The George C. Marshall European Center for
Security Studies Internship Report
Student: Dorje Lama
Study: MA International Security
Organization: George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies Location: Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Duration: June 17th – August 2nd Supervisor: Prof. Joseph Vann Date: August 24th, 2019
Index:
Introduction: ...3
About the George C. Marshall Center: ...4
About the Program on Countering Transnational Organized Crime (CTOC): ...5
Tasks and activities at the George C. Marshall Center: ...6
Tasks: ...7
Activities: ...8
CTOC responsibilities: ...8
Placement Supervision and working attitude: ... 10
Living in Garmisch-Partenkirchen:... 11
Challenges I faced and lessons I learned during my Internship: ... 12
Conclusion: ... 15
Sources: ... 18
Picture Sources: ... 18
Introduction:
The first time I came across the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies (GCMC) was in an internship posting on the CLIO Career-website. Before that, I had never heard of the GCMC and only upon arrival, I learned that a total of five centers of that kind exist around the world, albeit this being the only center run under an American – German cooperation. I primarily chose the GCMC because of its multidisciplinary nature. The center has a broad spectrum of areas of strategic interest, ranging from terrorism over transnational organized crime and cybersecurity to the integration of Islam into the West. Due to the broad and multidisciplinary nature of the International Security Master’s degree program at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (RUG), I immediately felt the GCMC would be a good fit, which would continue to allow me to explore the many facets within the field of international security. Back then, I did not know, that the exact opposite would happen and that my internship would give me a more specified perspective on what career path I want to pursue.
This placement report will start off by providing general information on the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies (GCMC) to familiarize the reader with the kind of institution I was interning at. This will be followed by a section on the Countering Transnational Organized Crime program (CTOC), as it was the focus of my work, before laying out my main tasks during my internship and during the CTOC course. Subsequently, this report will go over the supervision and working culture at the GCMC and provide a perspective on living in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Before concluding, an explanation of the challenges I faced and the lessons I learned during my time at the GCMC will be provided.
A few notes regarding the application and preparation process. In my case, the application procedure was very simple. I wrote a letter of motivation, chose my preferred supervisor and gave my desired time period. I sent the letter together with my CV to their internship E-Mail address. Later I learned, that in some cases interviews are conducted, I however, never had to do an interview and simply got a reply via email telling me I was accepted and who my supervisor was. The preparation phase took a little more effort. The GCMC is a government funded entity, which deals with sensitive and at times classified information. Thus, I had to fill out a lot of documents for my background check in order to get my security clearance and access to the base. Gathering all the required information and paperwork can take some time, due to the communication with government bodies the police of your home country.
About the George C. Marshall Center:
The George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies is named after the famous strategist and five-star general George Catlett Marshall Jr., who led the allied forces to victory during World War II.1 However, George C. Marshall is probably even more renowned for his
Marshall Plan, officially called the “European Recovery Program” (ERP), which aided the
economic recovery of the European nations after the second World War and aimed to reduce communist influence within Europe.2
In 1991 the failed coup in Russia led defense specialists to deem the existence of an international security and defense studies institute a necessity for the increasement of European and Eurasian - American Cooperation. Consequently, the Marshall Center was founded in 1993 as a cooperation between the United States Department of Defense and Federal Ministry of Defense.3
The Marshall Center is located within the facilities of the former U.S. Army Russia Institute (USARI) in the region of the Bavarian Alps in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The Center’s current mission is:
“to enable solution to regional and transnational security challenges through capacity building, access, and a globally connected network.”4
In that regard, the GCMC annually facilitates a broad variety of programs, all in English. To date, more than 13.300 officials, ranging from the senior executive to the associate level, from over 155 nations have participated in the offered courses.5 To support such a large and diverse
international number of participants, the GCMC’s faculty is equally international and diverse.
1CNN Cold War - Profile: George Catlett Marshall Jr., 2007. URL
https://web.archive.org/web/20071113061529/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/profiles/marshall / (accessed 8.21.19).
