Roundtable Report: A Shift in Focus and Approaches

Photo Caption: CIMIC troops of the National Guard of Ukraine deliver food and clothing donated by the Republic of Latvia to the people of Kozacha Lopan in Kharkiv Oblast.

By Christopher Holshek 

The 2026 Civil Affairs (CA) Roundtable held online on May 28^th closed out another annual cycle of Civil Affairs Corps thematic discussions for CA force and professional development. As with all 17 Roundtables before it, this year’s look at “Redefining Civil Affairs” served to advance a more strategically coherent, comprehensive, and integrative narrative understanding of civil affairs. Download the Roundtable Report from the Association website.

Every year, the Roundtable shifts the extended CA Corps’ annual discussion toward how to best prepare CA forces in light of new strategic and policy guidance.  Within the context of the annual theme, it takes a closer look at the doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, facilities, and policy (DOTMLPF-P) implications of the new strategy and policy.

Association Vice President for Programs and Events Brig. Gen. Caroline Pogge has implemented an updated format of the Roundtable to place greater emphasis on regional discussions of the activities of conventional and special operations CA forces, regional and host nation civil-military forces, and interagency partners in theater security cooperation, deterrence, and campaign planning within their assigned theaters.

The morning session (0900–1200 EST) focused on the AFRICOM and EUCOM areas of operation (AoRs) and global SOF CA missions. It included operational updates from the 352^nd and 353^rd Civil Affairs Commands (CACOMs) and the 95^th Civil Affairs Brigade (Special Operations) (Airborne) (95^th CA BDE (SO)(A)).

The afternoon session (1830–2100 EST) featured the launch of the 2026-27 Issue Paper topics, a Winfield Scott Medallion presentation ceremony, and updates on operations in the SOUTHCOM and INDOPACOM AORs from the 350^th and 351^st CACOMs, respectively.

The Roundtable followed a similarly productive CA Symposium held online last November.   The major observations of that event are captured in the Symposium Report posted in the 12^th volume of the Civil Affairs Issue Papers.

Among the 2026 Roundtable’s most important observations:

· Flexibility and versatility are strategic currencies for CA to gain and maintain mission credibility. While most supported units appreciate CA’s value, some may have a different view on how to employ CA forces. This also resonated in the EUCOM discussion on Ukrainian civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) operations.

· Proactive relationship-building with supported commands is as important as with inter-organizational partners in-theater. CA professionals must consistently demonstrate versatility, flexibility, and active engagement. Moreover, they must establish and maintain trust.

· CA professionals must conduct missions that demonstrate economy of force by maximizing existing footprints and resources. This requires both creative and critical thinking, especially in leveraging authorities and funding. In this regard, CA professionals must improve their literacy in “defense economics” as part of mission preparation.

· Each Geographic Combatant Command (GCC) AoR presents distinct mission implications for the CA force and for professional development along DOTMLPF-P lines. In EUCOM, Ukrainian CIMIC employs a total defense and civil resilience approach to LSCO. In AFRICOM, the strategic emphasis is on security cooperation. In SOUTHCOM, CA teams help secure economic zones, protect foreign investments, and promote good governance and the rule of law. In INDOPACOM, there is a strong emphasis on flexibility, versatility, and readiness for rapid response.

· An adaptive narrative that explains what CA is, what it does, and why it’s important, as in the Association’s “Telling the Civil Affairs Story” initiative, is needed now more than ever.

Association Vice President for Publication and Civil Affairs Issue Papers Committee Chair Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Goddard announced the Association's call for papers for Vol. 13, on “Civil Affairs: Securing the Victory in New Environments.” This builds on last year’s general topic, which focused on redefining the role of CA in LSCO as a critical economy-of-force capability that preserves combat power and lethality, consolidates gains, and shapes conditions in the human dimension to “secure the victory” before, during, and after LSCO.

This year, the lens opens even wider. “Similar to last year, we are casting a broad net here... So, if you want to write about large-scale combat operations, or if you want to write about irregular warfare, or if you want to write about civil knowledge integration, that’s OK. All of those are valid topics, and we encourage diverse points of view, because what we're looking for, ultimately, is to have a substantial number of quality papers,” he explained.

The authors of the five papers selected for publication in the 2026-27 Civil Affairs Issue Papers will present them in competition for cash prizes of $2,500 for first place, $1,000 for second place, and $500 for third place at for presentation the 2026 Symposium at the Ronald Reagan President Library & Museum from 13-15 November.

For more, see the Eunomia Journal announcement on the call for papers.

Association events are done with the participation and support of civil affairs proponents, such as the Army’s U.S. Army John F. Kenndy Special Warfare Center and School (USAJFKSWCS) and the Marine Corps Civil-Military Operations School (USMCCMO), CA commands like the U.S. Army Civil Affairs & Psychological Operations Command (Airborne), or USACAPOC(A), 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Special Operations) (Airborne), or 95^th CA Bde (SO) (A), and  the Security Force Assistance and Stability Integration Directorate (SFASID), and the NATO Civil-Military Cooperation Center of Excellence (CCoE).

There are also numerous organizations with which the Association has been building relationships to facilitate the growth of a global civil-military network to enhance the visibility and value-added of civil affairs. These include the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), CCoE, Reserve Organization of America (ROA), Foreign Area Officer Association (FAOA), International Stability Operations Association (ISOA), Alliance for Peacebuilding, and U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. It also includes: the Modern War Institute and Irregular Warfare Initiative at West Point; the SFASID, the Joint Special Operations University; and, the Joint Civil-Military Interaction Network.

The Roundtable agenda, slide decks, and other documents related to the discussion are available in the “2026 Roundtable” folder in the Research Library on the Association website. The full inventory of Civil Affairs Issue Papers and Roundtable Reports are also available on the website. Videos of the discussions are viewable on the Eunomia Journal YouTube channel.