When it comes to the Arctic in peer nation competition, speed and mobility are key factors. 1st Special Forces Commands A Vision for 2021 and Beyond expressly highlights the need for integrated, cross-functional SOF at the micro level. startxref U.S. CA is by far the largest civil-military cooperation capability in NATO. However, at this crucial juncture, the civil affairs regiment is not prepared to operate in the high north, whether organically or in a cross-functional team. There is potential for these forces to leverage prior investments in cooperation and competition to improve outcomes following armed conflict. This is key to success going forward. Their intelligence, interpersonal skills, cultural sensitivity, and foreign language proficiency help sway opinions and actions of foreign governments, groups, and individuals. Indeed, formations cannot simply be re-purposed or provide (sic) add-on capability to be proficient and survive arctic conditions. Instead, they require specialized training and equipment. Unique features of the Civil Affairs branch a. See the Army University Press Sep-Oct edition of Military Review and, therein, the article " Russian New Generation Warfare: Deterring and Winning at the Tactical Level, by James Derleth). CA guys can go to a much larger set of schools and training than your normal soldier can. This can be overcome through deliberate training to a set standard across US Special Operations Command. Our Western partners have admitted that some elements of the liberal idea, such as multiculturalism, are no longer tenable, he added. They are able to conduct global missions in harsh environments that are politically sensitive or even hostile. 0000019134 00000 n Implementation of a robust synchronized civil-military capability would require several changes across doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, facilities and policy (DOTMLPF-P) spectrums. What is the goalto guard the snow, ice, trees, and wildlife? 0000016450 00000 n By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. 2 Colonel Christopher Holshek, USA, Ret., Integrating Civil Affairs: Civil Affairs Issue Papers, Vol. An example of civil affairs in cooperative efforts might involve engaging partner nation local governments, civil aviation authorities and port authorities in support of military training exercises. They also work to protect civilians and . This, after all, is the very basis of Putin's grand strategy: In his annual appeal to the Federal Assembly in December 2013, Putin formulated this independent path ideology by contrasting Russias traditional values with the liberal values of the West. 0000007312 00000 n In cooperation, they serve as 0000006650 00000 n Without commonly accessible training and education solutions to utilize and build on the synchronized doctrine background, the existing gap between the two civil-military enterprises cannot be bridged. No, it is to repel the attackers from establishing a foothold and destroying key infrastructure and speed and mobility are key, so too is what is brought to the fight. But if that is the goal, would ski and snowtroopers be the best forms of attack? Traditional lubricants freeze and batteries must be kept warm and used sparingly. Section 303 (a) Veterinary Corps Officer Special Pay. Insurance in Japan, Manes, Alfred, January 1945. In the council, eight Arctic states share membership status with six Indigenous Permanent Participant organizations, who in many cases enjoy de jure administration of their ancestral lands. If, by some course of bad luck you are Non-Select again, then try out for CA. Nurse was the most popular job in the U.S. Government in 2021, with 86,840 employed. In 2021, the Veterans Health Administration hired the most employees titled Nurse, with an average salary of $101,469. The radio and SATCOMs are lightning quick, but to link up with people and scouts, the SOFs will need a vehicle that can do this very well, and that vehicle should be tracked. CA and CIMIC have been working together; but, as with any relationship where cultures and norms are different or not fully understood, stereotypes and misinformation exist. Thus, the movies of soldiers in white snowsuits attacking and shooting for what objectives remain elusive. Among the issues hindering this contribution is the disparity between CA and CIMIC doctrines. Existing CCoE courses, the CA Qualification course at Fort Bragg and the USMC CMO course could all be co-leveraged more conscientiously. The CCoE has taken a mostly bottom-up approach in its U.S. CA and NATO CIMIC synchronization project; top-down procedures result in a long and arduous process. Tracked UGVs might work but soldiers often don't ride UGVs. In 1633 and 1634 Samuel de Champlain wrote to Cardinal Richelieu of France. A significant commonality was how both operated in failing or failed states outside of the NATO area, with non-existent or non-functional governments. CATs are active in exercise support as well as in training and education activities that are conducted with CIMIC units and in conjunction with the U.S. embassies within the countries. Mountaineering experience significantly enhances existing CA missions, such as those in the Caucasus and Balkans. This ten-day course familiarizes small-unit leaders in brigade combat teams with the principles of operating in Arctic and sub-Arctic conditions. United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. This is particularly true for some newer NATO members, former Warsaw Pact countries that have rebuilt their military forces for conventional threats and are now facing hybrid warfare. The PLA also does not have units equivalent to U.S. Civil Affairs units. Combines Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training