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…