Summaries of Issue Papers Available

After a competitive round of submissions, our committee selected five papers as the best. Each will be published in the spring 2027 edition of Civil Affairs Issue Papers, but you can read summaries today. Scroll down and click on each paper.

Attend the CA Symposium on 13-14 November and you'll hear directly from the authors, who will present their ideas for prize money. Register online.

“Future Operating Environments for Civil Affairs Forces”

- Maj. Shawn M. Blaydes, Mr. Walter Ellison II, Maj. J. Mike Teeter, and Capt. Amanda Henry

“Past the Point of Failure: Retiring SWEAT-MSO in Favor of a Risk-based Civil Systems Resilience Framework in a Dynamic Environment”

- Capt. Nathan T. Higgins

“The War Does Not Begin at Phase III: Civil Affairs as an Indicator of Strategic Transition”

- Lt. Col. Merritt Mitchell, USMC

“Beyond Expertise: The 38G Value Proposition in Civil Affairs”

- Capt. Jessica Wagner and Capt. Kat Slocum

“If You See Something, Say Something: Civil Affairs and the Dual-Lane Integration of Civilian-Generated Information Across the Competition Continuum”

- Maj. Shannon Woodman