2 CNN Cold War - Profile: Marshall Plan, 2007. URL
https://web.archive.org/web/20071113061524/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/profiles/marshall .plan/ (accessed 8.21.19); Editors, H. com, n.d. Marshall Plan. HISTORY. URL
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/marshall-plan-1 (accessed 8.21.19).
3 George C. Marshall Center - European Center for Security Studies - Public Web - History, n.d. URL
https://www.marshallcenter.org/mcpublicweb/en/nav-main-explore-gcmc-history-en.html (accessed 8.21.19).
4 George C. Marshall Center - European Center for Security Studies - Public Web - Mission & Vision, n.d. URL https://www.marshallcenter.org/MCPUBLICWEB/en/nav-main-wwd-mission-vision-en.html (accessed 8.8.19).
5 George C. Marshall Center - European Center for Security Studies - Public Web - Mission & Vision, n.d. URL https://www.marshallcenter.org/mcpublicweb/en/nav-main-wwd-mission-vision-en.html (accessed 8.21.19).
There are 35 permanent faculty members from 10 countries, including the U.S., Germany, Albania, Austria, Canada, Lithuania, etc., led by Director Retired Lieutenant General Keith W. Dayton, German Deputy Director Retired Brigadier General Johann Berger and U.S. Deputy Director Retired Brigadier General Dieter E. Bareihs.6
The unique German American partnership, which the GCMC represents, supports both the U.S. and German national security strategies and security cooperation guidance, while identifying several areas of strategic interest.7 These for example include terrorism, the regional threats of
internal instability, spillover effects of regional crises and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction amongst many others.8
About the Program on Countering Transnational Organized Crime (CTOC):
As the preparation of and participation in the CTOC program was the focus of my tasks at the GCMC, this section will give an overview over what the CTOC program entails.
The Program on Countering Transnational Organized Crime run by the George C. Marshall Center concentrates on the international security threats, created through the operations and existence of transnational organized crime groups and analyzes how such criminal organizations impact a states sovereignty and national security. The program is designed for participants from the fields of law enforcement, government, intelligence, anti-narcotics and anti-terrorist units but also invites members from the private sector, who operate in sectors infected by transnational organized crime (TOC).9 The CTOC program I participated in was the largest ever with 104 participants from 53 nations.
6George C. Marshall Center - European Center for Security Studies - Public Web - About the Marshall Center, n.d.
URL https://www.marshallcenter.org/mcpublicweb/en/nav-main-explore-gcmc-about-mc-en.html (accessed 8.21.19); George C. Marshall Center - European Center for Security Studies - Public Web - Faculty Bios, n.d. URL https://www.marshallcenter.org/mcpublicweb/en/nav-main-explore-gcmc-bios-faculty-en.html (accessed 8.21.19).
7
Department of Defense, 2016. DIRECTIVE. Subject: DoD Regional Centers for Security Studies. URL
https://www.marshallcenter.org/MCPUBLICWEB/mcdocs/files/MC/F_Common/mission/dod_directive_5200_4 1e.pdf (accessed 8.21.19); Department of Defense United States of America, Ministry of Defense Federal Republic of Germany, 2004. Memorandum for Director, The George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies. URL https://www.marshallcenter.org/MCPUBLICWEB/mcdocs/files/MC/F_Common/mission/us-ge-mc-guidance-May04-en.pdf (accessed 8.21.19).
8
George C. Marshall Center - European Center for Security Studies - Public Web - Mission & Vision, n.d. URL
https://www.marshallcenter.org/mcpublicweb/en/nav-main-wwd-mission-vision-en.html (accessed 8.21.19).
