A civil-military operations center or CMOC is a center usually established by a military force for coordinating civil-military operations

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 to facilitate accomplishing the mission. CMO is conducted in conjunction with combat operations during wartime and becomes a central part of a...

 in an area of operation

Area of operation

In U.S. military parlance, an area of operations is an operational area defined by the force commander for land, air, and naval forces conduct of combat and non-combat activities...

s. It usually serves as a meeting place for military and non military entities involved in stabilization, humanitarian relief

Humanitarian aid

Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...

 and reconstruction activities or for interaction between these entities and the civilian population. Often, it also serves as a central location for information on civilian related activities in the area or maintains the status of the infrastructure or institutions. During combat operations, a CMOC is usually in a secure compound.

Historical example

During the Iraq War, the U.S. Marines operated a CMOC near the city of Fallujah

Fallujah

Fallujah is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jewish academies for many centuries....

 outside of the MEK Compound

MEK Compound (Fallujah, Iraq)

The MEK Compound in Fallujah, Iraq is a large compound used by the U.S. Marines from 2004 to 2009. Prior to Marine occupation, the Iranian dissident group called Mujahideen-e-Khalq used the MEK as a training camp, but turned it over to the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne on May 11, 2003 after the...

. This CMOC was called the Fallujah Liaison Team or F.L.T. and it was a compound used for interaction between the Marines and the local civilians. At the F.L.T., Marines supported by U.S. Navy Seabees

Seabee

Seabees are members of the United States Navy construction battalions. The word Seabee is a proper noun that comes from the initials of Construction Battalion, of the United States Navy...

 developed and managed reconstruction projects with local contractors. Marines also settled battle damage claims and facilitated reestablishment of local governance.

International operations

Humanitarian operations involving multiple international organizations often use other terms for a CMOC, such as Combined Coordination Center. These centers seek to achieve coordination and unity of effort among organizations delivering humanitarian aid

Humanitarian aid

Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...

 during disaster relief

Emergency management

Emergency management is the generic name of an interdisciplinary field dealing with the strategic organizational management processes used to protect critical assets of an organization from hazard risks that can cause events like disasters or catastrophes and to ensure the continuance of the...

.

Historical example

During the humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

Humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

The humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was prompted by one of the worst natural disasters of modern times. On 26 December 2004, the earthquake, which struck off the northwest coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, generated a tsunami that wreaked havoc along much of the...

, militaries from multiple countries worked with non-governmental organization

Non-governmental organization

A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...

s at a Combined Coordination Center to organize delivery of humanitarian aid to the region.