Conclusion
There is much that is worrisome about the state of
Civil Affairs today. The Navy disestablished nearly all
of its CA capability and the prospect for a Joint Force
structure is slimmer than ever. The Army’s Civil Affairs leadership appears to have accepted its institutional divisions. Policy makers in recent years often
turned not to CA but to ad hoc and non-CA solutions to
civil dimension challenges. Professional military education for CA has often been a “pick-up game.” The
functional specialist program has been “a black eye.”
Civil Information Management, in turn, struggles to
achieve its potential.
On the other hand, strategic and operational
demand remains high for military personnel who
understand the civil dimension in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and Peace & Stability
operations under the U.S. Army Functional Concept for
Engagement, particularly when the environments are
dangerous but also in growing “Phase 0” (Shape and
Influence) operations involving theater security cooperation, “building partnership capacity,” and conflict
prevention.
It is no longer the situation, the panel concluded,
that most senior leaders do not understand the value
of Civil Affairs. The future of CA includes some hopeful prospects thanks to practical steps recently taken.
The USMC and the Army recognize the need to invest in training and education, including the development of civil sector experts. The CA leadership is taking actions to more effectively integrate with civilian
partners in both the public and private sectors, and to
provide the civil information that partners and commanders need in the field. But they cannot come even
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