This monograph maintains that the military is only one part of the peace operations environment, and not always the centerpiece. In addition, peace operations occur simultaneously at the tactical, operational and strategic level. This holds true for military, diplomatic, economic, informational and political components. Unity of effort can be achieved by the military working in cooperation with the other pillars of the peace operations environment. These other pillars include military allies, Nongovernmental Organizations (NGO's), the United Nations (UN), parties to the conflict, politicians, media, influential visitors, and regional powers. To achieve unity of effort, and success in peace operations, the military must change its approach. This change entails looking at more than just military considerations. By using a non-military approach, in this case Peter Senge's model of systems thinking and the learning organization, the military will be better prepared for the challenges of peace operations. A good way to achieve unity of effort is to use the Civil Military Operations Center (CMOC), but that is not enough. Liaison is also helpful. In order to make the CMOC and liaison work, a commander must augment these efforts with interpersonal relationships with his colleagues and frequent formal and informal meetings. A commander must constantly revise the mental models he holds for the non-military pillars in a peace operation. There is much that can be learned from other pillars, they hold the keys to branches and sequels since every pillar of a peace operation contributes to the operation's maturity. Mission creep is a poor excuse for an inability to identify branches and sequels to plans. If one only looks at the military component, one will miss indicators of changes in the overall environment that will affect military operations. If one understands the entire peace operations environment, one can understand how to identify branches and sequels before they occur. One needs the help of other pillars to understand the environment, for both situational and systemic awareness.

ADA 309917 Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)