Civil-Military Co-operation

Civil-Military Co-operation (CIMIC) is the means by which a military commander connects with civilian agencies active in a theatre of operations.

CIMIC activities are co-ordinated via the "G9" staff branch of a divisional, or other, headquarters. In high-level tri-service, or Joint, headquarters (JHQ), the department is termed "J9".

The United States Army has, since the Second World War, maintained civil affairs units. Part of their function includes CIMIC tasks, however, they have a much broader function and a different focus from most other CIMIC organizations. In the mid-1990s, primarily in response to lessons learned in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, most NATO members began developing their own CIMIC structures, which lead to the establishment of the Civil-Military Cooperation Centre of Excellence in The Hague in 2001.

For most civilians, whether private citizens, national or international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), or the official local administration, the most obvious indicator of the presence of a CIMIC organisation for their area will be a designated "CIMIC House" or "CIMIC Center". This is literally a house, or other building, or – say – offices set up in the existing town-hall, loaned by the local administration or – in the absence of any viable civil structure – requisitioned by the military. The center is advertised as such and becomes the designated point of contact (POC) for civilians with a problem that they believe the local military could solve. The building may or may not be permanently manned; if not, then even in a benign security environment, some form of permanent local guard is usually advisable.

However, as the paragraph on doctrine makes clear, the formal structures, organisations and personnel are not the only means of conducting CIMIC functions: each soldier that has an inter-action, whether a deliberate or a chance intervention, with a civilian, has the capacity either to reinforce the CIMIC doctrine, or to undermine it significantly, through a deliberately hostile act or, more likely, an unintended offence or hurt. As such, all troops to deployed should have at least a minimal briefing on the CIMIC function and the set procedures they should adopt to assist the mission.

The military corps of most interest to civilians in a post-conflict scenario, are usually: the engineers, medical services and, in many developing countries, any veterinary services. Typical problems are: restoration of water supply, restoration of water decontamination services, restoration of sewerage, restoration of garbage services, children's health clinics, veterinary clinics for working animals and livestock (the 'life savings' of rural communities). Other requests will include demands for bridge repairs (frequently destroyed in conflicts and entailing arduous detours), road repairs (often damaged post-conflict by heavy vehicles, especially tracked, and the sheer scale of military traffic) and restoration of electricity supply.

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