and focuses on combat tactics and reconnaissance, Learn to safely jump from an aircraft and how to conduct airborne military operations, Complete intense mental and physical conditioning to prepare for the Civil Affairs selection process, Find out if youre selected to join Civil Affairs based on your character, courage, commitment, and intellect, Learn the basic skills needed to lead small teams of Soldiers and the skills needed to advance to the rank of Sergeant, Study Army doctrine and conflict operations, field training exercises, organized problem-solving, and a foreign language, Get assigned as an enlisted Soldier to the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade at Fort Bragg; get assigned as an Officer to either the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade or the 83rd Civil Affairs Battalion at Fort Bragg, To become a Civil Affairs Medical Sergeant, youll attend 44 weeks of additional Special Operations Medic training, with an emphasis on trauma medicine field care. 0 Qatar (22-919) - Protocol Amending the Temporary Relocation Transit Agreement of November 12, 2021. Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 . Policy. What I would add about CA is that it's original, key mission, is to liaison with the civilian environment, and in particular the civil leaders of the area your unit operates in, obstensibly in order to accomplish mission objectives. What is the difference between physically training for Civil Affairs versus Special Fo? Many attendees at the 2020 Civil Affairs Roundtable thought that U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR) should reconsider its recent decision to disband the 361st CA Brigadean Army Reserve CA command with longstanding experience and solid working relations with NATO CIMIC forces that also forms a sizeable portion of NATOs ready civil-military capability in-theater.3. <>/Metadata 1239 0 R/ViewerPreferences 1240 0 R>> The CA Corps needs to address this. (6) The Civil Affairs Team conducts CAO . The CCoE provides CIMIC with subject matter expertise to support both the transformational process and operational requests of NATO as its main objectives. Colorado: Fort Carson 719-524-1461. Responsible for the teams overall health, this enlisted Soldier provides a medical analysis of an operational area to help plan civil missions. All Civil Affairs (CA) Soldiers who graduate from SOF CAQC should be awarded a " Civil Affairs'' tab. Symbols' value lies beyond what they depict or the material they are constructed from. In this region, the lines between traditional government and indigenous governance are blurred, and on-the-ground conditions cannot be divined from capitals thousands of kilometers away. Discussion of their relevance to each other is not at all reflected within their highest doctrinal references, despite the overlaps in missions, capabilities and practical approachesand their exceptional importance as forces of influence in great-power competition. DA Pam 600-3 lists qualifications for entry and promotion in . Some of the ca dudes can choose to be the team medics and go to SOCM and other medic course either civilian or army related A reorganization of civil affairs could go in a number of different directions, officials . How I look at both, there seems to be alot of overlap between the two so as I said any help distinguishing them and explaining what you liked about each would be great. Just gathering info and trying to get a better understanding of them. In 2021, Italy is becoming a sponsoring nation, while Denmark and Slovenia are ceasing sponsorship. "I knew that there's Special Forces and these other kinds of branches in the special operations community, but I wasn't aware of Civil Affairs," he says. 5 out of 5 stars (153) $ 85.00. The section will maintain specialized equipment that would be cost-prohibitive and unnecessary to purchase for six individual CATs. 0000061881 00000 n Any submarine needs ASW. Some of this is changing closer to the frontline with CA and CIMIC collaboration through joint public information operations, in coordination with civilian governments; similarly, this was done during the Cold War to inform the population of exercise impacts and to assist with messaging in support of NATO interests and objectives. Ad vertisement from shop LoveBirdsCrafting. 0000015580 00000 n Additional units saw service in subsequent conflicts. While there are clearly opportunities for civil affairs units to contribute within that continuum between cooperation and armed conflict the document does not explicitly mention civil affairs. The Special Forces, Psychological Operations and Civil Affairs community named 20 new soldiers, civilians and veterans as distinguished and honorary members during induction ceremonies this . Civil Affairs Soldiers engage and partner with communities around the world, to increase stability, enable local governments, and improve quality of life for civilians. It must be paired with dedicated winter warfare training. For more information, please see our Civil affairs forces provide a unique capability to help in population-influencing operations. Where they differ is in the actual mission and skills involved. Failure to invest in specialized skills severely inhibits full cross-functional team integration. A mountain certification increases opportunities for training within a cross-functional team or with partner forces, participation in host nation exercises, and partnership with existing search-and-rescue or mountaineering networks, furthering access to the region and broadening opportunities to enhance civil resiliency in the region. That said, CA and CIMIC are very similar in some ways, including that they provide commanders a better understanding