9George C. Marshall Center - European Center for Security Studies - Public Web - CTOC, n.d. URL
The program runs three times a year and takes course over 24 days. It aims to equip participants with a global view on how transnational criminal organizations threaten national security of their host states. The course offers overview on a variety of illicit activities but emphasizes counternarcotic, counter threat finance, corruption and state capture. Furthermore, the course teaches participants how to develop strategies, before ending with a developed national CTOC strategy proposal, which is to be presented to the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense. The program is taught by members of the Marshall Center faculty, adjunct professors and invited guest lectures from various international law enforcement and security organizations. The participants will listen to two daily lectures in a large plenary hall, before being divided into several smaller groups for two afternoon seminar sessions.
Taken from the Marshall Center’s description of the CTOC course, these are the programs core learning objectives:
1. Instill a comprehensive understanding of the threat that transnational organized crime poses to governments and civil society;
2. Detail the global movement of illicit drugs and money and the human enablers who facilitate their movement;
3. Examine how deficiencies in rule of law, governance, and institutions weaken national security institutions and serve to enable illicit traffickers;
4. Outline the goals and objectives of key international organizations aimed at combating the activities of illicit traffickers and transnational organized crime;
5. Examine best practices in countering transnational organized crime and determine opportunities to adapt and share successes.10
Tasks and activities at the George C. Marshall Center:
During my time at the GCMC I was lucky to have a supervisor that gave me a multitude of tasks. Albeit diverse, all my tasks were centered around the CTOC program, which was explained in the section before. Additionally, my supervisor was kind enough to allow me to sit in on many exciting events at the GCMC. As such, this section will be divided into three sections. Firstly, tasks, where I will explain the work, I did at the GCMC, secondly, activities,
10 George C. Marshall Center - European Center for Security Studies - Public Web - CTOC, n.d. URL
where I will provide overview over the many exciting insights I was granted during my internship and thirdly my responsibilities during the CTOC program.
Tasks:
My first task, which turned out to be a major focus of the first couple weeks before the start of the course, was setting up eight seminar groups for the CTOC participants. Amongst these eight groups I was to distribute over a hundred participants based on their gender, nationality and background in order to create heterogeneous, well-functioning and diverse working groups. I would then present drafts of the seminar groups to my supervisor and adjust them according to his feedback and new information on the participants, which kept coming in throughout the first weeks. On top of that, due to the novel structure this year’s edition of the CTOC program would have, due to its size, I was tasked to establish six regional seminars for the participations from the same geographical regions. Based on the origin countries of the 104 participants I established North/East African-, South/West African, East Asian- and East-, West- and South European regional seminars. Setting up said seminars unfortunately didn’t come as naturally as one might hope. Due to the specific geographical distribution of the origin countries of our participants we had several anomalies within the seminars. For example, to even out the numbers, we had to split up the large group of Ukrainians and place them in the western and southern European regional seminars as well. Fortunately, such anomalies did not hinder the functioning of the concerned regional seminar groups.
As the list of all potential participants in the weeks leading up to the start of the course was long and undergoing many adjustments, I, after having completed the original drafts for both types of seminar lists, started focusing on another task. I started to put together binders, containing the CV’s and Nomination Forms of all the participants as well as all necessary information for the faculty staff, which would be teaching the course material and lead the seminar groups. My responsibilities regarding the faculty binders included
1. Putting together a total of 21 folders for all 16 faculty members (two per seminar group), the DASD and his two staff members as well has my supervisor and course director Prof. Vann and the Director of the GCMC Lt. Gen. Retired Keith Dayton;
2. gathering and updating all the files containing the relevant information, which together amounted to a volume of about 200 pages per binder;
3. creating a coherent index and printing all the documents out and putting together the physical binders in time for the faculty bootstrap before the start of the course.
Especially the large volume of the binders, of which altogether 21 needed to be printed out and put together in time before the faculty bootstrap required an efficient and quick mode of operation, good time management and stress resilience.
