In 2003, later updated in 2013, the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) published its first CIMIC guidelines,
where it discussed policy and doctrine as well as tactics, tech-
niques, and procedures. 4 Since then, NATO has progressed
further into the civilian sphere, making CIMIC a vital part of
its activities and missions. For its part in 2013, the U.S. Depart-
ment of Defense issued its Strategy for Homeland Defense and
addressed approaches regarding unity of efforts, integrated plan-
ning, and military preparedness for homeland tasks. 5 The 2017
U.S. National Security Strategy stressed the linkages between
homeland and national security, emphasizing security of the
U.S. homeland. 6,7
CIMIC comprises a set of capabilities that coordinate activities
between military commanders and civil actors in support of
achieving mission objectives. CIMIC capabilities enable mili-
tary commands to participate effectively in a broad spectrum of
interactions with diverse non-military actors. 8 The three core
functions of homeland CIMIC include civil-military liaison
with civilian agencies; support to the military forces in planning
and execution; and physical support to civil actors. 9
The approach to ‘homeland CIMIC’ came from the fact that no
one single master narrative motivates CIMIC; instead, the lat-
ter core function is situation and context dependent. Therefore,
this cooperation differs depending on national strategies and
across various civil and geographic environments. Homeland
CIMIC is a reflection of the people who carry it out, and relies
on specific norms that inform relations, values, and expectations
passed on in the form of powerful narratives or myths. 10
Within each country’s specific civil environment, homeland
CIMIC can manifest in three aspects: as a tool for establishing,
maintaining, and expanding relationships; as an organization
that offers military augmentation; and as a non-combat, mil-
itary, and joint force that efficiently participates in a broad
spectrum of interactions with diverse non-military actors. 11
CIMIC in homeland security may function as a military force
in combat, counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, stability, and
crisis management operations. Furthermore, homeland CIMIC
contributes to the accomplishment of military objectives at the
strategic, operational, and tactical levels. 12
The principal advantage of homeland CIMIC is economy of
force; its chief strength is being a force multiplier by maximiz-
ing the capacity of civilian entities, minimizing the magnitude
and duration of military operations, and helping commanders
focus resources. 13 Through CIMIC homeland security efforts,
militaries achieve unity of effort and enhance the government’s
ability to advance a whole-of-government approach to achieve
national objectives. 14
Requirements for Efficient Homeland CIMIC
Deploying the military within the country’s borders for stabil-
ity and combat operations appears to be inconsistent with a
traditional army’s role in a sovereign state. However, with the
rising threat of terrorism, political and military leaders are now
seeking to implement comprehensive, whole-of-government
approaches where civilian and military agencies leverage each
other’s capabilities to achieve national security strategy and
political objectives. 15
Societies in the twenty-first century are ravaged by conflicts,
disasters, and humanitarian catastrophes. 16 Militaries cannot
solve most of these modern crises alone. Today’s global war on
terror revealed an urgent need for strategic interactions, unified
efforts, and partnerships between military forces and civilian
actors to combat violent extremism, as both have a shared goal
of the country’s national security. 17 Through cooperation with
civil entities, military leaders tie their holistic security strategy
into a whole-of-government approach ensuring civil-military in-
teraction that advances a country’s security and stability. Sound
relations between political elites and military leaders become
more essential in this civilian-military process, as leadership
recognized the importance of integrating military activities with
civilian agency efforts. The nature of complex missions increas-
ingly forces military and civilian actors to operate together. 18
History teaches the need to embrace partners from across gov-
ernment and even in the private sector to address homeland se-
curity concerns. Lessons learned have clearly shown that isolat-
ed military actions do not meet the requirements for sustainable
stability. 19 At the same time, these crisis events might require
the unique equipment, personnel, and training resident mainly
in militaries. Therefore, early investment in civil-military efforts
pays future dividends in response to contingencies. 20
Challenges to Homeland CIMIC
In the homeland environment, CIMIC pursues a long-term
goal of seeking to improve the nation's development and gov-
ernance, which suggests a focus on establishing self-sustaining
structures for security and processes for stability that enhance a
country's resilience. Cooperation (will), coordination of actions
(work), and shared purpose (end state) are critical elements
to enhance homeland security and enable the achievement of
military and political objectives. Synergetic relation and effec-
tive interaction amongst all military and civilian actors within
a comprehensive approach foster efficient homeland CIMIC
activities. 21
19