U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in Stability Operations

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) current organization and its role in recent stability operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The thesis begins by looking at some of the historic missions for USACE in stability operations. It then examines current U.S. Army doctrine to determine the role that it envisions for USACE. Following this examination, the thesis covers Engineer doctrine to determine USACE's vision of its role in stability operations. The current USACE organization is also examined. The thesis provides a brief overview of USACE experiences in recent stability operations in OIF and OEF. The thesis then draws lessons learned using the nine U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) principles for reconstruction and development as a framework. The thesis concludes by determining that USACE is meeting the needs of the U.S. Army in stability operations but that there is some room for improvement.