Also, in the faculty binders belonged a list of potential Marshall Center Minute Questions to be asked as an integral part of every seminar. The Marshall Center Minute is an exercise designed by the GCMC Faculty and modeled after the Elevator Pitch to convey decision quality information in a short time, to be precise in under a minute. The aim of that exercise was to prepare the participants for situations such as briefing their supervisors and other senior personnel in between meetings or to just generally learn how to provide well-structured answers, containing quality information to difficult questions on the spot. For this exercise my supervisor tasked me and the other interns working for him to come up with as many possible questions for the seminar leaders to ask. This included creating multiple roleplaying scenarios, such as briefing a security minister while he is on the phone to simulate real-life situations one might encounter. We designed the questions following the course syllabus and according to the topics the course dealt with in the lectures before the seminar blocks.
These three main tasks stuck with me throughout the entire CTOC preparation phase. They were accompanied by several smaller tasks of general administrative nature. For example, creating an e-mail list of all the participants and editing a Power Point presentation to provide the Director of the Marshall Center with a in-progress review of the preparation phase of this years CTOC program.
Activities:
Very early on I was given the chance to sit in on a meeting between Marshall Center staff and a Ukrainian Delegation, by my supervisor. The focus of the meeting was to assist the delegation with their strategic planning regarding their national security.
I was also given the chance to sit in on the lectures of the Senior Executive Seminar (SES). The SES is another one of the GCMC’s resident courses. The SES invites senior executive level professionals and high-ranking government and military officials to discuss current trends within the realm of international security. This year’s topic was the potential threat China’s rising influence within Europe poses for security within the international community.
CTOC responsibilities:
Participating in the CTOC program meant that as soon as the program began, my duties as an intern were extended by the tasks that accompanied the CTOC course, significantly increasing my workload. First off, we were to create a ten-minute country briefing on our country of origin,
in my case Germany, to present to the rest of your seminar group. This briefing was to contain general information on Germany such as neighboring countries, coastline length etc. as well as more CTOC specific information, for example we were asked to outline three transnational organized crime (TOC) threats we deemed most relevant within our country and whether Germany already developed a national strategy to combat transnational organized crime or not. As every participant’s first exercise, the country brief allowed us to get used to giving a presentation and to familiarize ourselves with each other and your colleagues home countries. After all the participants of the seminar presented their countries, we were to hand in our first of multiple exercise deliverables, which at the end of the course, would together form the final product of the CTOC course, a strategic proposal for a national CTOC strategy in Côte d’Ivoire. These deliverables were part of the overarching teambuilding exercise at the core of the CTOC course, where the participants became associates in a fictitious consulting firm called GAP
Associates, LLC. The aim of this exercise was to give the participants a first impression of
building a CTOC strategy, as the GCMC regards national CTOC strategies as an important asset within the fight against transnational organized crime groups.
The first exercise deliverable was a short biographical sketch to the Managing Director of GAP
Associates, LLC, portrayed by CTOC course director and my internship supervisor Prof. Vann.
Said biographical sketch was to include name, rank, organization of the participant as well as a list of knowledge, skills and abilities that would contribute to the seminars proposed strategic framework. While this was a rather simple task of a rather administrative nature, the following set of deliverables required intensive research and discussion.
Step one was performing a SWOT analysis at the national level of Côte d’Ivoire and applying it to the set of TOC/CTOC problems we identified within the country, through our research. Based on the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats regarding issues of transnational organized crime we identified within Côte d’Ivoire during our SWOT analysis, we were to describe a desired end state, to be achieved by our proposed strategy framework, and to create a vision and mission statement, that relates to our end state. Furthermore, we identified strategic assumptions, implications and imperatives, deriving from the findings of our SWOT analysis.
The next step was to draft strategic goals and objectives at the national level that are consistent with our formulated mission statement. Goals and Objectives are the most substantial part of the strategy development process and need to be justified by the findings of the SWOT analysis. As stated by the Marshall Center’s Strategy Exercise Workbook, goals should be achievable,
and objectives should be actionable. To ensure both, strategic goals and objectives need to be drafted using the SMARRT criteria, to ensure their appropriateness for our strategy. The
SMARRT criteria requires strategic objectives to be specific, measurable, assignable, realistic,
relevant and time bound (SMARRT).
