True interdependence will involve hybrid planning
and command structures at the strategic and operational levels.
One possible solution at the tactical level is to bring
back the CMO planner course and skill identifier. This
former opportunity was a two to three week course
taught at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (USAJFKSWCS) covering the
basics of CA, CMO and operational planning. It could
easily be a requirement for maneuver officers at the
captain and major ranks. The current Reserve Component Civil Affairs Qualification Course (CAQC) with
its combination of distance learning and a four-week
resident phase can easily be modified to fill this requirement and taught through mobile training teams.
A robust S9, Civil-military operations staff section at
the maneuver battalion and brigade levels is also required for commander to effectively conduct CMO,
however, ongoing personnel shortages in the CA
regiment limit the ability to effectively staff, let alone
expand, S9 sections. The CMO planner skill identifier
would allow maneuver units to fully staff these sections ‘in-house’ and would effectively institutionalize
CMO at the tactical level. Other units that could benefit from the CMO planner designator and expanded S9
sections include theater engineer and medical units,
as these units are most often used in large scale humanitarian operations. Recognizing that CA tactical
units are a limited commodity, they can best be managed at the operational level through the combination
of hybrid strategic/operational planning structures,
an expanded S9 section at the maneuver tactical level,
and when necessary, CA qualified SOF Liaison Elements (SOFLEs) attached to maneuver units.
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