and cooperation that may have been established with great effort and at
  considerable cost.