Volume 12 of the Civil Affairs Issue Papers is Out!

With the support of the ROTC Department of Niagara University, the Civil Affairs Association has published Volume 12 of the Civil Affairs Issue Papers on “Redefining Civil Affairs.” In addition to the final report on last fall’s Civil Affairs Symposium, the volume contains the five papers selected for publication during the 2025 Symposium:

1. “Organizing for Large-Scale Combat Operations: Consolidation of Civil Affairs Forces at the Division” - Shawn M. Blaydes, J. Mike Teeter, and Walter Ellison II

2. “Redefining Civil Affairs: A Call for Modernization” - John E. McElligott, Robert J. Bruce, and Chris G. Antonov

3. “Seizing the Initiative: The Case for Civil Affairs-Enabled Unity of Command in U.S. Stabilization Efforts” - Ryan McCannell

4. “The Civil Affairs Redefined Image Model and Artificial Intelligence” - Marco A. Bongioanni

5. “Should the United States Adopt a CIMIC Model of Civil Affairs for Homeland Defense?” - Robert Boudreau, Michael Aniton, and Peter Schäfer

Now in its 12th volume, the Civil Affairs Issue Papers is the Association’s capstone professional and force development deliverable to deepen and broaden formal institutional processes for CA force development along the lines of doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, facilities, and policy (DOTMLPF-P).

Since 2012, the Association added the Eunomia Journal and One CA podcast to facilitate further dialogue. Last year, it also launched a seminal memorandum on “Telling the Civil Affairs Story—A Narrative Strategy for Civil Affairs,” along with an updated strategic communication slide deck and a two-sided handout available for download on its website.

“The Association was delighted to see that its narrative strategy was a key source for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command’s (USASOC’s) CA Capability Manager information paper on ‘The Civil Affairs Role in Lethality,’” Association president Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Hugh Van Roosen noted in the foreword to Vol. 12. “We look forward to similar papers to help redefine the CA role in stabilization and in irregular warfare, given a new DoD(W) Instruction covering this mission, where the CA role is highly important but not yet well defined.”

Vol. 12 also includes the final version of the report on the Symposium the Association held as a virtual event after it postponed its Symposium at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley, CA from November 2025 until November 2026.  In addition to the workshop session on the dissolution of USAID and its impact on the use of CA in DoD(W) support to humanitarian assistance and stabilization, the Symposium included another virtual workshop session focused on the role of CA in “lethality” and large-scale combat operations (LSCO).

“As a critical economy-of-force capability,” Van Roosen observed in his foreword, “CA preserves lethality in setting conditions to ‘secure the victory’ and win without fighting by building civil-military networks and winning influence among populations—in security cooperation before LSCO, in sensing, targeting and defeating civil threats and the consolidation of military gains during LSCO, and in the transfer of governing responsibilities in post-conflict stabilization, as required, after LSCO.”

While the findings, opinions, and recommendations of this singular source document are representative of the authors in Vol. 12, they do not represent official opinion of any kind. Association events and platforms help foster a culture and network of learning beyond those provided by military structures and the CA Corps. They facilitate inclusion of other civil-military organizations and interagency, interorganizational, and private-sector partners (hence the term “extended Civil Affairs Corps”). The fall Symposium and spring Roundtable enable the extended CA Corps to come together, network, formulate recommendations to institutional and policy leaders, recognize outstanding members, enjoy camaraderie, and build esprit de corps.

The Association maintains a knowledge repository, including the Issue Papers, to support the professional development of the force and to give stakeholders in our extended Civil Affairs Corps a voice in their future. By supporting the analytical, writing, and presentation skills of young CA professionals, the Association—as the de facto regimental Association of the U.S. Army Civil Affairs Corps—also promotes CA intellectual capitalization and mission readiness.

All 12 volumes of the Civil Affairs Issue Papers volumes are downloadable from the Issue Papers and Reports page on the Association website. If you wish to receive a printed copy of Vol. 12, available later this month, please send a request to admin@civilaffairsassoc.org.

Beyond the annual Issue Papers, Eunomia Journal, award-winning OneCA podcast series, and on its YouTube channel, the Association maintains robust social media platforms on especially on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media. Contributors from all walks are always welcome.

For more, go to the Civil Affairs Association website and remember to subscribe or update your member profile. If you’re not a member, consider joining!