Rather, in pursuing different LOEs, their outcomes are at best discordant and at worst cancel each other out. Anything you can realistically think of army school wise is pretty much at your fingertips as well of more SOF related stuff . 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. There is NO obligation when you talk to a recruiter. How are the? In sum, civil affairs forces present great potential for helping the United States to compete effectively this new strategic era, across the competition continuum. While the polar and near-polar regions are divided by nation-states, the population there is not. 9.2 Other Special Operations Missions. Any submarine needs ASW. The cruel realities of life below zero require relearning fundamentals. The 92nd Civil Affairs Battalion (US Special Operations Commands Europe-aligned CA unit) is uniquely suited to fulfill the mission set illuminated by Stringers essay. All Active Component Army Civil Affairs personnel are Special Operations Forces-qualified and as such undergo rigorous assessment and selection, followed by extensive training in foreign languages, advanced survivability skills, and negotiations techniques in order to operate autonomously as a small team, in any kind. 3 0 obj hA 04w\GczC. They are enabled by doctrine, trained at echelon, with the right equipment, and manned by Soldiers with the appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully operate in the Arctic. Therefore, the development of Arctic-capable CATs requires specialized training to shoot, move, communicate, and survive. Rather than portending an end to the need for civil affairs forces, strategic competition should prompt us to think about new and creative uses for this unique skillset. Civil affairs forces serve as a natural bridge among the interested parties. Qatar (21-1112) - Temporary Relocation Transit Agreement. They are able to conduct global missions in harsh environments that are politically sensitive or even hostile. Tactical, highly-trained, and physically fit, these four roles each bring a specific expertise to any mission: The face and voice of the team, this Officer is the highest-ranking member and is responsible for planning, coordinating, and leading missions, The most senior enlisted Soldier on the team, the Team Sergeant is responsible for security and protection of the team, This enlisted Soldier leads the team to safely conduct civil engagements, infrastructure evaluations, and day-in-the-life analysis. SOFs need to create an Arctic Force that can deploy rapidly. Incentive for qualified veterinarians to enter and remain on active duty to meet the health care and readiness requirements of the armed forces. From 2016 to 2019, the CCoE CIC branch delegated a CIMIC subject matter expert (SME) and supported ten iterations of Operation Sluss-Tillerthe CA culmination exercise at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Ideal in countering this, CA and CIMIC are two very similar capabilities that operate within human domain, where they must assess and engage the same members of civil societies and establish robust and complex liaison networks. Understanding current doctrine and working to combine elements is what will build the foundation for better overall mission success. "Great Power Competition" will likely see Civil Affairs assume a more prominent role as the United . Among the issues hindering this contribution is the disparity between CA and CIMIC doctrines. The CCoE strives for efficient and effective enhanced cooperation platforms. The commonality of CA and PSYOP includes areas such as cultural expertise, language capability, cross cultural comumunication and skill in working face to face with civilian populations. S 4^ The armed forces of the United States have engaged with civilian leadership, institutions and populations throughout our nations history. Civil Affairs/Military Government was established as an Army Reserve Branch on 17 August 1955. . One has to wonder how easy it is to pack snow to create a runway for fighter and attack jetsand FARPs is one of the main goals of Arctic Warfare. Good luck. United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Today, however, the military is contending with a shift in policy priorities to focus on strategic competitors like China and Russia. 3 Colonel Christopher Holshek, USA, Ret., 2020 Civil Affairs Roundtable Report, Civil Affairs Association,2 May 2020, https://www.civilaffairsassoc.org/ca-issue-papers-reports. CA and CIMIC are required to perform this synchronization (or at least strive for it) when CA personnel arrive in the NATO area of responsibility (AoR). Stringer states that US Special Forces have a civil affairs opportunity with the large number of indigenous governance organizations and bodies. This begs the question: Why not offer this mission to United States Special Operations Commands dedicated civil affairs (CA) unit? The CIC staff member was involved as an enhancement coach and observer, and moreover was the first international instructor to ever assist within the CA Qualification Course. As the program develops, other training opportunities such as the Special Operations Advanced Mountaineering School should be pursued. This is not the case now, as current allied military forces are operating in realms where they have functional authority and capability; U.S. planners have had to relearn, for example, how to obtain host-nation authorizations for movements under stringent Status of Forces Agreements rather than operating with relative independence. He holds a BA in international relations from Boston Universitys Pardee School of Global Studies, where the late professor Michael Corgan ignited his interest in all things Arctic. A common skill vernacular can reduce weeks of cross-training otherwise required to bring the cross-functional team to a functional level to days of developing standard operating procedures as the component members establish a baseline with each other. These operations included time in Bosnia and Herzegovina (NATO Implementation and Stabilization Forces), Kosovo, Iraq (NATO Training Mission in Iraq) and Afghanistan. The role of civil affairs in competition below the level of armed conflict could include support to proxy forces, foreign assistance to grow civil institutions in partner nations, or civil reconnaissance operations. Civil Affairs Soldiers engage and partner with communities around the world, to increase stability, enable local governments, and improve quality of life for civilians. Failure to invest in specialized skills severely inhibits full cross-functional team integration. This included reexamining defense funding by European nations and increased deployments of U.S. forces on European territory. 