Combined, these deliverables formed the final products, a nine-page formulated strategic proposal for a CTOC strategy in Côte d’Ivoire and a final power point presentation, including inner slides portraying relevant information and outer slides containing supporting graphics, to be displayed on the four big screens in the plenary hall. Figure 1 shows a panoramic view of the plenary hall including the desk in the front, where the presenters are seated, and the four big screens upon which the power point presentation was displayed.
Figure 1: Photo of the Plenary Hall in Bldg. 105 of the George C. Marshall Center. Placement Supervision and working attitude:
Regarding the placement supervision at the GCMC, I have been extremely happy with my supervisor Prof. Joseph Vann and can only recommend future interns to request him as an internship supervisor. The same is to be said for all the other staff members involved in the CTOC program, under whose supervision I worked and who always were of great help when I needed assistance. To be named in that context are especially Lt. Col. Chris Kreiler, Deputy CTOC Director; Dr. Dan Mabrey, CTOC Faculty Staff member; and Bryan Schulte, CTOC Event Coordinator. Generally, everybody at the GCMC was very welcoming, kind, straightforward and familiar from day one of my internship. This made for a very easy start and short adjustment period. In that regard, especially our very friendly and welcoming office neighbor Monta Jackson from the Department of Participant Affairs, who invited us to homemade dinners as his place and Captain Susanne Williams, who always helped us out if we needed anything, must be mentioned.
Furthermore, the fact that all the GCMC Security College interns share an office is of great help when it comes to adjusting to your new place of work and the tasks you are given by your supervisor. Before I arrived, two inters were already there working the preparation of the CTOC program. Stefanos from Cyprus and Kent from Texas welcomed me into the team, showed me
what needed to be done and provided me with lots of useful insights and advice. Thanks to them from day one on, I could familiarize myself with the work at the GCMC and still be sure to complete the tasks successfully and as desired by my supervisor.
In my opinion, my supervisor did a great job determining how much responsibility I could take on and what kind of tasks I could perform. In our first meeting, he stated that he plans to treat me not just as an intern but as an equal colleague, basically until proven wrong when I give him the impression to not be able to complete the tasks, he gives me in a sufficient manner. Thankfully, that moment never came, and the tasks Prof. Vann gave me grew more and more challenging, which provided me with the opportunity to show initiative and independence. Living in Garmisch-Partenkirchen:
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a small town, formed out of two formerly separate villages Garmisch and Partenkirchen.11 Living in Garmisch-Partenkirchen certainly has been an interesting experience, which did not come without challenges, but which broadened my horizon. The challenges of living in Garmisch-Partenkirchen will be picked up and further explained in the following section, dealing with the challenges I had to face and the lessons I learned during my internship at the GCMC. Most of the accommodations in Garmisch-Partenkirchen are vacation apartments or rooms, which come with a certain price tag. I was somewhat lucky in that regard in the way that I found a shared flat with two housemates for the first three weeks of my internship, which came at a great price and was a rare find in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, as I later learned through my intern colleagues. The apartment was amazing, it came at a modest price with a direct view on the Alpspitze, one of the highest mountains in Germany. It was located within the historic part of Partenkirchen, a beautiful area full of old traditional Bavarian houses. Garmisch-Partenkirchen has a high quality of life, albeit there is not much of a nightlife. However, together with the other interns we often went out for drinks in one of the many local bars. On the weekends, I regard going on hikes a must. As Figure 2, the view from the Marshall Center facilities, shows the surrounding alpine landscape is beautiful and there are many trails of different difficulties.
11
Geschichte, n.d. burgerservicegapa. URL https://buergerservice.gapa.de/de/geschichte/geschichte-von-garmisch-partenkirchen (accessed 8.24.19).
