A while back, "Fort Apache, Afghanistan" discussed the Provincial Reconstruction Teams, who combine civic projects and aid with military force projection. Cuba was way ahead of everyone with this idea, and it's an important one. Many NGOs will not operate in dangerous situations, or will choose to buy their security via collaboration with evil, or will be governed by political or financial rather than humanitarian goals.

In an era of failed states, that level of reliability won't cut it. NGOs can still play useful roles, but there must be a military option ready to go. PRTs have made solid strides since 2002, and have now become an alliance-wide concept, with other countries like Germany, Spain, Canada, Austraia, et. al. leading PRTs in key areas. It's also a cross-service effort, as this article shows:

"After two Air Force medical professionals spent some time on the ground in Southeastern Afghanistan, they came to a conclusion -- providing clinical medical care for locals was just a band-aid solution for three major issues plaguing the country. So they made the decision to take a step back and think outside of the box for solutions.... The two were determined to find sustainable, cost efficient ways locals could combat the three largest medical killers in the country diarrhea, malnutrition and childbirth complications."

They've managed to make a long-term difference in all 3 areas.