Panel Discussion II: Shaping the Future of
Civil Affairs – Lessons from the Decade of War
Kurt E. Müller
Moderator: Dr. Kurt E. Müller, Colonel, U.S. Army
Civil Affairs (ret.), Senior Research Fellow, Center for
Complex Operations , National Defense University
• Major General Steven J. Hashem, U.S. Army
Civil Affairs (ret.)
• Colonel Leonard J. DeFrancisci, U.S. Marine
Corps Civil Affairs, Force Headquarters Group,
Marine Forces Reserve
• Colonel Jim Ruf, U.S. Army Civil Affairs (ret.)
and Senior Program Officer for Civil-Military
Affairs, U.S. Institute of Peace
• Dr. Rosemary Speers, Principal Research Scientist, Center for Naval Analyses
Some military functions demonstrate a history
of integration into operations and strategy using the
analogy of a sine curve. When a military campaign
cannot achieve its purpose without addressing one
of these functions, these domains receive considerable attention; but, when the need dissipates, the crest
gives way to an accelerating decline of attention and
resources. These observations are instructive for Civil
Affairs because operational environments account
for CA demand signals. Thus, prior to Operations
Desert Shield and Desert Storm, military organizations
relegated much CA planning to exercising for future
wars. But since expeditionary operations depend
on friendly forces for planning capabilities, contract
oversight, and civil-military interaction, Desert Shield/
Storm reemphasized the need for CA.
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