to contribute to that discussion. The result is this first
of a series of Civil Affairs issue papers beginning to
look at “The Future of Civil Affairs.”
Their purpose is to provide a platform for the
broader Civil Affairs community to communicate to
important opinion leaders in the Executive and Legislative branches, as well as key military commands
and institutions, what it thinks the way ahead should
be for CA, utilizing experienced operators rather than
the just the usual think-tank approach. This not only
draws on the rich legacy of CA, but its remarkable talent. The first-prize winner, in fact, was written by two
non-commissioned officers.
This first set of issue papers is based on the papers
presented at the Civil Affairs Symposium at the Freedoms Foundation in Valley Forge, PA, in November
2014, held in conjunction with three panel discussions.
These were published and launched at the annual
Civil Affairs Roundtable in March 2015 at the U.S.
Military Academy, West Point, NY. The intent, for the
foreseeable future, is to enter into a cycle of issue papers presented and selected every fall at the annual
Symposium and the publication and the discussion of
the resulting issue papers every spring at the annual
roundtable. At that time those present will nominate
the topic of the next issue papers and request papers
thereafter.
The Civil Affairs Issue Papers, under the larger
rubric of “The Future of Civil Affairs,” look at a host
of issues, among them: mission, doctrine, and operations; executive and legal authorities; Joint/Service
proponent; force design, structure, and management;
force mix and integration of Active and Reserve
Components; recruitment, career management, and
education and training; and, inter-organizational
partnering.
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