Composite Risk Management (or CRM) is a decision-making process designed by the US military to address hazards and control risks in their missions, operations, and activities. This new process represents a shift in thinking away from a generalized "what to think" mentality and instead teaches soldiers "how to think". CRM also realizes that loss is loss, regardless of when, where or why, and no longer separates accident risk and tactical risk, or the function where they occur.

CRM's primary goal is to moderate the risks that could result in injuring or killing personnel, damage of military equipment, or compromise the effectiveness of a mission in any way.

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The steps of CRM are as follows: Identify Hazards, Assess Hazards, Develop Controls & Make Decisions, Implement Controls, and Supervise & Evaluate. These steps should be applied in all activities, both inside and outside of missions.

When identifying hazards, it is important to consider any condition that could cause illness, injury, death, damage, loss, or compromise a mission.

CRM uses a system of charts and codes to determine the severity of risks in question. These are categorized on a hazard scale of IV – I (IV – Negligible, III – Marginal, II – Critical, and I – Catastrophic) and a probability scale from E – A (E – Unlikely, D – Seldom, C – Occasional, B – Likely, A – Frequent). Once hazards are assessed, they can be either eliminated or reduced by leaders.

Once these precautions have been applied, is it important to reassess the risk. If the reduction or elimination is successful, these controls should be integrated into SOP, orders, briefings, and other verbal and written guidelines, and then supervised and enforced.

CRM can directly correlate and fit inside the Army's Command and Control (C2) system. The first two steps can be related to the Plan phase, the third step is part of the Prepare phase, and the last two steps are likened to the Execute phase. Additionally, CRM fits hand in hand with the MDMP, the Military Decision Making Process.

CRM is a cyclic process- it is never complete. It requires everybody to be aware of risks, and use protocol to eliminate these risks. This falls on the shoulders of every individual, manager, and commander. If applied correctly, these precautions can help maintain organization, promote safety, minimize injury and loss of life, minimize damage and loss of equipment, save time, and reduce costs.

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