Humanitarian civic assistance activities
Encyclopedia
Humanitarian Civic Assistance (HCA) is the United States Department of Defense
's (DoD) term for relief and development activities that take place in the context of an overseas military exercise, training or operation. Under the HCA program, U.S. military personnel
participating in overseas deployments carry out humanitarian activities such as road and school construction, vaccination of children and animals, and well-digging. HCA programs are often executed with the involvement of host-country civilian and military personnel. U.S. National Guard or reserve units are involved in many HCA activities.
HCA programs cannot be carried out solely for humanitarian purposes. The deployment's primary purpose must be training of U.S. forces, readiness exercises or military operations. In describing the deployments which HCA accompanies, DoD states that
HCA activities are now being described as "a key tool in the War on Terrorism
." According to DoD, HCA activities
The Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) program falls within the HCA programs authorized by Section 401 of Title 10, U.S. Code
. The HMA program trains host nations in clearing landmines and other explosive remnants of war, while also providing U.S. military personnel with training and readiness-enhancing experiences by giving them "access to geographical areas otherwise not easily available to US forces." The program is directly supervised by the geographic combatant commanders.
The budget for Humanitarian Civic Assistance projects is presented in a yearly Defense Department report. The amounts indicate "incidental expenses" -- the cost of materials, supplies, and some services. The funding listed below does not include costs for transportation, personnel, fuel, or the repair of equipment. Expenses reported as HCA are only those components of a deployment which are directly related to the project at hand. Thus the dollar amounts categorized as "HCA" are very small when compared with the activity's actual expense.
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
's (DoD) term for relief and development activities that take place in the context of an overseas military exercise, training or operation. Under the HCA program, U.S. military personnel
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
participating in overseas deployments carry out humanitarian activities such as road and school construction, vaccination of children and animals, and well-digging. HCA programs are often executed with the involvement of host-country civilian and military personnel. U.S. National Guard or reserve units are involved in many HCA activities.
HCA programs cannot be carried out solely for humanitarian purposes. The deployment's primary purpose must be training of U.S. forces, readiness exercises or military operations. In describing the deployments which HCA accompanies, DoD states that
HCA activities are now being described as "a key tool in the War on Terrorism
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
." According to DoD, HCA activities
The Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) program falls within the HCA programs authorized by Section 401 of Title 10, U.S. Code
Title 10 of the United States Code
Title 10 of the United States Code outlines the role of armed forces in the United States Code.It provides the legal basis for the roles, missions and organization of each of the services as well as the United States Department of Defense...
. The HMA program trains host nations in clearing landmines and other explosive remnants of war, while also providing U.S. military personnel with training and readiness-enhancing experiences by giving them "access to geographical areas otherwise not easily available to US forces." The program is directly supervised by the geographic combatant commanders.
The budget for Humanitarian Civic Assistance projects is presented in a yearly Defense Department report. The amounts indicate "incidental expenses" -- the cost of materials, supplies, and some services. The funding listed below does not include costs for transportation, personnel, fuel, or the repair of equipment. Expenses reported as HCA are only those components of a deployment which are directly related to the project at hand. Thus the dollar amounts categorized as "HCA" are very small when compared with the activity's actual expense.