Can anyone tell me what exactly a Civil Affairs NCO does at/ in a IBCT HQ as staff? Top three taskings and the like?

2016-03-19T11:02:23-04:00

It is a position I will be moving into and want to stay on point with my job duties as much as possible.

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 19 at 2016 11:14 AM

2016-03-19T11:14:21-04:00

CA NCO? Casualty Assistance?

Response by SGM Erik Marquez made Mar 19 at 2016 12:00 PM

2016-03-19T12:00:35-04:00

The possibilities are endless.. I've seen almost no MOS related duties, all the way to the senior CA NCO while deployed being the lead in a multinational, Joint, combined arms unit do the CIV CAS reporting, tracking and case presentation to the GO staff. You need to check in with the G3 SGM and have him get you an introduction to the Chief of the section that you will work under ... then ask that person about your potential duties and focus so you can be more prepared before arrival.

Response by SFC Marcus Belt made Mar 19 at 2016 3:05 PM

2016-03-19T15:05:45-04:00

I was the PSYOP Planner in an ABCT, so I was the S7 NCOIC and the CA Officer was S-9 and his desk was diagonal to mine in the Non Lethal Effects shop.

Truth is, it depends. How long has the position been vacant? If it was recently vacated, are your SOPs and such up to date? There's a task right there. Are you integrated within the larger planning cycle. Get a seat at the Targeting Meeting. Does your BCT have habitual or formalized relationships with CA units?

Do your absolute best to avoid positions like S3 Platoon Sergeant. In a BCT, you are the only 38B, so you can either be the Commander's SME on CMO, or you can be MOS-immaterial Senior NCO.

The sergeants I know who managed to avoid Brigade Air, S3 Platoon Sergeant and the like, generally got to do their jobs.

Understand though that you will almost certainly end up with a BDE-level additional duties.

Response by SGM Billy Herrington made Mar 19 at 2016 4:14 PM

2016-03-19T16:14:42-04:00

From what I remember of the CA dude when I was on staff in an ABCT he was the 1SG's gopher. He made coffee in the CP. he'd check the generators. Hide a lot. Have one hell of a base on clash of clans. That's about it.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 19 at 2016 5:04 PM

2016-03-19T17:04:35-04:00

In a non-deployed environment, you'll do staff-y stuff like non-lethal effects working groups, staff estimates, orders generation (mostly annex K, but you'll dabble in some of the others), SOP construction, briefing slides, and the like.
In a deployed environment, it varies a lot by the type of mission, the temperament of the CO and primary staff, and how much personal capitol you bring to the table.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 24 at 2016 11:10 AM

2016-03-24T11:10:08-04:00

I'm in the same boat as you. My career was all 11B/13F, but moved a few months ago into the CA NCO slot on a Guard IBCT staff. We have no CA Officer or PSYOP NCO, so I'm going to act as both the CA an PSYOP functions. They're positions that the unit was used to having vacant, so I'm setting up from scratch. Since we're the Guard, we don't own any CA or PSYOP units or people, so I've been reaching out to whatever CA and PSYOP units are closest, to try and build some contacts. There are no formal pairings with CA/PYSOP units and we don't get them as attachments for drills or ATs. Even for deployments, we're all used to having CA/PSYOP running on a different cycle from the maneuver units, so there's no way I can think of to build any official relationship with those guys.

Our BCT HQ is currently deployed, so at the moment I'm back here on the rear det, which means I have a year free to figure out what to do. I'm picturing my slot as a kind of cadre job, or a placeholder between deployments. For MDMP, WFX, and other big staff efforts, I think I'll be acting the part of the S9, including the notional CA company that we'd have attached. I think I'll be playing my own wargame to simulate what those notional CA teams are doing. If we actually got CA/PSYOP attached (probably only during a deployment), the CA Company HQ and the PSYOP Det HQ should show up and integrate into our staff. They'd probably take over from me, since they will have the manpower, experience, and rank to do that. My best-case really is to be permanent cadre within the BCT, "training" my own unit on CA/PSYOP, so that the BCT doesn't get in the habit of just ignoring the CA/PSYOP functions and is ready to deal with full CA/PSYOP units in the future.

The goal I have in mind for the staff is that I can get up and play the part of the CA or PSYOP folks well enough that the BCT knows what those units are and what they do. Even if all the CA/PSYOP work is simulated, and even if I'm the one playing all of the parts and making up all of the annexes and products and assessments, I want the BCT to have an idea of what would happen with actual CA/PSYOP units.

I've also been in touch with my G9, and plan to do AT attached to them doing CA planning for a future WFX. This might be easier for me, since Pennsylvania owns a full infantry division, and I have DIV HQ right here to deal with. I'm not sure how that works if your higher is in a different state.

Outside of the staff, I'm starting to talk to CA/PSYOP units. I'm hoping to get a crash-course in their jobs, not so that I could be a "real" CA NCO, but enough so that I can act the part in the BCT. Examples of training, schoolhouse stuff, products that they get and produce, etc. I pulled copies of all of the doctine, and that's a lot of reading, but it gives a general idea of things like CA/PSYOP organization, planning, functions, etc. Linking up with those units is tough, though, since there's no relationship at all right now. Cold-calling an army unit and asking to work with them can be pretty frustrating, especially since I'm asking for time from Reserve leaders that already have their own chain of command, and who are just as busy as our people.

I'm going to try to get our units to talk to their units. Hopefully have a rep from the CA and PSYOP units visit our BCT and BN staffs annually, give a capabilities brief on who and what they are, and see if there's a chance for setting up actual training together. I'd like to get a CAT or a TPT loaned out now and then to a rifle company to do some training together. Hopefully, the different company commanders will want to pursue the idea of getting a CAT or TPT the same way they ask for a FIST or engineer squad. The CA and PSYOP units all have their own training areas and units that they work with, which are different from where our companies train, so they should be able to link up occasionally, even if it's just to get a different piece of ground to play on. I'd be happy to see a CAT show up at one of our armories for a weekend drill, convoy off to do IWQ together, and let the leaders do some networking with each other. Actually building CA/PSYOP tasks into a rifle company's training would be tough to pull off, but any company can fit 4 more bodies into their training, even if it just lets them play grunt for a weekend. It'll end up being driven by those individual company commanders, though, since we'll never own the CA/PSYOP folks.

And this is all because I don't want to just spend the last few years of my career as an extra NCO in the TOC, drinking coffee and doing nothing.