This Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) handbook assists company-, battalion-, and brigade-level officers and noncommissioned officers to effectively use money as a weapons system on the counterinsurgency (COIN) battlefield. Coalition money is defeating COIN targets without creating collateral damage, by motivating antigovernment forces to cease lethal and nonlethal operations, by creating and providing jobs along with other forms of financial assistance to the indigenous population, and by restoring or creating vital infrastructure. Money also funds other tools of war.

This handbook provides leaders and members of an organization with a "how-to" guide for establishing a lessons learned (LL) capability. It promises to detail what the LL process is and how to apply all the available tools to establish your own LL program. Different organizations in the LL community vary terms that are not necessarily consistent. This handbook attempts to simplify and explain these terms to satisfy the development of a generic LL capability. In developing the LL handbook, the Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) drew from the experience and techniques used by the Army, Marines, Air Force, NATO, and other US government agencies. It examined the processes in place to collect, analyze, disseminate, and archive observations, insights, lessons, and best practices and distilled them down to a simplified list of functions any organization could choose from to establish an effective program that fits its level of resourcing. The goal of this handbook is to provide a one-source document that anyone can use to understand how a basic program is achieved to improve organizational effectiveness.

This handbook addresses the roles and functions of Soldiers performing as field ordering officers (FOOs) and paying agents. The Army relies on contracts for equipment, supplies, and services. Most contracts are not million- or multi-million-dollar programs that receive multiple levels of review. Most procurements are small "micro-purchases" units use to meet one-time, immediate needs. However, the basic standards of ethics and business practices for large programs also apply to micro-purchases. This handbook provides many basic standards and serves as a ready reference for FOOs and paying agents while they support their units' requirements. Key lessons: FOOs and paying agents must work closely together, but they are not alone. They are part of an acquisition team that includes the contract and financial management experts who will provide the guidance and direction to each FOO and paying agent to meet the unit's needs. While performing as FOOs or paying agents, Soldiers work for and must respond to guidance from the chief of contracting who appointed them. A FOO cannot be a paying agent. Likewise, a paying agent cannot be a FOO. Neither one can act as a property book officer or property accountable officer. FOOs and paying agents must be careful when dealing with local nationals. Because FOOs and paying agents have a ready source of cash, local nationals may overestimate the influence of FOO and paying agent teams. Issues that get FOOs and paying agents in trouble include security (personal and cash); unauthorized purchases (the kind of purchase, the number of items purchased, or the single item or extended dollar amount); split purchases to get around limits; poor record keeping (which can cost FOOs and paying agents a lot of money); gifts (of any kind); and accepting and not reporting gifts.

During each session of the Intermediate Level Education Course, the Command and General Staff College holds the General Douglas MacArthur Military Leadership Writing Competition. Students author and submit papers on various leadership topics. Winning papers are selected by a panel of judges and are evaluated on originality, scholarship, writing style and value to the profession. As part of our mission to promote scholarship and add to the professional discourse, the Combat Studies Institute is pleased to publish this selection of award winning papers written by students from the Command and General Staff College classes 12-01 and 12-02 for the Academic Year 2012 General Douglas MacArthur Military Leadership Writing Competition.

With illustrations and photographsp in full color.