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So, I am at my roughly 10 year mark, E6, 11B, already Airborne Qualified.
Wanting to jump ahead in my career and considering CA and PSYOP. Issue is, I cannot find information that really seperate these two as far as what they do and how they operate.
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of each? Also, what are some of the pro's and cons of transitioning to one of these while I am in my current position?
Wanting to jump ahead in my career and considering CA and PSYOP. Issue is, I cannot find information that really seperate these two as far as what they do and how they operate.
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of each? Also, what are some of the pro's and cons of transitioning to one of these while I am in my current position?
Posted in these groups: 
38B: Civil Affairs Specialist
37F: Psychological Operations Specialist
Civil Affairs
38B: Civil Affairs Specialist 37F: Psychological Operations Specialist Civil Affairs
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 8
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As a SSG, you won't be jumping ahead in your career. You'll be stagnating it somewhat. It is an awesome MOS with a lot of interesting experiences in embassies, SOF missions, etc. So if that's why want to do it, go for it. The reality is for most people, they top out at E-7 because they just aren't many E-8/E-9 positions. Only two Active PSYOP Groups in the Army compared to how many Active infantry brigades? E-7 you will make fairly quickly so that is a plus if you have been stuck at E-6. The "jumping ahead" is mainly for the E-4s. They make E-5 automatically when they graduate the Sergeants Course (about 15 months of total training) and make E-6 usually quickly after that. Some of the things to know with the downsizing going on, you will have to maintain a 1/1 language score to be competitive for promotion and to make E-8, you have to be a jumpmaster.
Also, yes it is a lot of marketing but face to face engagement is our bread and butter on the tactical teams.
Hope this helps.
Also, yes it is a lot of marketing but face to face engagement is our bread and butter on the tactical teams.
Hope this helps.
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okay so now the 38B take...
I am a active duty 38B currently deployed in support of SOCSOUTH. I will tell you from my personal experience how things work in my AOR. First let me dis spell a common misconception. We do not throw money at a problem. In fact, during my time at SWCS it was a major point of emphasis that we get away from that mind set. It is true that previously CA was often thought of as the "money man", but that train of thought has shifted. I will tell you that my team, and the teams in my AOR are very particular about how we spend our money, and how much we spend. We spend only the necessary, then begin to pull back the funds ever so slightly.
We are also not the peace corp or tree huggers. Every mission we conduct has an intended purpose, least of which is charity. The mission is conceived through aligning LOE(lines of effort) that match the presidents NSS(National Security Strategy) for that region. SOUTHCOM passes that combined effort down to SOCSOUTH who in turn passed it on to the AOB commander or SOCFWRD. Based off of that, we devise a plan that allows up to attack these lines of effort by focusing on critical vulnerabilities. Through a targeting frame work we are able to narrow down who, what, why, and where we need to be.
Our job is to gain access and placement, if you want it in the simplest of terms. ODA's, SEAL Teams, PSYOP Teams need access to many of these regions, but due to the fact many of these countries do not take kindly to DoD personnel in their area, we create a "need" to be there. The MIST team broadcasts that "need", we provide the means in which to conceptualize that need, and the ODA or whatever tactical element is in our area takes advantage of that opportunity, usually by sending an 18D or a dentist. He in turn, gains critical access and allows him network for his team, selling a reason for them to be there.... Access and Placement.
It doesnt always work that smoothly and thats always frustrating, as we are all SOF MOS's that should compliment eachother. But in my AOR thats how we try to work things. Working with one another to address our own line of effort that should align with the LOE of the region. our MIST team guys pretty good dudes, that do a great job, but frankly are constrained by the embassy and MILGROUP because of the fact that spreading a message can have huge implications, especially of the wrong message is distributed. They now mainly train host nation PSYOP soldiers at their school houses.
Finally as far as being autonomous goes, I think we actually have the smallest element of them all. A complete ODA is a 12 man element, however ive never seen a complete ODA except for maybe a sync brief in the states. A MIST Team is 6 man team, I think, but i could be wrong. We are a 4 man team, sometimes split into two 2 man teams. As a CANCO I am responsible for a hell of alot more stuff than any other NCO I knew in my previous MOS. I may not have any soldiers under me, but I am signed for thousands of dollars in funds and equipment, much of it SIPR, a rental POV, I take lead in most of the KLE's since i am a native speaker, and many other items. Reports, briefings, conducting training, the list goes on. It is a very rewarding job and one I am glad I took. Its up to you young Jedi, I am sure my write up may seem a bit partial, but how can it not be, as I honestly feel I have one of the best jobs in the military. Good Luck
Danny
I am a active duty 38B currently deployed in support of SOCSOUTH. I will tell you from my personal experience how things work in my AOR. First let me dis spell a common misconception. We do not throw money at a problem. In fact, during my time at SWCS it was a major point of emphasis that we get away from that mind set. It is true that previously CA was often thought of as the "money man", but that train of thought has shifted. I will tell you that my team, and the teams in my AOR are very particular about how we spend our money, and how much we spend. We spend only the necessary, then begin to pull back the funds ever so slightly.
