Civil–military operations

Civil–military operations or CMO are activities of a military force to minimize civil interference on and maximize civil support for military operations. CMO is conducted in conjunction with combat operations during wartime and becomes a central part of a military campaign in counter-insurgencies. Some militaries have specialized units dedicated to conduct CMO, such as civil affairs forces or form task forces specifically for this purposes, such as a joint civil–military operations task force in the U.S. Military. Also, some militaries have staff sections dedicated to planning and coordinating CMO for their command. CMO is often called civil–military co-operation or CIMIC in NATO operations and civil–military co-ordination in UN operations.

Official definitions

The Canadian Military defines CMO as:
The U.S. Military defines CMO as: