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.
[2] 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.
For the United States military, the use of money through CERP was considered an effective counterinsurgency weapon.
[3] By January 2011, the United States Military spent $2 billion on 16,000 projects in Afghanistan over 6 years using CERP to assist the people.
[4] The projects ranged in size from renovating schools, building wells to much larger public works and infrastructure reconstruction.