Transitional Public Security: Establishing Security in the "Golden Hour"

July 8, 2025

• Karen Finkenbinder

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  1. Transitional Public Security: Establishing Security in the "Golden Hour"

Summary

The Department of Defense Directive 3000.05, Stabilization, December 13, 2018 states:

DoD’s core responsibility during stabilization is to support and reinforce the civilian efforts of the USG lead agencies consistent with available statutory authorities, primarily by providing security, maintaining basic public order, and providing for the immediate needs of the population.

It also recognizes the responsibility of the Services is to:

Organize, train, and equip forces capable of conducting DoD’s core stabilization responsibility described in Paragraphs 1.3.c of this issuance. This may include the establishment of transitional public security to protect civilian populations when respect for and enforcement of the rule of law is degraded.

Further, Joint Publication (JP) 3.07 includes Transitional Public Security (TPS) as a primary task of the military as security transitions to host nation or other competent authority. But, what is it, and how must DoD prepare, train and equip to perform TPS?

The DoD, first through the Office of the Secretary of Defense Policy and later with the support of PKSOI, has been working on TPS and its precursor, Transitional Law Enforcement (TLE), since 2009. We are over a decade in and it is time to take a comprehensive look at where we began, where we are now and where must we go to truly institutionalize TPS into the Joint Force. Failure to do this will likely ensure a re- 2 peat of Baghdad 2003–an unconscionable dereliction that doomed future efforts and the peace and security of the Iraqi people.

This paper provides a brief overview of the work accomplished by DoD to further joint force capability to conduct TPS, progress in the current lines of effort and identifies existing gaps in implementation. Many people and organizations have contributed and continue to contribute as they see the need and have resources. We hope this continues, even as the Joint Force’s memory of Baghdad 2003 fades.

Citation

Finkenbinder, Karen. “Transitional Public Security: Establishing Security in the ‘Golden Hour,’” Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute, October 2021.