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Army MOS 38B Civil Affairs Specialist

Civil Affairs Soldiers operate in teams in support of both conventional and special operations forces. Civil Affairs specialists identify critical requirements needed by local citizens in combat or crisis situations. They also locate civil resources to support military operations, mitigate non-combatant injury or incident, minimize civilian interference with military operations, facilitate humanitarian assistance activities, and establish and maintain communication with civilian aid agencies and organizations.

Civil Affairs Specialists are primarily responsible for researching, coordinating, conducting and participating in the planning and production of civil affairs related documents, while enabling the civil-military operations of the supported commander. Some of your duties as a Civil Affairs Specialist may include:

Help plan U.S. Government Intra agency procedures for national or regional emergencies
Assist with civil-military planning and support
Coordinate military resources to support reconstitution or reconstruction activities
Support national disaster, defense or emergency assistance and response activities
Foster and maintain dialogue with civilian aid agencies and civilian relief and assistance organizations
Establish mechanisms for emergency coordination and administration where political-economic structures have been incapacitated
Provide emergency coordination and administration where political-economic structures have been incapacitated

Training
For initial entry Soldiers, job training begins with nine weeks of Basic Combat Training, where you’ll learn basic Soldiering skills, which will be followed by 13 weeks of Advanced Individual Training, where you’ll learn the skills of a Civil Affairs specialist and be assigned to a Army Reserve Civil Affairs unit. Airborne qualified active duty
Noncommissioned Officers can reclassify as a Civil Affairs sergeants after successful completion of an intensive 20
week training program that includes language, negotiations and regional training. Some of the skills you’ll learn are:

Acquiring analytical skills and ability to conduct research using a variety of methods to include standard library research, use of web browsers and other search engines and services
Conducting civil-military operations that includes humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and populace and resource control
Obtaining computing and advanced communication skills
Training with equipment to include vehicles, weapon systems and other Civil Affairs unique systems
Conducting an area assessment
Preparing maps and charts
Conducting a negotiation

Advanced Responsibilities
Advanced level Civil Affairs Specialists and Noncommissioned Officers coordinate for and supervise the execution of civil-military and Civil Affairs operations in support of military and non-military organizations.

Experienced Civil Affairs operators will find themselves operating overseas in small teams
working with host-nation officials or foreign militaries on programs designed to strengthen
democratic institutions, increase stability, deter conflict or relieve human suffering.

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