We are also not the peace corp or tree huggers. Every mission we conduct has an intended purpose, least of which is charity. The mission is conceived through aligning LOE(lines of effort) that match the presidents NSS(National Security Strategy) for that region. SOUTHCOM passes that combined effort down to SOCSOUTH who in turn passed it on to the AOB commander or SOCFWRD. Based off of that, we devise a plan that allows up to attack these lines of effort by focusing on critical vulnerabilities. Through a targeting frame work we are able to narrow down who, what, why, and where we need to be.
Our job is to gain access and placement, if you want it in the simplest of terms. ODA's, SEAL Teams, PSYOP Teams need access to many of these regions, but due to the fact many of these countries do not take kindly to DoD personnel in their area, we create a "need" to be there. The MIST team broadcasts that "need", we provide the means in which to conceptualize that need, and the ODA or whatever tactical element is in our area takes advantage of that opportunity, usually by sending an 18D or a dentist. He in turn, gains critical access and allows him network for his team, selling a reason for them to be there.... Access and Placement.
It doesnt always work that smoothly and thats always frustrating, as we are all SOF MOS's that should compliment eachother. But in my AOR thats how we try to work things. Working with one another to address our own line of effort that should align with the LOE of the region. our MIST team guys pretty good dudes, that do a great job, but frankly are constrained by the embassy and MILGROUP because of the fact that spreading a message can have huge implications, especially of the wrong message is distributed. They now mainly train host nation PSYOP soldiers at their school houses.
Finally as far as being autonomous goes, I think we actually have the smallest element of them all. A complete ODA is a 12 man element, however ive never seen a complete ODA except for maybe a sync brief in the states. A MIST Team is 6 man team, I think, but i could be wrong. We are a 4 man team, sometimes split into two 2 man teams. As a CANCO I am responsible for a hell of alot more stuff than any other NCO I knew in my previous MOS. I may not have any soldiers under me, but I am signed for thousands of dollars in funds and equipment, much of it SIPR, a rental POV, I take lead in most of the KLE's since i am a native speaker, and many other items. Reports, briefings, conducting training, the list goes on. It is a very rewarding job and one I am glad I took. Its up to you young Jedi, I am sure my write up may seem a bit partial, but how can it not be, as I honestly feel I have one of the best jobs in the military. Good Luck
Danny
(11)
(1)
1LT (Join to see)
No, the title even indicates CA vs PSYOP. I felt the argument/job description given was poor, as it somewhat is off the mark. I feel that SGT Aldana, was only viewing PSYOP from a operational/strategic level, and not at the tactical level. The tactical level is the bread and butter of PSYOP... KLE, F2F, MILDEC, integration into supported units (conventional and SOF), working in three man teams.
I mean just look up ADP 5-0 (The Special Operations manual), there is a graph indicating which elements do what, and PSYOP as a whole is the only SOF element that stretches from the far left (humanitarian aid) to the far right (direct action and surgical strike). Maybe SGT Aldana has had a poor experience with PSYOP, that is very possible, as it is very easy for a three mam PSYOP team to take a backseat role, or just "chill" since they are fairly autonomous.
As for my second comment, me and Aldana submitted our post at the same time, it just won't let me delete mine, so it appears out of place.
Both fields are great and havery an inpact on the battlefield. But let's be honest, who is more tactically driven? A 4 man CA team lead by a 0-3, and a E7? Or a 3 man PSYOP Team lead by a E6? I mean it's simple really, think from a commanders perspective, what would be a more costly casualty a O3, E7, or a E6, E5? Not to take away from anyone, as all casualties are terrible, but who is more replaceable.
Alot of infantry guys go PSYOP, there is a reason for that.
I mean just look up ADP 5-0 (The Special Operations manual), there is a graph indicating which elements do what, and PSYOP as a whole is the only SOF element that stretches from the far left (humanitarian aid) to the far right (direct action and surgical strike). Maybe SGT Aldana has had a poor experience with PSYOP, that is very possible, as it is very easy for a three mam PSYOP team to take a backseat role, or just "chill" since they are fairly autonomous.
As for my second comment, me and Aldana submitted our post at the same time, it just won't let me delete mine, so it appears out of place.
Both fields are great and havery an inpact on the battlefield. But let's be honest, who is more tactically driven? A 4 man CA team lead by a 0-3, and a E7? Or a 3 man PSYOP Team lead by a E6? I mean it's simple really, think from a commanders perspective, what would be a more costly casualty a O3, E7, or a E6, E5? Not to take away from anyone, as all casualties are terrible, but who is more replaceable.
Alot of infantry guys go PSYOP, there is a reason for that.
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Simplified CA = communication skills on a personal level
PSYOP = marketing skills , adversting
PSYOP = marketing skills , adversting
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SSG Michael Hartsfield
That's about the ying and the yang of it. PSYOP is, for the most part "battlefield advertisement" and many commanders have no idea how to utilize your capabilities. CA is pretty obvious because every AO they go to will need some infrastructure repair, replacement, or improvement
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