Operation Alliance was activated in 1986 at El Paso, Tex., as an interagency coordinating center "to halt the flow of illegal drugs, firearms, and other contraband across Mexico's northern border." Operation Alliance was organized with a permanent multiagency staff. After 8 years, Operation Alliance has proven itself capable of coordinating drug law enforcement efforts in the southwestern border States, with a focus on drug interdiction. Project North Star was begun in 1990 at Buffalo, N.Y. Its Coordination Center has a staff of 15 persons who represent the Border Patrol, Customs, Department of Defense Regional Logistical Support Office, National Guard Bureau, the New York National Guard, U.S. Coast Guard, and Forces Command. North Star has proven effective in structuring individual and collective training opportunities for its membership across the Northern Region. The remaining two case studies focus on education and training activities that have encouraged interagency integration nationwide. The illustrative cases are the Counterdrug Modeling and Simulation System and the National Interagency Counterdrug Institute. They represent different learning environments; in the first case, counterdrug officials learn by jointly solving policy and strategy problems in a "near real world" exercise environment. In the second program, students learn in a structured classroom environment that includes a tactical-level counterdrug exercise. 36 notes