Civil Affairs

BENEFITS OF A CIVIL AFFAIRS CAREER

*Click each benefit to learn more

Member of a Small and Specialized Team
Advanced Training
SOF Advanced Negotiations Course

Special Warfare Network Development Course

Special Warfare Operational Design Course

Live Environment Training (Language Immersion)

SERE Level C (High Risk) Course

Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course

Non-Standard Vehicle Training

Jumpmaster

+ Many More
Unique Missions
The Civil Affairs Career Management Field is unique with Soldiers who are specifically selected, trained, and equipped to understand, influence, and assess the civil component of the operational environment through all domains across the competition continuum. Civil Affairs Soldiers are prepared to execute their assigned missions in politically sensitive, austere, remote, non-permissive, and dense urban environments.
Family
Civil Affairs Soldiers and families have access to our Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F), Building Strong & Ready Teams (BSRT) formerly known as Strong Bonds, Soldier and Family Readiness, and General Family Welfare Programs. H2F is the holistic integration of the Physical, Cognitive, Psychological, Social and Spiritual Performance pillars specifically designed to improve operational performance, ensure ARSOF readiness, and build resilience of our Soldiers and their Families
Station Longevity & Stability
As masters of the indigenous approach, our Battalions are culturally astute, regionally oriented, globally networked, and forward postured. A majority of ARSOF Civil Affairs assignments are located on Fort Bragg, NC.
World-class training facilities and coaches
CA employs THOR3 (Tactical Human Optimization Rapid Rehabilitation and Reconditioning) strength coaches and equip our unit facilities with top of the line training and recovery equipment. The result: we ensure our CA Soldiers have access to the same performance optimizing tools that college and professional athletes utilize for both body and mind.

Meet CA Prerequisites

General Requirements
- Pass a Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA) and height/weight standards. Beginning 1 October 2022, the PFA will consist of hand-release pushups and a two-mile run. Civil Affairs PFA standards are viewable here
- PULHES 111221 or better
- Possess a valid SERE-C Physical Exam
- Be airborne qualified, or willing to volunteer for airborne training and able to perform airborne operations
- Have an Enlisted Record Brief/Officer Record Brief
Enlisted Requirements
- You must have a PULHES 111221 or better
- You must have an Enlisted Record Brief
- 38W: minimum scores of 110 in aptitude area GT and 101 in aptitude area ST (ASVAB)
- 38R: minimum scores of 107 in aptitude area GT and 100 in aptitude area CO (ASVAB)
- You must be within the rank of Specialist or Sergeant
- SPC/E-4: must be a graduate of the Basic Leadership Course, have a minimum of 12 months Time In Service (TIS) and no more than six years TIS
- SGT: must have a minimum of two years TIS and no more than eight years TIS
- Must be a U.S. citizen or naturalized citizen
- Must be a high school graduate or have a GED certificate
- Must pass ARSOF physical fitness assessment requirements
- Must be eligible for to obtain interim SECRET security clearance
- Not barred to reenlist IAW AR 601-280, or under suspension of favorable personnel action IAW AR 600-8-2
- No history of qualifying military or civilian conviction of a crime of domestic violence, as defined by AR 600-20, Army Command Policy, Paragraph 4-22
- No history of any use of a controlled substance without a valid prescription following the Soldier's date of initial entry into military service.
- No history of military or civilian charge for Driving Under the Influence or Reckless Driving.
- No record of conviction by special or general courts-martial or civilian courts of offenses listed in AR 27-10 (Military Justice) chapter 24 or otherwise required to register as a sexual offender under AR 27-10, chapter 24
Officer Requirements
- Have a minimum of 24-months active federal commissioned service by application approval date
- Be a First Lieutenant or Captain in a targeted year group
- Be eligible for a Top Secret security clearance under provisions of AR 380-67
- Have a Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) score of 65 or higher
Required Documents
The following documents are required to be returned to your recruiter. For questions or clarification, please contact your recruiter. If you have not yet spoken to a recruiter, click here to start the conversation. Packet Documents can be downloaded here.
- ARSOF Volunteer & Commitment Statement
- Airborne Volunteer
- SERE-C Physical Exam with EKG
- Soldier Record Brief
- SORB Administered Physical Fitness Scorecard (See CA PFA Standards here)
- Clearance Verification
- Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB)
- Waiver Documents (if required)
How to Prepare
- Packing List: click here
- Train up: click here

Attend CA Qualification Course

Assessment & Selection

Selected candidates return to their units before PCSing to attend the Qualifications Course

*duration: 10 days
Phase I: MOS Training
- Fundamentals of Civil Affairs Operations
- Transitional Governance
- Civil Network Development & Engagement
- Civil Knowledge Integration
- Civil Military Integration
- Planning in Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO)

*duration: 11 weeks
Phase II: SOF Skills
- Indigenous Governance
- CA Operations in politically sensitive and austere environments
- CA in support of: Unconventional Warfare & Foreign Internal Defense

*duration: 10 weeks
Phase II: Sluss-Tiller CULEX
- Finial testing and validation of CA tasks
- Planning and execution of CA missions in an unconventional warfare and foreign internal defense environment

*duration: 3 weeks
Phase II: Language Training
- Language training in 1 of our 14 core languages
- Cultural studies in target language regions or origin
- Regional studies

*duration: 24 weeks

Join a Civil Affairs Team (CAT)

38S: Team Commander
Governance officer. Master planner responsible for inter-agency coordination, as well as advising and employing civil networks.
38Z: Team Sergeant
Senior enlisted advisor to the team commander. Master trainer of a four-person Civil Affairs Team, responsible for force protection and ensuring the team is proficient in individual and collective critical tasks. Principal advisor to the leadership in the tactical employment of the team in their assigned environment by utilizing proven tactics, techniques, and procedures to conduct Civil Affairs operations in support of consolidating gains across the competition continuum.
38R: Civil Reconnaissance Sergeant
Serves as a technical reconnaissance expert of a regionally aligned four-person team, responsible for assessing civil networks and critical infrastructure. Employs reconnaissance efforts through utilization of specialized tactics, techniques, and procedures to conduct civil reconnaissance, performs civil engagement and civil network development, infrastructure mapping, and civil-military integration to find, disrupt, and defeat hybrid threats in the civil component.
38W: Civil Affairs Medical Sergeant
Performs primary medical care for a four-person Civil Affairs team ranging from point of injury care, trauma care in an austere environment, and performs prolonged field care as required. Civil Affairs Medical Sergeant conducts medical mission planning, administrative medical duties, and provides technical expertise in evaluating medical systems, basic Veterinary support either through civil networks or medical infrastructure assessment.