SOME LESSONS LEARNED FROM PARTICIPATION IN STABILIZATION AND RECONSTRUCTION OPERATIONS

This article presents the results of a profound research in the Bulgarian Armed Forces that probed opinion of military personnel who have participated in peace support operations for the last two and a half decades. The goal of this research was to accumulate the experience of the military who took part in peace support operations, and to produce some lessons in order to improve further participation in such operations. The research team chose to do the survey by conducting interviews with military personnel who took part in peace support operations. A total of 237 military personnel were interviewed. Subsequently, the team concentrated on processing information through specialized software. There were two types of analyses - quantitative and qualitative. The results of both methods were scrutinized and compared, though the priority was given to the qualitative method. The team wrapped up the survey results in a report, distributed among military institutions and the units of the armed forces. The general conclusions of the report were that the Bulgarian Armed Forces had made significant progress in the preparation and participation in peace support operations. Military personnel who participated gained vast experience in performing different duties and responsibilities in Theaters. They performed various tasks with merit and pride and withstood difficulties of different character. During the interviews they shared willingly and openly their experience and opinion as to how to improve future preparation and performance of our units for these types of operations. Survey results came out to be more strategically and operationally geared rather than tactically orientated. The research has been highly praised and supported by the Ministry of Defense, operational HQs and units. It turned out that although positive results were predominant there was still a lot of ground for improvement in almost all researched areas. So much so, that the research team produced a list of recommendations to improve national legislation concerning participation in peace support operations, optimization and enhancement of personnel selection and career development, raising level of ambition in operations, improving national logistics and administration, and arming and equipping the units with advanced technological items corresponding to the requirements of the contemporary operational environment.