Within the U.S. Government (USG) and Department of
Defense (DoD) at the strategic policy level, Women, Peace,
and Security (WPS) is not a foreign subject even as we seek to
incorporate the new legislation on WPS. However, at the oper-
ational and tactical level, there exists a need for increased efforts
towards incorporating WPS into military operations. The 2018
PSOTEW WG 2 tackled the challenge of Operationalizing the
WPS Agenda. The working group consisted of member from
across the DoD, OSD, GCC, HQDA, ASCCs, USMOG,
JTF-B, Army University, WHINSEC, PKSOI, civil society and
many more, including Senior NCO advisors. PKSOI’s Stability
Operations Lessons Learned Information Management System
(SOLLIMS) representative also presented information on a
Strategic WPS implementation plan to capture lessons learned.
WG 2 split into two sub-working groups to maximize the con-
vening power represented in the PSOTEW.
The first sub-group worked towards advancing and refining the
Army lead for WPS PKSOI's draft 'Commander and Staff 's
Guide to Integrating Gender Perspectives into Military Oper-
ations' to assist Commanders in incorporating WPS into their
operations. This guide will aid Commanders and their Staff to
incorporate WPS into their operations, and assist with inte-
grating gender perspectives throughout the Military Decision
Making Process (MDMP). The guide also contains vignettes,
sample checklists, and Operation Order templates to assist the
Command team.
The WG focused on improving the guide to make it easier for
Commanders and Staff to utilize. This led to a reorganization of
the guide by shortening the main portion of the guide, while ex-
panding resources available within the annexes and appendices.
The goal is for a Staff officer to use the annexes as an exportable
resource or reference for WPS. Another improvement included
the recommendation to add a legal section to further expand
on the Commander's legal obligations towards WPS regarding
universal human rights and applicable international laws. The
WG also sought to draft a definition of what 'Gender Advisory
Function' means to the uniformed service member and pro-
duced the following: "Gender Advisory Function: Provides an
expert in the application of gender perspectives to advise and
inform planning, execution, and assessment to achieve com-
6
PKSOI Director Colonel Michael Rauhut is activley en-
gaged with one of the sub-groups consisting of members
from the OSD/JS J5/J7.
mand priorities." This definition highlights expertise as being
the culmination of training and/or certification towards WPS,
and nests it within achieving the Commander's priorities. To
date, the Guide draft has been circulated for a second round of
comments and is undergoing further revision prior to planned
piloting in the coming months.
The second sub-group, led by OSD/JS J5/7, focused on the
development of a DoD Strategy and Instruction to inform
the WPS Act Strategy, due in October 2018. The WPS Cell
Corner of the PKSOI Journal will provide future updates as
possible.
In the broader context of the PSOTEW, and given the
cross-cutting nature of the WPS agenda, the following talking
points should be considered by all PSOTEW participants:
Is WPS a priority for the Administration?
WPS is a priority for the National Security Council (NSC) and
broader USG because it touches on many regional and func-
tional priorities. WPS success advances such priorities as coun-
tering violent extremism, stabilization, global peacekeeping, and
humanitarian assistance. This year’s National Security Strategy
stated that “governments that fail to treat women equally do not
allow their societies to reach their full potential.” The NSC is