We can win the “hot war.” We can out-shoot, out-move, and out-communicate any force lined up against us. In stark contrast, success during shaping operations and post conflict reconstruction is often met with abject indifference. We are the best organized, best trained, best equipped, and best educated killing machine the world has ever seen. We are exceptionally good at our core capability. We are not, however, adept at nation building; Security, Stabilization, Transition, and Reconstruction (SSTR); or coalition building. We must get better. The importance of interagency coordination, the complexity of operations, and the need for clearer guidance and directives has been recognized for nearly a century. Codifying the progress that has been made to date and expanding upon the successes will require legislative action ofthe Goldwaters-Nichols variety.