Author Description

The chaotic situations leading to the rich history, vignettes, and importance of civil-military operations (CMO) encompass missions requiring diplomatic, informational, military, and economic prowess on every level. From infantry squad to Army Group, from hamlet to country, and from assisting local tribal leaders to replacing entire political regimes with their ideologies and institutions, the examples are endless. From the Mexican War of 1846 through both theaters of war in World War II to present-day operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the fact remains that armies of all types must plan for and execute CMO as part of the overall political-military campaign.Ironically though, CMO has yet to be included as a core foundational learning area of officer Professional Military Education (PME). Although some aspects are addressed at various levels, CMO has yet to assume a position of relevance commensurate with the historical number of missions conducted and resources expended throughout the history of the US Armed Forces.In this monograph, the author addresses the historical, legal, doctrinal, and operational reasons CMO should be included in core PME. He discusses the impacts of this omission on the SOF assigned to the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and suggests that the time to correct the oversight is now.