2-43. Combat places civilians in harm’s way. It often affects their access to necessary items, such as food, water, shelter, and emergency medical care. Generally, the responsibility for providing the basic needs of the people within a unit’s AO rests with their government or designated civil authorities, agencies, and organizations. Individual families, private commercial companies, and corporations also provide many of these goods and services. Unit plans for combat operations address the provision of minimum-essential stability tasks—providing civil security, food, water, shelter, and emergency medical treatment—to civilians located within their AO in accordance with the laws of war and international standards. Unit commanders balance the provision of those minimum-essential stability tasks with their capability to conduct the offense or defense. Units address area security and the six primary stability tasks as practical until they can transfer responsibility for those tasks to another organization. The six primary stability tasks are—