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. 0000019325 00000 n 0000007312 00000 n x]r9}wTez"bz~I,A") $y9y zz~zMn|um^nm7jE~-|%|"BWEE.U,|W#EA|_("iH Z Civil affairs forces support activities of both conventional and special operations forces, and are capable of assisting and supporting the civil administration in the area of operations. 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. Airborne will be hampered at the landing zone unless it can break out. 0000008321 00000 n 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. The initiator of the project is the NATO CCoE in The Hague, the Netherlands. 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. Similarly, other exercises within the SOCNORTH area of responsibility can be modified to add network development lanes in realistic environments to enable nonstandard logistics, medical, and communication capabilities that support or enable other participating units. The first Civil Affairs units in the Army were formed during World War II. 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. If you are more cerebral and like research and writing and international affairs/ culture, then go PSYOP. However, in the nascent stages of the program, the focus should be on CWIC and the Winter Warfare Course. There exists an opportunity to create momentum through a robust synchronization at conceptual (policy and doctrine), training and education and academic levels. If youre an active-duty or Army Reserve non-commissioned Officer or Officer, you begin at Phase Four. These are constraints that European-based CA especially understands. 0 As part of the Special Operations Forces, active-duty Civil Affairs Soldiers are selected through a tough evaluation process, followed by more training in government, diplomacy, and survival. Will the Arctic War be fought by ski troopers? Simply put, attaching a CAT to a mountain ODA and expecting the resulting cross-functional team to retain its full capability is impossible. ), Compounding it all, Russias dictator has achieved all of this while creating sympathy in elements of the Right that mirrors the sympathy the Soviet Union achieved in elements of the Left. Another consideration to explore is the application of civil affairs capabilities in irregular warfare, which can be a part of competition below armed conflict. Additional units saw service in subsequent conflicts. The Northern Warfare Training Center offers the Cold Weather Leaders Course. q(8c4+oo*}%IW")qN1ePF1Vx+Ex.A% ?^b4|irp/N/+|(7ep#"#Ly~SHGK[dfyebSiTkY4S1h;fOA?qG8byUc>e4 C}~X6r5IsV|"y :=7;&2Jd=VlQy 3 8qiqtRCn$s"-i#jC$*&c^_-kblAFbtK|"c'qjqOlVn{*5_LqoqVgl. Having a robustly synchronized civil-military enterprise for NATO that contains interoperable elements from CIMIC and CA at institutional levels will produce more adaptable and effective civil-military capabilities for battles for influence in hybrid warfare, adaptable to every type of operation that NATO might face in the future. The CA Corps needs to address this. When it comes to the Arctic in peer nation competition, speed and mobility are key factors. Delta operators during Operation Desert Storm. Our Western partners have admitted that some elements of the liberal idea, such as multiculturalism, are no longer tenable, he added. Winter warfare specialists have overcome this problem set in a myriad of ways. The low profile and small size of CATs make them ideal for the implementation of such concepts. 8 NATO Allied Joint Publication 3.19, Joint Doctrine for Civil-Military Cooperation, ed. 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. 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. I like both missions and feel like i would excel in both places. 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). A reorganization of civil affairs could go in a number of different directions, officials . One of the main missions for the 21st TSC is to set the theater to bring over CONUS-based units in support of exercises and operations in order to deter aggression against NATO. Coordinated and synchronized training and education solutions could contribute to a better understanding of respective capabilities and comparative advantages from the very beginningbefore a deployment begins. Within US Special Operations Command is a secretive component . 