Have you ever observed a capability gap and advocated for a change, only to see your thoughts and ideas go nowhere? All too often, units develop important insights from training events and generate extensive after-action reviews, only for these products to sit at the team or company level – of little to no use to the broader enterprise.

The Civil Affairs Proponent at the U.S. Army Special Operations Center of Excellence is rebooting its lessons learned program to better capture insights from the operational force! Your insights are critical to modernizing Civil Affairs doctrine, training, and capabilities to meet the demands of large-scale combat operations.

By sharing your hard-won lessons and experiences, you can help identify capability gaps, update doctrine and training, validate best practices, and help the Civil Affairs Proponent develop the branch as we adapt to an evolving operational environment.

In the past, lessons learned have helped to inform and define capability gaps within the branch, eventually leading to changes such as the introduction of the Civil Affairs task force unit of action, the transformation of Civil Affairs’ core competencies, and the emphasis on the importance of civil knowledge over civil information. These changes improved and clarified the capabilities which Civil Affairs provides to supported units across the competition-crisis-conflict continuum.

What We’re Looking For:

We want to hear about your experiences involving civil affairs forces, including:
 

• Operational Lessons: Insights from deployments, exercises, or training events.
• Capability Gaps: Areas where Civil Affairs forces lacked tools, training, or resources.
• Best Practices: Techniques that improved Civil Affairs effectiveness.
• Emerging Trends: Observations on how Civil Affairs forces must adapt to evolving environments.

How to Share Your Feedback:

Submit directly to the Special Operations Center of Excellence Civil Affairs Proponent.

--or--

Submit applicable lessons learned either to the Quick-Fire Application or the Joint Lessons Learned Information System (JLLIS).

The Civil Affairs Proponent’s efforts will eventually merge into a larger Special Operations Center of Excellence lessons learned system to inform changes across doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, facilities, and policy. This may provide other opportunities for the operational force to leverage their observations into improvements to the force.

Conclusion

Your voice matters. By sharing your lessons learned, you contribute to the readiness and effectiveness of Civil Affairs forces in addressing the problems of today and preparing for the challenges of tomorrow. Help us build a stronger, smarter, and more adaptable Civil Affairs force—submit your feedback today!

Author’s Note: Lieutenant Colonel Colin Blair is an Active Guard Reserve Civil Affairs Officer leading the Doctrine Division of the Civil Affairs Proponent at the Special Operations Center of Excellence. He is a native of Anchorage, Alaska with over 15 years of service in the active and reserve components. The views, opinions, and analysis expressed do not represent the position of the U.S. Army or the Department of War.