Commander's Emergency Response Program

Commander's Emergency Response Program or CERP is money for military commanders to use for conducting rebuilding and reconstruction during the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. It was initially money seized during the invasion of Iraq, but later was also U.S. Federally appropriated funds. The military must use the money for the benefit of the Iraqi or Afghan people, such as public roads, schools and medical clinics or humanitarian aid. The funds for CERPs come from the Department of Defense. The use of funds in the field can be authorized by military commanders at the brigade level. The rules governing the use of such funds will be based on any Congressional restrictions in the legislation, and will be tailored to the needs of the particular operation. Ap

The Commander's Emergency Response Program (CERP) enables local commanders in Afghanistan and Iraq to respond with a nonlethal weapon to urgent, small-scale, humanitarian relief, and reconstruction projects and services that immediately assist the indigenous population and that the local population or government can sustain. The Department of Defense (DOD) defines urgent as any chronic or acute inadequacy of an essential good or service that in the judgment of the local commander calls for immediate action. Prior coordination with community leaders increases goodwill. With most small-scale projects (less than $500 thousand [K]), CERP is a quick and effective method that provides an immediate, positive impact on the local population while other larger reconstruction projects are still getting off the ground. The keys to project selection are: Execute quickly. Employ many people from the local population. Benefit the local population. Be highly visible.