As most of you know, not only am I
an author, but I am also an active duty Soldier in the U.S. Army.
Starting this Tuesday and for the next year, I will be actively engaged
in time-intensive training. (For those of you who have been following my posts for the past year, you know that I will be starting the Civil Affairs q-course, which involves Airborne school at Fort Benning, and then ten+ months of language and MOS training at Fort Bragg.) I will not be able to get online as often as
I have been, but I will continue to try my best to keep you updated on
the latest and greatest. Here's the rundown (I may not get many more opportunities
to remind you):
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If you have questions about anything, please continue to message me. I
will get back to you at my earliest convenience. For additional
information about me and all of my books, please visit my official
website via this link: www.caseyseanharmon.com.
Don't forget about me!
Thanks for reading, and thank you for being the best friends/fans in the world! :) Casey Sean Harmon Bestselling author www.caseyseanharmon.com
The purpose of this post is to help prepare interested Soldiers/Officers to take that first step toward becoming a Civil Affairs Specialist/Officer. All of the information put out here is public information and their sources can be found at the bottom of this post. I hope that you will find this information both informative and inspiring.
First off, who am I?
My name is SGT Harmon, and I am an active duty Soldier currently serving as a 56M (Chaplain Assistant). About nine months ago I decided that I wanted to try something different with my Army career, and so I started researching the Special Operations side of the house. (You can find information on the different Army SP OPS branches HERE.)
The branch that immediately caught my attention was 38B (Civil Affairs). I submitted my packet, and within weeks I received a letter saying that my packet had been accepted and that I was good to move on to the next phase: CAAS (Civil Affairs Assessment and Selection.)
About seven months ago I attended and passed the rigorous 10-day selection course at Camp McCall (Fort Bragg, NC). Please do not ask me what the selection course was like, I can not give out that information. However, I will say this: Do not show up unprepared! Ask your recruiter to send you a physical fitness schedule and stick to it! The course is designed to push you to the utmost both physically and mentally. After all, you are trying to enter a component of the U.S. Army Special Operations forces!
What is Civil Affairs?
According to the Special Operations Recruiting Battalion website, "Although Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations activities
often complement each other, each battle system operates individually
in support of field commanders. Civil Affairs Soldiers are the field commander's link
to the civil authorities in his area of operations. With specialists
in every area of the government, they can assist a host government
meet its people's needs and maintain a stable and viable civil
administration." You can read the full article HERE.
Each civil affairs team is made up of a captain; a team sergeant; a team NCO, who is usually the team engineer; and the team medic. Though each has their own specialties, the members of the team are able to fill everyone else’s roles, if necessary. Teams within the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne) are rapidly deployable; advise the combatant commanders or ambassadors on regional, cultural and local issues; and act as liaisons to nongovernmental agencies, information operations and U.S. government agencies. (Read more HERE).
Rank SPC-SFC. Reference packet for TIG and TIS requirements.
Must have WLC.
ASVAB TECH Score 100 or above.
PULHES 111221 or better.
Security Verification, Interim.
DLAB score of 65 or higher or current DLPT with results within 12 months if you are language qualified.
OFFICERS:
Eligible for a Top Secret security clearance under provisions of AR 380-67.
Possess a baccalaureate degree or
enrolled in the degree completion program obtaining degree no later than
the start date of qualification course.
Possess a Defense Language Aptitude
Battery (DLAB) score of 65 or above or have foreign language ability
as demonstrated by an acceptable Defense Language Proficiency Test
(DLPT) score of 1/1 or higher.
Be a YG 2010 Office.
Male and Female Officers may apply.
ALL APPLICANTS MUST:
Pass and be selected from the Civil Affairs Assessment and Selection course (Camp McCall, NC).
Be Airborne qualified or willing to volunteer for airborne training.
Possess an APFT card within 6 months (at least 70% in each event) & DA From 5500R Body fat content worksheet if needed.
If you pass Selection, your next step will be to go through the Q-course. The qualification course (or Q-course) is a pipeline that consists of:
Airborne school (if not already Airborne qualified) (3 weeks)
Introduction to CA (2 weeks)
Defense Language school (18-25 weeks)
Civil Affairs NCO Academy (11 Weeks)
CULEX (3 weeks)
Graduation (1 week)
For those of you who would like to know more about what Civil Affairs is all about (or if you have already passed Selection and are studying for the Q-course), these sources contain some really good information:
