Author: Dennis J. Cahill, Sr.
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CATR Post #34 – What is the role of Civil Affairs in large-scale combat operations? (Part 7 – CA and MG in stability operations.)
13-minute read Doctrinal definition of stability operations. According to Army Field Manual (FM) 3-0, Operations, “A stability operation is an operation conducted outside the United States, in coordination with other…
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CATR Post #33 – What is the role of Civil Affairs in large-scale combat operations? (Part 6 – CA and MG in defensive operations.)
10-minute read Doctrinal definition of defensive operations. According to Army Field Manual (FM) 3-0, Operations, “A defensive operation is an operation to defeat an enemy attack, gain time, and develop…
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CATR Post #32 – What is the role of Civil Affairs in large-scale combat operations? (Part 5 – CA and MG in offensive operations.)
13-minute read First, the Origin of the Question. Before going any further, I must come clean. The true origin of this series of posts on the role of CA in…
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CATR Post #31 – What is the role of Civil Affairs in large-scale combat operations? (Part 4 – Fixing the Civil Affairs problems of North Africa.)
8-minute read Looking past North Africa. We noted in CATR #29 that President Roosevelt initially intended that civilian, not military, officials manage civil affairs in liberated and occupied countries in…
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CATR Post #30 – What is the role of Civil Affairs in large-scale combat operations? (Part 3 – Civil Affairs in North Africa)
8-minute read A little background. Operation Torch – the Anglo-American invasion of French North Africa in November 1942 – was the first ground operation conducted by Allied forces against the…
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CATR Post #29 – What is the role of Civil Affairs in large-scale combat operations? (Part 2 – Civil Affairs at the beginning of WWII)
5-minute read In CATR #28, we introduced the discussion of civil affairs (CA) in large-scale combat operations (LSCO) by providing examples from my observations in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) I;…
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CATR Post #28 – What is the role of Civil Affairs in large-scale combat operations? (Part 1)
7-minute read Observations of LSCO during OIF I. I have been grappling with this question for 25 years, since I began writing the first Army/Marine Corps Civil Affairs Tactics, Techniques,…
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CATR Post #27 – What is the role of Civil Affairs in irregular warfare?
12-minute read With contributions by LTC (Ret.) Albert Augustine and LTC Colin Blair. The question and the initial discussion. Back in mid-December 2025, on LinkedIn, the Civil Affairs Association (CAA)…
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CATR Post #26 – How do you maintain civil networks during and after a deployment?
10-minute read By Colonel (Ret.) Lars Skinner With contributions by Major General (Ret.) Hugh van Roosen, Colonel (Ret.) Dennis J. Cahill, Colonel (Ret.) Bradford Hughes, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Albert Augustine,…
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CATR Post #25 – Five 38G questions from a direct commission candidate.
15-minute read (not including the list of Fellowships and Professional Opportunities in question 4) By Colonel (Ret.) Brad Hughes Introductory Note from the Team Chief: In CATR #1, published on…