UK army chief calls for post conflict stabilization specialists

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The head of the British army will give a speech at a think tank Thursday calling for the creation of "stabilization specialists" who would spend their careers rebuilding conflict zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Chief of general staff Gen. Richard Dannatt will say soldiers often have to carry out civilian tasks such as local administration and banking, and the military should consider setting up specialists who can train and mentor the local military in former conflict zones to rebuild their societies. These experts would spend some time with the local military in a country and then have a placement with the government's Department for International Development or a police force abroad to gather the relevant knowledge, he was quoted as saying.