---
kind: "section"
citation: "10 U.S.C. § 184"
title: "10"
title_heading: "Armed Forces"
number: "184"
heading: "Civilian Protection Center of Excellence"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/10/184"
units:
  - "Subtitle A — General Military Law"
  - "Part I — Organization and General Military Powers"
  - "Chapter 7 — Boards, Councils, and Committees"
---

# §184. Civilian Protection Center of Excellence

- (a) **Establishment.—** The [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) of Defense shall operate the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence. The purpose of the Center shall be to—
  - (1) serve as the focal point for matters related to civilian casualties and other forms of civilian harm resulting from [military](/usc/10/801.md?p=8) operations involving the [United States](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-1) [Armed Forces](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-4); and
  - (2) institutionalize and advance knowledge, practices, and tools for preventing, mitigating, and responding to civilian harm.
- (b) **Purpose.—** The Center shall be used to—
  - (1) develop standardized civilian-harm operational reporting and data management processes to improve data collection, sharing, and learning across the [Department](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-6) of Defense;
  - (2) develop, recommend, and review guidance, and the implementation of guidance, on how the [Department](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-6) responds to civilian harm;
  - (3) develop recommended guidance for addressing civilian harm across the full spectrum of armed conflict and for use in doctrine and operational plans;
  - (4) recommend [training](/usc/10/301.md?p=9) and exercises for the prevention and investigation of civilian harm;
  - (5) develop a repository of civilian casualty and civilian harm information;
  - (6) capture lessons learned from assessments and investigations of civilian casualty incidents and supporting institutionalization of such lessons learned within policy, doctrine, [training](/usc/10/301.md?p=9), exercises, and tactics, techniques, and procedures of the [Department](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-6) of Defense;
  - (7) support the coordination and synchronization of efforts across combatant commands, the Department of State, and other relevant [United States](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-1) Government [departments](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-6) and [agencies](/usc/10/3451.md?p=3) to prevent, mitigate, and respond to incidents of civilian harm;
  - (8) engage with nongovernmental organizations and civilian casualty experts; and
  - (9) perform such other [functions](/usc/10/467.md?p=1) as the [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) of Defense may specify.
- (c) **Annual Report.—** The [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) of Defense shall submit to the [congressional defense committees](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-16), and make publicly available on an appropriate website of the [Department](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-6), an annual report on the activities of the Center.

## Source credit

(Added Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title X, § 1082(a)(1), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2799.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### Codification

Another section 184 was renumbered section 185 of this title.

### Prior Provisions

A prior section 184 was renumbered section 342 of this title.

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Deadline for Establishment

Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title X, § 1082(b), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2799, provided that: “The Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, as required under section 184 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall be established by not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 23, 2022].”