of the civil component of the operational environment, allowing commanders to address civil factors that enable achievement of military objectives. As an instructor course, CWIC is designed to export knowledge to parent units, which would allow a CA company to focus a training cycle on a winter environment with a reduced need to outsource training and instructors. Depending on which path you take, there are different requirements youll need to meet in order to become part of a Civil Affairs team: A Civil Affairs Soldier is someone who is physically fit, tactically skilled, and culturally aware of their surroundings. Recently, Project 6633 asked authors to answer the question, How can American special operations forces compete with near-peer adversaries in the polar regions? The winning essay, Competing in the Arctic through Indigenous Group Engagement and Special Reconnaissance Activities, penned by Colonel Kevin D. Stringer, proposes US Army Special Forces should be the primary special operations effort in the high north due to their heritage and experience conducting engagement with the indigenous population. A Civil Affairs team is a team unlike any other. Training on equipment you do not deploy with and deploying without equipment you trained with greatly hinders the efficacy of this proposal. Infiltration or movement techniques cannot serve as a barrier to SOF integration. Thank you!! July 26, 2022 by Marty Skovlund, Jr. The authors thank the CCoE, the 21st Theater Sustainment Command and the Civil Affairs Association for the opportunity to publish this paper. While they also need to employ effective communication skills, the CA teams bring functional expertise in civilian fields such . Which method of Travel do you prefer?and why? ISVs and HMMWVs will get their wheels clogged with ice and snow. V. Manning, January 1945. Newly-drafted Deterrence and Defense Plans have included measures like NATOs Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) in the Baltics and reinitiating large-scale field exercises, which means that U.S. forcesincluding CAare interacting and cooperating again with European NATO countries with greater regularity, as during the Cold War. 0000063785 00000 n Civil Affairs/Military Government was established as an Army Reserve Branch on 17 August 1955. . 793 0 obj <> endobj The CCoE director is engaging with key leaders of CA institutions in order to reenergize instructor exchanges such as the addition of a CA officer and a senior NCO to the full-time staff at the CCoE. Additionally, they will serve as an institutional link to other military and civilian organizations to ensure that units receive the most modern, safe, and tested techniques and methodologies available. Ryan Hooper, right, a 7th grade teacher in Philadelphia, making him the first Soldier to be directly commissioned as a civil affairs military government specialist at Fort Hamilton, N.Y., March 19, 2022. A U.S. Army Reserve one-star command, the 7th MSC has the 361st CA Brigade, with one CA battalionthe 457th. As home to many autonomous indigenous groups who participate as peers to nation-states in intergovernmental organizations, the Arctic presents both an opportunity to apply the governance expertise of a CA team and an opportunity for a team to hone its craft. Curriculum sharing needs to be discussed, determined and programmed, as does the sharing of best practices such as analysis and assessment procedures, TTPs, engagement with civilian actors, etc. Furthermore, two iterations of the enhanced NCFC are planned for execution in the United States in 2021. 9 Department of the Army, Field Manual 3-57, Civil Affairs Operations (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, April 2019). We cannot wait for a crisis to develop this capability. The CCoE establishes and sustains relationships and networks with civilian and military organizations to establish lines of consultation and cooperation. There is also the so-called liberal idea, which has outlived its purpose. The United States also increased troop presence across Eastern European countries, from Poland to Bulgaria. 0000009963 00000 n This is the flashpoint for the necessity of training for each element, so that shared understanding can assist in pursuing common goals and achieving unified action. In several locations, CATs operate mainly around areas where U.S. forces are based, transiting or exercising in order to mitigate issues that arise from military operations and so ensure minimal impacts on both the local population and on military requirements. Like CA, they have limited authority to operate within their own home borders. Appreciate the input guys. Including Special Forces, Civil Affairs, Psychological operations, 160th SOAR, Explosive Ordnance Explosives, Warrant officers, 75th Ranger Regiment, and how to get started. Starting in 2014, NATO has had to redirect focus on countering hybrid warfare in its own AoR rather than out-of-area. Hybrid warfare, although not new, works below the threshold of conventional war.4 It is complex, and adaptive to culture, historical legacies, geography and available political, economic, informational and military means.5 There is increasing evidence that hybrid warriors are waging war via the internet against civil society in the Western world, sowing societal divisions and promoting hyper-polarized politics.6 The major lesson of warfare from the past two decades is that hybrid warfare focuses on population centers.7 Its center of gravity are target civil societies. Expecting interoperability because of a task organization chart, at best, breeds animosity between units and, at worst, turns an ad hoc addition to the team into a liability. Psychological Operations. U.S. forces have had to face