0000006782 00000 n The authors thank the CCoE, the 21st Theater Sustainment Command and the Civil Affairs Association for the opportunity to publish this paper. A U.S. Army Reserve one-star command, the 7th MSC has the 361st CA Brigade, with one CA battalionthe 457th. By 2020, NATOs understanding of hybrid warfare became much richer. The CAT was actively involved in the S-9 CIMIC daily line of work and took part in planning and operations. As a result of this request, the synchronization project would officially fall under the purview of the NATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) J9 CIMIC Baseline Activities and Current Operations, nested in the synchronized approach with strategic partners in terms of interoperability. Creating mountain warfare CATs and demonstrating a shared skill set builds rapport across SOF by removing infiltration as a barrier to entry for operations. ISVs and HMMWVs will get their wheels clogged with ice and snow. The geographic distance from Europe and competing U.S. commitments to non-NATO regional security interests, however, also results in less U.S. concern about aligning its national military policy and doctrine to that of NATO. As a history and philosophy double major, his interests also meshed well with elements of the Civil Affairs mission. Outside of the northern European plain, these numbers increase drastically; for example, mountainous terrain comprises over two-thirds of both Georgia and Norway. All videos, podcasts, or any other media published or posted by CNA remain subject to our copyright and all applicable rights are reserved unless other ownership or license rights are acknowledged. FORT BRAGG The Special Forces, Psychological Operations and Civil Affairs community named eight new soldiers and veterans and one Army unit as distinguished and honorary members during . This created issues in managing the perceptions and attitudes of the local population, resulting in overall operational effects that confused rather than positively influenced the same communities they worked ini.e., engagement fratricide.. Traditional lubricants freeze and batteries must be kept warm and used sparingly. From 1517 November 2019based on the lessons identified, learned, collected and assessed by the CCoE Lessons Learned and Analysis branch and the official request from the 457th CA Battalion (U.S. Army Reserve)a CCoE mobile training team conducted a pilot NATO CIMIC familiarization course (NCFC) in Grafenwhr, Germany, for U.S. CA officers and NCOs. Training on equipment you do not deploy with and deploying without equipment you trained with greatly hinders the efficacy of this proposal. What is the difference between physically training for Civil Affairs versus Special Fo? She has conducted several studies on civil affairs activities, force structure, and impact for the US Marine Corps. 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. 7 Dr. Gunhild Hoogensen Gjrv, Hybrid Warfare and the Role Civilians Play, E-International Relations,2 August 2018. Stop by Bldg 160 or call a . High north CATs provide the means to maintain access, presence, and influence in a region seeing increased Chinese interest and Russian posturing. 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 CCoE CIC branch bottom-up approach has been successful enough to prompt considerable CA interest at unit levels, but not yet enough for institutional buy-in. In each echelon of the spectrum, these cross-functional teams play different roles. CIMIC forces, of course, understand this as well; they operate almost entirely under NATO direction, even out-of-area. )VT~y;f&{1-'oz3'?_^x'YAGR A Leaders Guide to Conducting Research Staff Rides, Competing in the Arctic through Indigenous Group Engagement and Special Reconnaissance Activities,, Special Operations Advanced Mountaineering School, Its a Bird, Its a Plane, Its. For more information, please see our 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? 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. The Civil Affairs Association hosted its annual web-based Symposium, sponsored by Third-Order Effects, Valka-Mir Security and Conducttr, on 8-10 November 2021. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Civil affairs forces have potential uses in strategic competition that remain unexplored. and our endobj Ive got a good understanding of SF but not CA. Required fields are marked *. In the Hungarian PRT, a U.S. CA team (CAT) was under tactical control of the S-9 (CIMIC and PSYOPS, i.e., psychological operations). ), "Liberal democratic societies have, in the past few decades, undergone a series of revolutionary changes in their social and political life, which are not to the taste of all their citizens. In addition to nurturing the winter warfare skills of the high north CATs, the section will be responsible for equipping them as well. Army Civil Affairs Soldiers work closely in partnership with other government agencies or the militaries of allied nations. Civil affairs forces provide a unique capability to help in population-influencing operations. This continued execution and refinement of the course could institutionalize it as a standardized and accredited NCFC. Security Force Assistance (SFA) is defined as unified action to generate, employ, and sustain local, host nation or regional security forces in support of a legitimate authority. Both units require the most up-to-date technology and weaponry available in order to directly support all Special Missions Unit (Delta and DEVGRU) operations. <>/ExtGState<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> 0000000016 00000 n 0000010530 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. <<76CD822023054E49987215416612F2CF>]/Prev 924102/XRefStm 1498>> 0000001696 00000 n Mountain warfare specialization remains relevant outside polar regions. November 12, 2021. Can I get information on Psyops, SFAS or Civil Affairs positions in SOCOM? Appreciate the input guys. DA Pam 600-3 lists qualifications for entry and promotion in . 3 Special Reconnaissance (SR) 4 Foreign Internal Defense (FID) 5 Counter-terrorism (CT) 6 Psychological Operations (PSYOP) 7 Civil Affairs (CA) 8 Coalition Warfare/Support. 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 Because of this, the interoperability of U.S. forces with other allies matters, whether that means communications capabilities, fitting Lithuanian fuel nozzles onto an M1 Abrams tank, and anything in between, such as understanding the differences and similarities between U.S. and NATO doctrine. The SFODAs usually bring along the most valuable skill of all, an understanding of the native language.