Figure 2: Photo of Bldg. 109, Woerner Hall, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies.
I was only able to sublet the room for three weeks and finding affordable accommodation in Garmisch-Partenkirchen was difficult. So, I subsequently moved to Farchrant, a beautiful but even smaller village enclosed by mountains. There, I rented a cozy guestroom in a small inn without a kitchen and internet. My neighbors were cows and sheep, an interesting experience for sure.
Overall, while the living situation in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen area is not always easy and definitely not cheap, it is only a minor hurdle and should not stop students from applying for an internship at the GCMC. More on the hurdles and challenges of my time in Garmisch-Partenkirchen will be discussed in the following chapter.
Challenges I faced and lessons I learned during my Internship:
Regarding the challenges I had to face during my internship at the GCMC, I must state that I consider myself rather lucky. The experience one has as an intern at the Marshall Center is extremely depended on the supervisor you work for. During my time there, a total of eight interns where working at the center. As already mentioned before, the eight of us shared an office, which was a great experience as it instantly provides you with a welcoming, supportive social environment inside and outside of work. However, there, I also noticed that some of the other interns where facing issues such as not enough or overly simple tasks, which weren’t
really challenging or educational. Luckily for me, I never had such an issue and worked for a supervisor that trusted his interns with challenging tasks. Therefore, I once again must pay compliments to my supervisor Prof. Joseph Vann, who I can only recommend to everybody, considering an internship at the GCMC.
Even though I consider myself lucky, I of course still encountered challenges during my time at the GCMC. Throughout the first weeks of my internship, my sole focus was the organization and preparation of the CTOC Course. Once the course started, I was faced with the challenge of balancing my duties as an intern and my function as a course participant. As already mentioned, this year’s edition of the CTOC Course was the largest ever. Managing over a hundred participants, 18 faculty staff members and numerous expert guest lecturers and prominent guests, could proof quite the challenge, especially combined with actively participating throughout the course. Overcoming this challenge required me to become more stress resilient and to learn how to efficiently manage my time. Often, this would result in working, while other participants were taking their coffee and lunchbreaks as well as staying after hours occasionally, so a motivated work morale came in beneficial as well.
Being a CTOC participant itself came with its own challenges. As a university student, being confidently able to hold your own, when it comes to developing a national strategy to combat transnational organized crime, did not come naturally. In order to overcome this issue, I participated as actively as reasonably possible in both lectures and seminars. Through succeeding in that endeavor, I was able to proof to my much more senior ranked and more experienced seminar colleagues, that I possessed relevant expertise and was able to contribute to our team’s efforts. In that regard, the “Money Trade and Crime” Seminar, led by Francesco Giomelli, which I participated in during my master at the RUG, was of great help and equipped me with expertise regarding transnational organized crime, allowing for successful participation.
Each year, the CTOC course ends with a presentation in front of the United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) as well as the entire faculty staff and all the participants. In this presentation, members of the seminars, who have proven themselves a worthy representation of the seminar and the best fit for this task, are selected to present the developed strategic CTOC proposal to the audience. This year, I had the great honor of being chosen as one of the four selected representatives, presenting our developed strategic proposal for the national CTOC strategy of Côte d’Ivoire. However, my function as presenter was accompanied by a couple challenges. For example, we were given notice of our appointment as presenters
only three days prior to the presentation date. This left us with only three days of preparation. Within said time frame, we had to develop and continuously adjust two sets of power point slides. One set of inner slides containing all the information and a set of outer slides with supporting graphs and illustrations. The same had to be done with the oral component of our presentation. Within three days we had to decide which information we wanted to convey in which matter and adjust it according to our feedback throughout the trial period. The fact that said presentation would not only to be held in front of over a hundred people, including such decorated guests such as the DASD, naturally added extra pressure. To overcome these issues, again efficient time management and stress resistance was of the essence. Complimented especially by a well-functioning and combined team effort of all the seminar members, who supported the appointed representatives throughout the entire process and without whom it would have not turned out as successful as it did.
