UNIPATH STAFF
Whether it’s providing food and medical care to refugees or helping to build schools in remote areas, joint civil-military operations can have a huge impact on civilians and, ultimately, on the stability of a region.
In June 2016, an international group of officers met at U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) for the inaugural Trans-Regional Civil Military Stability Operations Workshop.
Participants came from Australia, Colombia, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, the Philippines and the United States, along with NATO representatives from Germany and the Netherlands. The goal was to develop a better understanding of civil-military operations across the world and to facilitate their synchronization and coordination.
“We have to exchange information in order to achieve our objectives,” said Lebanese Brig. Gen. Youssef Mechref, the workshop’s keynote speaker.
Brig. Gen. Mechref led the effort to formalize civil-military operations in the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). In 2012, he helped establish the LAF’s Civil-Military Cooperation Section (CIMIC). The section was elevated in 2015 to a directorate, and its work is now recognized as an important domestic security tool that contributes to the LAF’s reputation as reliable and trustworthy. As a result, LAF unit commanders increasingly request CIMIC support for their missions. The projects are varied based on community needs — from establishing health clinics and refurbishing schools and government buildings to planting trees.
An important workshop topic was the transnational nature of threats and the shared impact of civil-military operations. Terrorist groups like al-Shabaab, Daesh, Boko Haram and al-Qaida have stoked instability far beyond the areas where they operate. For instance, European countries have been impacted by refugees escaping violence in Iraq and Syria. Foreign fighters are traveling across the world to these conflict-ridden regions and could export violence to their home countries if and when they return.
“The world is getting more and more complex,” Brig. Gen. Mechref said. That is why civil-military operations are important not only in hot spots or unstable regions, but also in areas where maintaining the respect and support for governments and militaries is critically important, he said.
Brig. Gen. Mechref said he was grateful SOCOM hosted the workshop because military professionals involved in civil affairs can learn from an exchange of ideas and best practices.
Col. Tony Thacker of SOCOM called the workshop a success. “Once we visualized each person’s activities, it became very apparent where we had duplicate efforts or where there were gaps and seams that can be exploited by others,” Thacker said. The outcome was better synchronization of global efforts so teams can be more successful in the future and measure their progress.