text: Operations Structure
  * Development of branches and sequels.
  * Completion of objectives, goals, and milestones.
  * The transition of Army operations across the competition continuum or to follow-on military or
  civilian organizations.
  CIVIL INFORMATION COLLECTION PLAN
  4-44. Information requirements are, in intelligence usage, those items of information regarding the adversary
  and other relevant aspects of the operational environment that need to be collected and processed in order to
  meet the intelligence requirements of a commander. (JP 2-0). Commanders cannot successfully accomplish
  activities involved in the operations process without the necessary information to make informed decisions.
  CND, CR, CE, CNA and evaluation, and data mining (the collection of information from a combination of
  open- and restricted-source materials for routine and continuous study and research) should be focused on
  specific civil information requirements and synchronized into the civil information collection plan. For the
  purposes of the mission command, a validated civil information collection plan establishes requirements that,
  when answered, will fill a gap in knowledge and understanding of the civil component through analysis and
  evaluation of civil considerations within an AO and the area of interest.
  4-45. CND, CR, and CE fill identified gaps or requirements in the civil information collection plan and may
  be conducted concurrently with other operations. The commander’s intent, priority intelligence requirements,
  and the CCIRs focus CAO and the civil information collection plan. In return, CA forces execute CKI to
  provide the operations process with a continual flow of essential and actionable civil knowledge during
  offensive, defensive, and stability operations. This civil knowledge enables CA forces to conduct CAO that
  effectively identify and assess civil strengths and vulnerabilities in order to provide commander-driven
  effects in the civil component, thereby enabling U.S. military forces to achieve decisive results.
  Note: FM 3-55 provides the fundamentals of information collection.
  AREA STUDIES
  4-46. CA personnel obtain, analyze, evaluate, and record information in advance of the need. The basic
  evaluation of an area is the CA area study that establishes baseline information relating to the civil
  components of the area in question. The CA area study is a pre-mission study prepared regionally, by country,
  or for a specific subnational area within a country, as the baseline research document for CA operational
  planning. The CA area study presents a description and analysis of the geography, historical setting, and the
  social, political, military, economic, health, legal, education, governance, infrastructure, and national security
  systems and institutions of a country. The CA area study uses a combination of open- and restricted-source
  materials and, when possible, interviews of people who recently operated in the area. CA personnel update
  the information detailed in the CA area study periodically, as required, prior to the receipt of a mission.
  CA requires the ability to retrieve accurate and current data on demand. This requirement necessitates a
  system to capture, store, collate, and produce this data in the form of a report, which is comprised of all
  available collected data at any given time.
  4-47. This baseline information is used as the basis for the creation of the CAO running estimate during the
  planning process. If an area study for a particular area does not already exist, then the CA force must use all
  available resources to develop a hasty study during mission preparation and planning. If unable to develop a
  hasty study, it must use similar research and analysis techniques to produce the initial CAO running estimate,
  which will be continuously updated over time.
  CIVIL AFFAIRS ASSESSMENTS
  4-48. CA assessments provide a precise means to collect meaningful and significant civil information.
  CA Soldiers perform three basic types of assessments—the initial assessment, the deliberate assessment,
  and the survey. Each type of assessment is based upon civil information, requirements necessary to
  understand actual conditions on the ground, and a refinement of information available in previous
  assessments. In addition, each type of assessment in the progression becomes more focused, specific, and