What is Civil-Military Operations (CMO)?

• A. Interactions with civilian populations and institutions to achieve objectives and support stability
• B. Interactions with civilian populations to achieve objectives and support stability
• C. Logistics and supply chain management
• D. Planning military strategy with civilian leaders

Answer: (A)

Civil-Military Operations focus on the cooperative work between military forces and civilian actors to shape the environment so missions can succeed and stability and legitimate governance can take root. This means engaging with both civilian populations and civil institutions—local authorities, NGOs, community leaders, and civil society—in ways that support humanitarian needs, protect civilians, enable governance and reconstruction, and foster sustainable security.

That makes the chosen description the best match: it explicitly includes interactions with both people and the institutions that organize and serve communities, emphasizing stability and governance alongside objective achievement. Other options miss key parts of the picture: focusing only on the population leaves out the important role of institutions, while logistics or narrow planning with civilian leaders don’t capture the broad, multi-actor coordination that defines CMO.