Naturally, in a seminar consisting of participants from five continents all equipped with different backgrounds both in terms of national culture, work culture and areas of expertise the aforementioned well-functioning team effort did not come without challenges of its own. To assure and maintain a healthy work environment the ability to work in a team and to step aside, leaving the limelight to others was crucial. While at times challenging, I am happy to say that this process went seamless for our group and that we had a great atmosphere throughout the entire course.
Outside of work, living in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a small touristy town with a rent and housing situation similar to Groningen’s, can be challenging in its own way. For me, these challenges started even before my internship began and as soon as I started looking for accommodation. Interns can almost exclusively find accommodation for their desired period of time within one of the many vacation homes Garmisch-Partenkirchen has to offer. There, prices can be steep, and demand can be extremely high, depending on which time of year. For me, this resulted in moving twice, during my seven weeklong internship and, as already mentioned, spending at least three of these weeks in a small vacation room in Farchrant, an even smaller village outside of Garmisch-Partenkirchen without any kitchen or internet access. Once accommodation is found, one finds oneself living in a small and quiet town surrounded by the beautiful alpine mountain range. However, since enjoying the nature by going on a hike for example is not a very attractive option after finishing your workday at around 5pm one must be aware that there is not much to do in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. To overcome the challenges of finding accommodation and living in Garmisch-Partenkirchen I can only recommend looking for a place to stay as soon as possible. Especially, when your internship falls into high tourist
season like mine did. The GCMC kindly offers a list of accommodations other interns have used this far, however these places are taken up quite quickly as there can be many interns at the center simultaneously and because most of them are vacation homes rented by tourists as well.
Overall, the challenges I had to overcome during my time at the GCMC taught me many valuable lessons. My hybrid function as both an intern working for my supervisor and a participant to the CTOC course taught me how to effectively manage my time between multiple tasks, which must be completed simultaneously. Being part of diverse multicultural seminar group tasked to develop a national CTOC strategy for a country unfamiliar to the most of us taught me valuable lessons when it comes to teamwork and flexibility in the work environment. Holding my own and being accepted amongst my colleagues, who were all in much senior career positions than I am, taught me to be confident in my capabilities and to acknowledge that I have something to contribute to a group of professionals. Through the great challenge of being selected as one of the representatives and presenters to the DASD I not only learned how to speak in front of a large and distinguished crowd, but also to be more resilient to stress in general as well as how to perform well in stressful situations with only little preparation time. Albeit living in Garmisch-Partenkirchen was by far not the first longer period of time I spent in an unfamiliar environment, it was my first time living in a town of that size outside a city environment. I believe this experience further contributed to my flexibility and capability to adapt to new environments, which I consider a useful asset, as building a career within the field of international security will almost definitely require relocation and permanent high personal mobility.
Conclusion:
In drawing my conclusion, I would like to start off with stating that being a CTOC intern at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies has been a wonderful and valuable experience. Working for the Center and being involved in the Combating Transnational Organized Crime program has deepened my knowledge of illicit global economies and transnational organized crime organizations. My time there put me directly in contact with many professionals from the CTOC field and gave me access to a network of almost a thousand CTOC alumni.
In terms of deepening my knowledge and due to the amazing network of both professional and personal relationships I formed during my time at the GCMC, the internship has far exceeded any expectations I held upon my arrival. Admittedly, the internship description and rumors I
heard, had me slightly worried that I would simply be some form of teacher’s assistant. Unfortunately, that was the case for some of my intern colleagues, working for different supervisors. Luckily for me, my supervisor believed in the abilities of his interns and trusted us with more complex and important tasks, which allowed us to be play an integral role in supporting the CTOC preparation phase and planning efforts.
