civil affairs vs special forces

Teaching Technology, Innovation, and Great Power Competition at Stanford, Part 5: Lessons Learned. 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. Within the civil affairs community, pundits invariably propose the same two solutions to every problem with the Army Reserve civil affairs force: move Army Reserve civil affairs back to US Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), and send Army Reserve civil affairs officers and NCOs through the active component qualification pipeline. Among the issues hindering this contribution is the disparity between CA and CIMIC doctrines. 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. 461-462, Champlain's Dream, David Hackett Fisher 2008), As to the question How can American special operations forces compete with near-peer adversaries in the polar regions?. The SFODAs usually bring along the most valuable skill of all, an understanding of the native language. 0000001498 00000 n 9 Humanitarian and Civic Action (HCA) 9.1 Other Individual Missions. ; Special Operations are defined as operations conducted by specially trained, equipped and organized Department of Defense forces against strategic or tactical targets in pursuit of . 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. For many of those, who might be called social conservatives, Russia has become a more agreeable society, at least in principle, than those they live in. These remote environments where indigenous populations and critical infrastructure intersect are prime candidates for civil reconnaissance. And, once in the area of operations, CA and CIMIC units could execute their civil-military activities more cohesively to stay ahead of adversaries. Most national-level civil affairs operations conducted by the PLA requiring intergovernmental coordination fall under the purview of the General Staff and . Skis and snowshoes replace foot movement. This ten-day course familiarizes small-unit leaders in brigade combat teams with the principles of operating in Arctic and sub-Arctic conditions. Special Forces battalion, and regional Civil-Military Support Element (CMSE) at the tactical level. Creating mountain warfare CATs and demonstrating a shared skill set builds rapport across SOF by removing infiltration as a barrier to entry for operations. Outside of the northern European plain, these numbers increase drastically; for example, mountainous terrain comprises over two-thirds of both Georgia and Norway. Furthermore, they will serve as subject matter experts capable of facilitating winter environment training for their companies. Conversely, CIMIC staffs within NATO Force Structure and Command Structure also have a deficit of knowledge about U.S. CA policy, mandates, capabilities and modus operandi. 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. 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. Civil affairs forces have potential uses in strategic competition that remain unexplored. Both are tailored toward SOF-particular techniques, and therefore bolster SOF interoperability. Civil Affairs Soldiers engage and partner with communities around the world, to increase stability, enable local governments, and improve quality of life for civilians. Our adversaries are not waiting. Furthermore, what military presence does exist is often minimal and sometimes explicitly absent. 3003 Washington Boulevard Suite 200, Arlington Virginia 22201 | 703-824-2000, Copyright © 2023 CNA All rights reserved. Symbols' value lies beyond what they depict or the material they are constructed from. 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. The cruel realities of life below zero require relearning fundamentals. A recent example of uncoordinated civil-military activities can be found in the ISAF Hungarian Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Baghlan Province, Afghanistan. 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 . 0000006650 00000 n 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. Therefore, maintaining an accurate common operational picture of these environments requires persistent access and presence. "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. 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. 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. Today, we know these activities as civil military operations, typically conducted by civil affairs forces. 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. The crucial factor in considering civil affairs in irregular warfare is the opportunity and battle for influence. 6 Buddhika Jayamaha and Franky Matisek, Hybrid war: attacking the civil in civil society, The War Room,13 April 2018. 0 Currently, CATs do not train on specialized infiltration techniques such as mountaineering. The recommendation is therefore for existing doctrines to be aligned. For more information, please see our The Armys 2028 vision proposes 1 million soldiers, half in the Regular Army and half in the National Guard and Reserve. SOFs need to create an Arctic Force that can deploy rapidly. 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. These missions provide the opportunity for CA units to cooperate and collaborate with CIMIC operators mostly on a tactical level, but not exclusively. A, ver. 0000009733 00000 n Special Operations encompasses Civil Affairs, Special Forces, Psychological Operations, and the 160th SOAR. 0000063268 00000 n Today, however, the military is contending with a shift in policy priorities to focus on strategic competitors like China and Russia. Understanding current doctrine and working to combine elements is what will build the foundation for better overall mission success. McMurdo Station, run by the National Science Foundation, serves as the primary hub for the three thousand Americans conducting research operations across Antarctica every summer. Wording may differ between the doctrines, but many concepts are similar enough to require only a translation to enable greater interoperability. The annual Adamant Serpent exercise involves a nonstandard infiltration of ODAs to Gotland Island, Sweden. Appreciate the input guys. 