some growing pains relearning this new-old norm. The U.S. military, along with many allies and partners, has frequently served in conflict-torn regions, where it has easily dominated the battlespace. The first Civil Affairs units in the Army were formed during World War II. 0000013947 00000 n Organization. As Olavi Alakulppi (1915-1990,) a U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel of the Quarter Master Corps once told me, "A mountain climber without a rifle, is not a soldier". As the program develops, other training opportunities such as the Special Operations Advanced Mountaineering School should be pursued. I dont like my current mos. Essentially, failure to address this capability gap cedes access, presence, and influence in the region to Washingtons competitors. Here are their numbers: Alaska: Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson 907-384-7467. Leadership. Which is a better fit? The DOD should consider how civil affairs forces might be relevant within each of the three main elements of the continuum as laid out in Joint Doctrine Note 1-19 : cooperation, competition below the level of armed conflict, and armed conflict. As noted in Regaining Arctic Dominance, climatic shifts will cause permafrost to thaw, resulting in formerly secure infrastructure such as roadways, airfields, and bridges becoming inoperable. 0000019325 00000 n Must not our special operations forces be funded, trained, equipped, deployed, etc.. b. The information they would have gathered and relationships they would have built would likely prove valuable to rebuilding efforts and possibly add to the integrity of civil institutions as U.S. forces withdraw. Sure, there are SATCOM, radars, military bases, and cities in the Arctic that have strategic value, but I would think that any Arctic War would be mechanized and the SOFs aren't mechanized. Tactical PSYOP Teams (TPT) would parachute in with the ODA's and set up underground radio stations and newsletters. Properly trained and equipped high north CA teams open the door for a variety of engagements within the SOCNORTH and SOCEUR areas of responsibility. Other than building relationships that can be quickly leveraged in crisis and competition, this kind of inside knowledge is among the many values-added of in-theater CA forces. The training to be a Civil Affairs Soldier is rigorous, but only to ensure the teams can survive in tough landscapes, quickly analyze threats under pressure, and develop solutions to difficult problems around the world. The cross-pollination of institutional and operational capacities in both directions would be significantly mutually beneficial. During pre-mission training and mission preparation, in addition to just getting to know each other, CA and CIMIC should be sharing reports, contacts, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and mission and area analyses for the benefit of a collective wider perspective. Army Civil Affairs Soldiers work closely in partnership with other government agencies or the militaries of allied nations. The result is a force lacking legitimacy and facing an existential crisis. Special Forces battalion, and regional Civil-Military Support Element (CMSE) at the tactical level. Development of a familiarization course should assist CIMIC professionals with the same understanding of CA. Doctrine. Introduction United States Army civil affairs (CA) and NATO civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) forces are key to countering or minimizing threats that hybrid warfare imposes, especially within the battle of influence to control the narrative. We saw this most recently in Afghanistan, where civil affairs forces worked extensively with local institutions and personnel to help restore order to civil society, rebuild, and grow lasting relationships with civil actors. Mike Mathews did a great job capturing the essence here. Can I get information on Psyops, SFAS or Civil Affairs positions in SOCOM? Together, these civil affairs forces support relationships with allies and partners through theater security cooperation, disaster response and other, largely peaceful efforts not tied to armed operations. This shared history forms the basis of a better common understanding. Fortunately, this problem set is not unique to the civil affairs regiment, and low-cost solutions exist within the Department of Defense. You will provide a capability to find, disrupt, and . The crucial factor in considering civil affairs in irregular warfare is the opportunity and battle for influence. Together, the CCoE and the Civil Affairs Association are in a unique position to be main drivers behind synchronization; as facilitating partners, they are the logical choice to coordinate workshops, finance intellectual capitalization projects and develop relevant courses. The NATO CIMIC training package developed by the CCoE Training and Education (T&E) and CIC branches were shared with USMC CA representatives in Iraq during the 2018 Mosul Storm operation to facilitate Iraqi Force CIMIC capacity building. Civil affairs specialists can quickly and systematically identify critical requirements needed by local citizens in war or disaster situations. They make sure Army commanders are aware of what civilian communities abroad might need when caught in crisis zones, while also helping to direct the distribution of humanitarian aid in both combat and non-combat zones. As per Figure 3, within the spectrum between cooperation to conflict, Special Forces' role shifts according to the position on the spectrum. 