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The Issue Papers form the Civil Affairs Association’s capstone to deepen and broaden the formal processes for civil affairs (CA) force development along the lines of policy, doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel and facilities (DOTMLPF-P). Now in their seventh year of advancing a more strategic, comprehensive understanding of CA, they also contribute to fostering a learning organization that must go beyond military command structures and the CA Corps, including allies and counterpart civil-military organizations and interorganizational partners.

While the findings, opinions and recommendations of this singular semi-formal source document are representative of the extended family of the CA Corps, they do not represent official opinion of any kind. This document enables operator input to the CA service proponent offices, on force development and doctrinal issues, giving voice to those with the greatest stake in the future of their force. These papers are also increasingly read at major service, joint command and defense policy levels. Thanks to the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), this will become even more possible.

Because more of the papers than the five printed here were very worthy of publication and contained insightful ideas, the Association now offers options for publication of paper-based articles in its brand-new Eunomia Journal online, as well as in the Small Wars Journal and professional journals, with the assistance of the Publication Advisory Board. While one goal is to mainstream CA into the larger discussions of the Army and Marines, the joint force and national security issues, the other is to help improve CA writing skills as a function of intellectual readiness and building human capital.

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