2021 Civil Affairs Symposium

Civil affairs is a diverse and people-centric force for influence, collaboration, and competition in Multi-Domain and Joint All-Domain Operations and information and irregular warfare. As it maneuvers in the human geography, it builds personal and professional relationships, gaining positional advantages from access and influence as well as regional and cultural understanding vital to strategic and operational design for interagency-led competition in-theater. A lead economy-of-force capability for narrative, direct, and indirect competition, CA enriches civil-military integration to “win without fighting.” Such “warrior-diplomats” can help build a collaborative, global civil-military network to synergize the comparative advantages of all partners. Civil knowledge integration from nonstop virtual and forward-deployed engagement – by, with, and through country teams, Security Force Assistance Brigades, National Guard state partners, Foreign Area Officers, NATO and UN CIMIC, commercial enterprises, peacebuilders and humanitarians, women’s groups, etc. – also mitigate the U.S. handicap as the “visiting team.”

Recent events suggest critical lessons for building a global civil-military network to strengthen alliances and attract new partners, helping regional commands, interagency bureaus, and embassies deal with challenges like Chinese and illicit network penetration in Latin America and Africa, hybrid warfare on the European periphery, anti-access and area denial in the Indo-Pacific region, and climate-driven disruptions.

As a green force for gray zones, how should CA (and the Army and USMC) understand “competition” and CA’s contribution to Army/USMC readiness for competition? How would a global civil-military network be a geostrategic game-changer in the struggle with authoritarian powers for global dominance? What should be its collaborative frameworks and tools, as well as its civil knowledge, convening, and information-sharing architectures – institutionally and operationally? How can CA leverage technology, such as artificial intelligence and machine-learning or other automated systems and methods? What other changes in Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership & Education, Personnel, Facilities, and Policy should take place, within and beyond current capacities? How should they be implemented and prioritized? 

From the speakers, workshops, and Civil Affairs Issue Papers, the Association and friends will enable the CA Corps and its partners to offer ways ahead to refine at the Roundtable next spring.