The CA Association and PKSOI shall publish the electronic
versions of these papers in March 2016. However, the print
version complete with an executive summary and panel report
shall be available at the 8 April Civil Affairs Roundtable, tentatively scheduled for the National Defense University’s Center
for Complex Operations (NDU-CCO) in Washington, D.C.
Copies of the symposium presentations and related documents
are available on the Civil Affairs Association website and Facebook page.
For prospective authors, discussion on next year’s CA Issue
paper themes is planned for the annual CA Roundtable Symposium, hosted by the Association and associate partners: PKSOI,
NDU-CCO, the Center for the Study of Civil-Military Operations at West Point, the Foreign Area Officer Association,
the Reserve Officers Association (ROA), and the U.S. Global
Leadership Coalition.
Colonel (ret.) Christopher Holshek, the symposium organizer and Issue Paper co-editor, explained that the intent of the
annual Symposium combined with the Issue Papers series and
Roundtable discussion, is to “provide a platform for the most
operationally experienced community of Civil Affairs practitioners since World War II to have more direct and visible input
on the discussion of the future of Civil Affairs at the command
and policy levels. The series is also intended to capture the practitioners’ insights and lessons for future posterity and research.
This bottom up approach, rather than the more customary topdown discussion from policy analysts and academics, employs
a crowdsourcing methodology to enable the next generation of
upcoming leaders an opportunity to have a voice in the future
of a CA force, in which they have arguably the greatest interest.”
Accordingly, Kirlin remarked, “This year’s discussion was a real
breakthrough, but it left us all with some heavy implied tasks,”
evoking LTG McMaster’s call for the CA community to “think,
learn, analyze, and implement. . . . General McMaster provided
the CA community with a powerful vehicle to think clearly
about future conflict, and invited the Civil Affairs community to help the Army learn by providing input to the Army
Warfighting Challenges [AWFC]. The AWFC is a shaping
discussion and an analysis of doctrine, organizations, training,
materiel, leader development and education, and personnel
interim solutions for the future force.” The AWFCs can be
accessed at TRADOC’s Army Capabilities Integration Center
website: http://www.arcic.army.mil/Initiatives/army-warfighting-challenges.aspx.
“In addition to the Issue Papers, the Association’s newsletter,
and the publications of our partners, such as PKSOI’s Peace
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& Stability Operations Journal, NDU’s Joint Forces Quarterly
and Prism, and ROA’s The Officer, there are plenty of opportunities to think and share knowledge and experiences. We need
to seize them,” Kirlin noted. The Army would benefit from the
Civil Affairs community’s input and collaboration on the Army
Operating Concept, Army’s Functional Concept for Engagement, and the Joint Concepts for Integrated Campaigning and
the Human Aspects of Military Operations.
From an implementation stand-point, there are three key tasks
the Civil Affairs community must undertake immediately. First,
the CA community must dialogue with others in the military,
government, civilian partners, political leaders, and the public
at large about Civil Affairs capabilities and capacities. “We have
some strategic communication products that we hang on our
website and will continue to update and improve,” Kirlin pointed out. “But anyone experienced in CA can come up with their
own ‘elevator speech’ based on the audience and situation. Targets of opportunity are everywhere—we need to engage them.”
Second, CA operators must become conversant with the concepts and operational languages of the larger force—including
basics like the military decision-making process and campaign
planning, along with policies, directives, and doctrine on peace,
stability, and civil-military operations—as well as the operational frameworks of interagency, multinational, and non-governmental partners. “It’s still more effective for Civil Affairs to
learn how to better integrate with those they support, enable
and enhance, rather than rely on partners to learn how to better
integrate Civil Affairs into their operations,” Pinnell stressed.
The third task is about advocacy. “Citizenship in this community is more than just showing up at these events and then going
home,” Holshek exhorted in his summary of the Symposium.
“For especially those in Civil Affairs, if you are not an active
member of the Association or any of these other organizations
representing your interests, then you are letting someone else
decide the fate of a force you care so much about and invested
so much in. You are on the sidelines and not a player. This event
and everything discussed at it has been a call for leadership. The
question you must ask yourself is whether you’re up to the task.”
To see more about the event visit the Civil Affairs
Association website by clicking the logo below.