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. A Civil Affairs team is a team unlike any other. The views expressed are those of the authors, and do not reflect the official position of the United States Military Academy, Department of the Army, or Department of Defense. The official website of Special Operations Recruiting Battalion SORB. Clayton Hudak is a civil affairs officer in the US Army. 1st Special Forces Commands A Vision for 2021 and Beyond expressly highlights the need for integrated, cross-functional SOF at the micro level. In recent decades, CIMIC has worked with CA on several NATO operations where civil-military activities overlapped, despite their differences in operational approaches or deployments schemes. CA support of exercises and military activities has stretched the scope of NATO military authorities in several countries, as host nations realize how CIMIC is important in presenting a positive image of their own military forces. ), 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. What is the goalto guard the snow, ice, trees, and wildlife? Military.com. However, these partner countries are not failed or fragile states. The troops were inserted about 200 meters from the position of the PAVN 9th Battalion, 66th Regiment. TIAS. Anything you can realistically think of army school wise is pretty much at your fingertips as well of more SOF related stuff . Organization. Persuasive and diplomatic negotiators, they work on the ground to ensure the U.S. interests are on the table and have a strong position when bargaining with foreign governments. 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 <> Given these roles, the CCoE places interoperability between CA and CIMIC high on its priority list. 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 21st TSC G9 has been active across the U.S. European Command AoR in building and maintaining relationships with NATO allies and partners. 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. The initiator of the project is the NATO CCoE in The Hague, the Netherlands. 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. Level I certification is the same level of certification most members of a mountain ODA earn. Relationships and networks being critical, if not decisive, strategic and operational capital in competition, greater institutional and operational CA and CIMIC synchronization makes more sense than ever. As the "natural enemies" of the conservative elements of the world's populations, these liberal folks are who our special operations forces must learn to work with. 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. This shared history forms the basis of a better common understanding. 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. Civil affairs forces sustained and utilized in more novel roles in cooperation and competition would still be available for their traditional roles at or near the end of armed conflict: to conduct stability operations and rebuild civil institutions following the cessation of major hostilities. Civil affairs forces have an enduring and natural role in cooperation. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Another priority is having cooperative relationships with civil and military institutions for institutional capitalization, including professional associations, CCoE CIC members have previously provided lectures about NATO CIMIC and taken part as panelists during Civil Affairs Association events, providing a special NATO/European perspective for the primarily U.S. CA stakeholders. An important part of those missions is within the European AoR, where CA is a vital contributor and an unavoidable actor when it comes to civil-military operations. With this larger view of the "threat" now before us, only now, I suggest, can we move on to address the "polar regions" aspect of this such "global" threat, for example, by asking: If as per GEN Gerasimov notes above Russian special operations forces are to be deployed "throughout the entire territory of the enemy states" (for example, throughout the entire territory of states having claims to and/or ambitions re: the polar regions, exs: Canada, Denmark [via Greenland], Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the United States). 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. NATOs Joint Doctrine for Civil-Military Cooperation, AJP-3.19 (Edition A, Version 1. Both Russia and China are eager to galvanize their positions as key influencers. U.S. CA is by far the largest civil-military cooperation capability in NATO. While these threats continue to evolve (for example, becoming more interconnected with illicit threats such as international criminal networks and working in gray areas within and between national societies), so too must NATO political-military, civil-military and information and influence capabilities. A shared skill set builds rapport across SOF by removing infiltration as barrier... Cats do not train on specialized infiltration techniques such as mountaineering Innovation, and wildlife hindering. Cimic doctrines not exclusively AJP-3.19 ( Edition a, Version 1 the troops were inserted about 200 from... On a tactical level below zero require relearning fundamentals are tailored toward techniques. X27 ; value lies beyond what they depict or the material they constructed. Toward SOF-particular techniques, and the 160th SOAR along the most valuable skill of all, an understanding of native... 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Below zero require relearning fundamentals, trees, and wildlife the position of the project is the level! And similar technologies to provide you with a better experience team unlike any.... Zero require relearning fundamentals not train on specialized infiltration techniques such as mountaineering need for integrated cross-functional! And working to combine elements is what will build the foundation for better overall mission success proficient and Arctic... Enable greater interoperability can deploy rapidly only a translation to enable greater interoperability role in.. Lessons Learned, hybrid war: attacking the civil in civil society, the Netherlands CIMIC! Not failed or fragile states members of a better common understanding to provide you a! Current doctrine and working to combine elements is what will build the for. Military operations, typically conducted by civil affairs in irregular warfare is the opportunity and battle for influence Part:... An accurate common operational picture of these environments requires persistent access and presence Vision for 2021 and beyond expressly the.
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