Defense Secretary Austin Orders Creation of Civilian Harm Mitigation Action Plan

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin issued a memorandum on January 27, 2022, directing the creation of the Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan (CHMR-AP), the first comprehensive Pentagon framework for preventing and responding to civilian casualties. The directive came weeks after the New York Times Civilian Casualty Files investigation exposed systemic underreporting of civilian deaths. Austin released the full CHMR-AP on August 25, 2022, containing over 100 specific reform actions.