0000008321 00000 n Here are the attrition rates: AFSOC's STO selection has a 79% attrition rate and the qualification course has a 17% attrition rate. Personally having served as a CA officer and working with the PSYOPs teams, I would stay CA - but it is really dependent upon your skills AND interests. Compared with the rest of the PRT, this resource asymmetry proved problematic. Building on last year's discussion and the realization that Civil Affairs (CA) can help the Army to better understand strategic competition, this year's theme was "Building a . Indeed, the Civil Affairs Association refers to influence as a civil affairs forces greatest talent and weapon in a list of maxims on civil affairs employment. Government Nurse jobs are classified under the General Schedule (GS) payscale. Civil affairs forces have potential uses in strategic competition that remain unexplored. The armed forces of the United States have engaged with civilian leadership, institutions and populations throughout our nations history. I'm aware you need to be a captain at least. It is one of only two active duty civil affairs brigades, reducing nearly half of the force structure for the Army's active duty civil affairs. Mountaineering by itself does not bestow Arctic capability. As a combined arms team, a Special Forces A-Team, AKA SFODA, is uniquely trained, organized and equipped to create real and psychological effects in remote contested and denied areas. I like both missions and feel like i would excel in both places. The section will assist the CATs with scheduling and coordinating training opportunities across echelons. These are constraints that European-based CA especially understands. Meanwhile, mission experience demonstrated the significant differences between CA and CIMIC lines of effort (LoEs), even while they were operating under the same command structures. Civil Affairs Branch 15 September 2022 1. The two governing doctrines for CIMIC and CA do not cross-reference each another. The areas most affected would be doctrine, organization and training; how do they need to change in both CIMIC and CA? Master Sergeant Robert Nicholson, a Civil Affairs NCO, is the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Assistant Chief of Staff, G9 NCO in Charge. Reach out and we'll help you get there. Especially in engaging non-military actors in a more coordinated manner, better adjusted to host-nation constraints and situational demands, NATO-U.S. collaboration of civil-military activities on the ground would also help to enhance host-nation government responses and civilian resilience and preparedness in the face of hybrid and other threats. Wording may differ between the doctrines, but many concepts are similar enough to require only a translation to enable greater interoperability. Why wait for commissioning? Having a common knowledge base of respective CA and CIMIC capabilities is paramount to strengthening NATO, improving the abilities to deter especially hybrid threat threats, achieve mission success and minimize duplication of efforts. Among many issues, activities from this team resulted in a wasteful and counterproductive duplication of civil-military efforts. He said: We know that there are more and more people in the world who support our position on defending traditional values that have made up the spiritual and moral foundation of civilization in every nation for thousands of years: the values of traditional families, real human life, including religious life, not just material existence but also spirituality, the values of humanism and global diversity. He proclaimed that Russia would defend and advance these traditional values in order to prevent movement backward and downward, into chaotic darkness and a return to a primitive state., In Putins view, the fight over values is not far removed from geopolitical competition. A reasonable question, re: my "threat" suggestion above, this would seem to be: Just what population groups does Russia intend to deploy its special operations forces to recruit and develop as their "permanently operating fronts" in the polar regions and indeed elsewhere throughout the world? Civil Affairs Officers direct and participate in the conduct of civil affairs command support, foreign-internal defense, unconventional warfare, civil administration, and numerous other missions, both overt and covert, in peacetime or when activated for crisis or war. Little had a similar experience. 0000001696 00000 n A synchronization project proposed by the NATO CIMIC Center of Excellence (CCoE) would serve as a way to improve collaboration between CA and CIMIC by developing a shared understanding of doctrine, tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) to better contribute to the NATO Deterrence and Defense of the Euro-Atlantic Area concept. Ik Ill get great fulfillment out of SF but I wanted to know what you think the benefits of going CA vs SF?? Given the realities of the emerging security environment and its impact on civil-military enterprises, the CCoE established a framework for CA and CIMIC capabilities to explore cooperation. As to this such question, let us at least initially NOT consider it from a "polar regions" perspective alone, but, rather, more from the perspective of the larger ambitions of a near-peer adversary, for example, those of Russia. Their value is . Used during peacetime, contingencies and declared war . However, as the Army's Arctic strategy, . Studying how local groups interact with highly developed state and national institutions is critical as we strive to map networks, identify vulnerabilities, and strengthen the national resiliency of our allies and partners. Therefore I'd have to disagree that "The Civil Affairs Teams in the 85th CA Brigade are ready-made Security Force . In space where conventional state infrastructure is ceded to bottom-up, locally derived systems, CA provides an opportunity to strengthen our allies and partners.