The Civil Affairs Association , in partnership with the National Defense University Center for Complex Operations ( NDU- CCO ), the U . S . Army Peacekeeping & Stability Operations Institute ( PKSOI ), Foreign Area Officer Association , Reserve Officers Association , Alliance for Peacebuilding and the U . S . Global Leadership Coalition , held its annual Civil Affairs Roundtable in Ft . McNair ’ s Marshall Hall in Washington , DC on the 4th and 5th of April .
The main purpose was the presentation of the 2015-16 Civil Affairs Issue Papers , co-published between the Association , PK- SOI , and the U . S . Marine Corps Training Command , on “ Civil Affairs : A Force for Engagement and Conflict Prevention .” The Roundtable closes and opens an annual cycle , including the fall symposia and spring roundtables and centered around the Issue Papers as the main deliverable . The cycle serves as a platform for the most operationally experienced community of CA practitioners since World War II to have more direct and visible input on the discussion of the future of CA – as a national strategic capability to end and prevent wars – at the command and policy levels , as well as capture their insights and lessons for future posterity and research .
“ The objective of employing this crowdsourcing method ,” explains Association president Joe Kirlin , “ is to give young leaders and the upcoming generation , something not previously done in a systemic way , an opportunity to have a voice in the future of a force in which they have arguably the greatest interest . So far , it has been paying off very well . People in many places are recognizing the great value of this work because in good part they are recognizing the great value of Civil Affairs , regardless of component or branch of service .”
In addition to introducing the 2015-16 Issue Papers , the Roundtable set out to respond to a challenge laid out at last November ’ s Symposium from Lt . Gen . H . R . McMaster , Deputy Commanding General of Futures for the U . S . Army Training and Doctrine Command , to help the Army “ think , learn , analyze , and implement solutions ” to Army Warfighting Challenges ( AWFC ) that would improve the Joint Force ’ s ability to consolidate gains and achieve sustainable outcomes in conflict management .
To accomplish this , Issue Papers first-place winner Major Arnel P . David the U . S . Army ’ s Strategic Studies Group led a professional development workshop to produce CA-related inputs to the AWFC , representing a general consensus of the Civil Affairs Regiment .
NDU-CCO , which hosted the Roundtable , updated more than 100 attendees on recent research activities to improve their knowledge of larger policy and conceptual developments with application to civil-military operations . These included : lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan ; U . S . counter-terror strategy ; understanding illicit networks ; and contributions to concept development for human aspects of military operations ; metrics and assessments .
NDU-CCO also provided the keynote speaker , Mr . Thomas C . Hushek , Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the State Department ’ s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations ( CSO ). Based on his longtime experience in both development and diplomacy , Hushek concluded that Civil Affairs work invaluable work in support of these two other “ D ’ s ” would only expand and require greater civil-military cooperation , especially in facing world a world of complex challenges ranging from climate change , migration , illicit networks , and violent extremism that demanded greater understanding of drivers as much as the threats emanating from them . He exhorted the CA Regiment , including especially its Reserve Component , to continue building closer “ steady state ” planning and professional development relations through the CSO and the U . S . Agency for International Development ’ s Center for Civil-Military Cooperation .
As every year , the Roundtable discussion panel the morning of second day surveyed developments more specific to civil-military operations , including interagency and multinational institutional partners . Along with updates on policy , doctrine , and operational developments , activities , initiatives , and lessons , the discussants also informed the audience of resources for training and other forms of professional development – especially useful to the Reserve members who make up the majority of the CA force .
In addition to the U . S . Army Civil Affairs & Psychological Operations Command ( Airborne ), Institute for Military Support to Governance at the U . S . Army John F . Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School , Defense Department Office of Stability and Humanitarian Affairs , PKSOI , and U . S . Marine Corps Force Headquarters , representatives from the United Nations ’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Alliance for Peacebuilding were on hand .
Finally , the Roundtable discussed the topical theme for next annual cycle for 2016 Symposium , set to take place in Mountain View , CA , home of the 351st Civil Affairs Command , 17-19 November . Generally , the group agreed to look at “ leveraging the whole of Civil Affairs ” among the geographic combatant command and Special Operations Command for the full range of missions and situations and in closer coordination and cooperation with partner countries and organizations as well as regional and multilateral players in peace and stability operations . A call-for-papers for the 2016-17 Civil Affairs Issue Papers will be published in May , while the save-the-date announcement for the 2016 Civil Affairs Symposium will appear in June .
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