We must also take steps to respond quickly to meet the needs of the American people in the event of natural disaster
or attack on our homeland. We must build a culture of preparedness and resilience across our governmental functions,
critical infrastructure, and economic and political systems.
—National Security Strategy 2017
Some militaries act as an expeditionary force in their own
country, performing missions within the homeland instead of
in a foreign country to maintain internal security and stabili-
ty. 1 Due to this focus on domestic as well as foreign security,
militaries perform a multitude of homeland security tasks
in addition to their primary border security missions. These
diverse tasks require a high level of responsiveness to support
law enforcement in emergencies, while staying ready to respond
to other external threats. This variety of missions requires more
profound interaction, coordination, and cooperation with civil
society and governmental agencies when dealing with these
security concerns.
The role of militaries is not solely to protect the country’s
national security. On several occasions, militaries respond to
emergencies, and in many historical examples, military capabil-
ities support civilian authorities in domestic tasks to preserve
homeland security. 2 The use of military forces in homeland
tasks is more often applied to defend a nation’s sovereignty.
Partnership and interaction between military and civilian lead-
erships have become more important to accomplish homeland
security. Within the country’s borders, domestic operations
cover the spectrum of military activity from homeland defense
to support to civil authorities.
A Texas Guardsmen and a Customs and Border Patrol agent
discuss the lay of the land April 10 on the shores of the Rio
Grande River in Starr County, Texas as part of the federal call-
up to the Texas-Mexico border. Soldiers called to duty at the
border support federal partners and primarily serve in ob-
serve-and-report roles. Photo by Sgt. Mark Otte, DVIDS
What is Homeland CIMIC?
This article opens by exploring the theoretical and doctrinal
approach of ‘Homeland civil-military cooperation (CIMIC).’
It proceeds by discussing the requirements for effective and
efficient CIMIC in the homeland and the challenges encoun-
tered in the process. Finally, this article intends to underline and
derive implications that would help civilian decision-makers
and military practitioners in their efforts to enhance CIMIC in
addressing today's security threats.
Cooperation between civil and military actors is as old as war-
fare itself, but as a formal doctrine, it is historically speaking a
new concept. The discussion of the interaction between military
and civilian spheres originates from the US Army Civil Affairs
units during World War II and the British military in the 1950s.
The US Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, first developed
this approach in 1947 in the European Recovery Plan, more
commonly known as the ‘Marshall Plan.’ Marshall highlighted
the direct linkages between the military and social security, and
the importance of a holistic approach to solve complex security
challenges. 3
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