Furthermore, I am certain that the practical experience I gained during my placement at the GCMC perfectly complements my academic knowledge of issues of international security. Working under my supervisor, who spent many years combating transnational organized crime as part of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), and working together with over a hundred participants from the fields of law, law enforcement, intelligence etc., who for example fight wild-life trafficking or corruption, allowed me to significantly deepen my International Security expertise and particularly to build upon what I learned in the Money Trade and Crime Seminar I took at the RUG.
Additionally, I greatly benefited from the interdisciplinary character of the IRIO master program at the RUG, especially regarding the converging nature of transnational organized crime. Dealing with the convergence of TOC, e.g. at the intersection of TOC and terrorism, allowed me to combine what I learned during both the International Security Capita and my Money Trade and Crime research seminar. The intensive study and analysis of International Relations theory during the master’s Advanced Theory of International Relations Class (ATIR) allowed me in certain cases to get an understanding of the underlying political structures at play at the GCMC. Due to its nature, the GCMC being funded by the Pentagon and the German Ministry of Defense can not escape its political and ideological boundaries. I believe that the ATIR class was of great help with recognizing said underlying political and ideological structures. For example, in regard to the very neorealist perspective the GCMC’s leadership had on China’s rising influence within Europe, which of course was mirrored within their recommendations on how to deal with said issue.
However, the most valuable thing I am taking away from my internship at the GCMC is perspective on my future career. I was particularly fascinated by strategy and the strategy development process and will try to pursue this in my future career. Albeit, I was already made aware that careers usually start on the tactical level and it usually takes work experience to reach the strategic level, but it is a goal to work towards. Furthermore, I found especially the issue of corruption interesting, as it is an enabler for many TOC issues. Due to the advice and guidance I received from my superiors at the GCMC and through my own preference I have
decided to start things off by pursuing a career in public sector consulting. My supervisor already put me in contact with a consultant at Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC). Even after my internship ended, I feel great support regarding starting my career from the people I met at the GCMC.
Based on my experience I can give the following recommendations to students considering a placement at the GCMC. First of all, and most importantly, choose your supervisor wisely. Pick someone whose area of expertise interests you and who is involved in a program you consider interesting. The relevant information can all be taken from the GCMC’s website. When you are then offered an internship at the GCMC, start looking for accommodation as soon as possible, especially should your internship fall into a vacation season. The center can email you a list of recommended accommodations for a fair price, but they can be occupied quickly, as was the case with me, so the sooner you make contact the better. Once your internship starts, ask your supervisor whether you can participate in the course he or she is working on. Not all supervisors allow this, in my case I got lucky and I could participate. These courses are an amazing opportunity to network and to proof yourself as an upcoming asset within the field of international security. Due to the individual character internships at the GCMC often have, it is difficult to offer more advice on your time there. One last advice I would like to give to possible future interns is to enjoy the area. Garmisch-Partenkirchen, albeit slow and uneventful in itself, is surrounded by a uniquely beautiful alpine landscape. When spending a longer period of time in Garmisch-Partenkirchen I personally deem it a necessity to explore the surrounding nature by hiking.
Altogether, while an internship at the GCMC does not come without its challenges, my time there was extremely enjoyable, and I can only recommend applying for an internship.
Sources:
Picture Sources:
Figure 1: Photo of the Plenary Hall in Bldg. 105 of the George C. Marshall Center.
Source: Photo released by GCMC Public Affairs Office, photo taken by Karlheinz Wedhorn, US Gov’t conract photographer for official use – public domain work.
http://www.marshallcenter.org/mcpublicweb/en/nav-mc-about-history.html
Figure2: Photo of Bldg. 109, Woerner Hall, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies.
Source: Photo released by GCMC Public Affairs Office, photo taken by Karlheinz Wedhorn, US Gov’t conract photographer for official use – public domain work.
http://www.marshallcenter.org/mcpublicweb/en/nav-mc-about-history.html
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