Partnering vs. MiTT -- A New Way Forward

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Partnering vs. MiTT -- A New Way Forward

M. S. Abercrombie

For the past seven and a half years the Global War on Terrorism has presented situations and events that have required the United States Armed Forces to rapidly adapt their tactics, techniques, and procedures to accomplish the mission. One of the greatest of these challenges has been the necessity to create and train large host nation armies after the removal of a hostile regime. While the U.S. Special Forces (SF) is and has been the premier organization for this type of mission, the sheer size of the forces that now require training dwarfs the SF's organic capabilities. The solution has been the creation of military transition teams, or MiTTs. These teams have made great progress in training and organizing the new Iraqi and Afghan Armies, but they lack the necessary assets to facilitate the rapid and successful creation of a host nation army. While the traditional MiTTs have and will always have a place on the modern battlefield, the large-scale training and handling of host nation armed forces is best accomplished utilizing U.S. brigades or battalions in a partnership role. Partnerships not only alleviate many of the critical weaknesses of the standard MiTT concept, they create a more highly trained host nation organization, maximize the strengths of both the U.S. and host unit, and are more cost-effective as well.