used more readily by peacebuilders and development
experts using a “human security” approach.)
Threading these themes together, Brig. Gen. Irizarry discussed the need to shift thinking from Civil Affairs Operations (CAO) to Civil Military Operations
(CMO) with CA as the lead proponent. He spoke of the
need to place new emphasis on the Civil Military Operations Center concept. Focusing on force structure,
he emphasized the need for CA to rethink the troop to
task and consider the function, size, scale and scope of
the mission, rather than a standard consideration that
a brigade combat team is assigned a CA company. In
some cases, such as the West African Response Force,
this model may not fit, and a more tailored package of
CA is needed.
Maj. Gen. Ammerman noted that even as the
demand for Civil Affairs is strong, the budgets are
shrinking – training funds for Reserve CA for the current fiscal year are half of the previous year. Meanwhile, civilian surge efforts are also retrenching. The
Department of State has disbanded its Civilian Response Corps. Many of the ad hoc structures such as
PRTs and the HTS did not make their way into the
more permanent force structure or doctrine.
Lt. Col. Simon said the new generation of Civil Affairs could leverage technology to their advantage if
given the right tools at the right time for the right mission. He claimed without hesitation that those graduating from the MOS-producing school have what they
need to make a difference. The challenge remains how
to best enlighten those at the operational and strategic
level leading the captains and corporals, not those engaged at the tactical level.
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