Strategic Communication in Pursuit of National Interests
2012
Miyamoto, Saiko
The United States employs all available instruments of national power to pursue its national interests. Although the military element often plays a hard power role toward that end, it can and must perform a soft power function in operations such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Operation Tomodachi conducted in Japan after the devastating earthquake and tsunami in the spring of 2011 provided an opportunity to examine how the military could play a soft power role in support of U.S. national interests in the Asia-Pacific region. During the operation, strategic communication played a critical role, enabling military and political agencies to engage with the host nation to achieve cognitive effects among target audiences that helped achieve mission goals and objectives. This paper uses a case study examination of Operation Tomodachi to verify that the strategic communication process, which starts with a deep understanding of audiences and dialog, can foster trust and confidence between the military and key audiences during peacetime. It also demonstrates that it is imperative to employ strategic communication efforts that link tactical objectives with strategic goals to achieve a desired end-state that supports U.S. policies.
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