Military commanders must consider not only the military forces but also the environment in which those forces operate. One factor of the environment that commanders must consider is the civilian populace and its impact--whether it is supportive, neutral, or hostile to the presence of military forces. A supportive populace can provide material resources that facilitate friendly operations. It can also provide a positive climate for military and diplomatic activities a nation pursues to achieve foreign policy objectives. A hostile populace threatens the immediate operations of deployed friendly forces and can often undermine public support at home for the nation’s policy objectives. Operations that involve the interaction of military forces with the civilian populace to facilitate military operations and consolidate operational objectives are CMO.

軍事指揮官必需考慮的不僅僅是軍隊而已，而必須考慮到軍事行動的環境。其中一項環境因素就是平民以及對其之衝擊，對軍隊而言無論是支援性的、中性的，或敵意性都應考慮。支援性的平民能提供物資以促進和平行動；也可以對軍隊與國家追求外交政策目標之外交活動，提供正面的氣氛。敵意的平民威脅直接的和平部隊的部署活動，且能破壞鄉里對國家政策目標的公共支援。

Civil-military operations are the activities of a commander that establish, maintain, influence, or exploit relations between military forces, government and nongovernment civilian organizations and authorities, and the civilian populace in a friendly, neutral, or hostile area of operations in order to facilitate military operations and consolidate and achieve U.S. objectives. Civil-military operations may include performance by military forces of activities and functions normally the responsibility of local, regional, or national government. These activities may occur before, during, or after other military actions. They may also occur, if directed, in the absence of other military operations. Civil-military operations may be performed by designated Civil Affairs forces, by other military forces, or by a combination of Civil Affairs forces and other forces.

「民－軍行動」是指揮官建立、維持、影響或開發部隊與政府和非政府的民間組織與當局，以及在作戰中友善、中立、或敵意地區人民的關係，藉以促進軍事作戰行動以及統一與達成美國的目標。 「民－軍行動」得包括由軍方執行應由一般地方、區域，或中央政府的職權與行為。此等行為得早於軍事行動、在軍事行動中，或軍事行動後發生。若獲指示，其亦得無其他軍事行動參與。「民－軍行動」得由指定之民政部隊、其他軍事部隊，或民政部隊和其他部隊的組合單位所執行。