ABSTRACT
Complex operations are most simply defined as military and civilian activities to restore and ensure order. These are also sometimes called stability operations, irregular warfare, or counterinsurgency. And although they are not new, complex operations are now more widely discussed since the United States has invested blood and treasure for many years on such missions, most notably in Afghanistan and Iraq. The political and humanitarian agencies involved in complex operations also have need for a system to capture and preserve institutional memory in the policy system. A decade into the new century, the security architecture established in the aftermath of the Second World War "is buckling under the weight of new threats". Military objectives need constant re-alignment with political guidance that is often shifting, sometimes intrusive, and other times not available at all. Military personnel require better understanding of the civilian realm now that more civilian and humanitarian agency activity in conflict zones has become the norm.
