One of the more advanced jobs during the current War on Terror is the Army Civil Affairs Specialist. With the effort in both Iraq and Afghanistan moving increasingly toward rebuilding of infrastructure, the role of the Civil Affairs Specialist has become an increasingly vital and coordinated job. The Civil Affairs Army specialist works in both conventional support efforts, and in situations requiring special support operations. They work to report and identify the needs of the citizens and population to the US Command, so that efforts in assistance and humanitarian aid can be coordinated and planned.
The Civil affairs specialist is the person that works to determine what different situations among the population consist of. They become experts on local resources and available services, so that they can properly advise their commands on military and civilian rebuilding efforts. Their role is often very humanitarian in nature as they work to evaluate and determine what types of aid are required and what sort of aid and support can do the most good. In some cases where there have been injuries or damages due to battle the civil affairs specialist works to mitigate and negotiate solutions to real life problems. They exist to help keep at a minimum the interference in military operations by civilians, yet at the same time to find ways that the military can identify and find avenues to support the civilian population in humanitarian ways. Civil Affairs specialists establish and maintain lines of communication between local citizens, civilian aid organizations, and the military.
A lot of coordination, research and implementation are part of what duties the civil military operations and civil Army Affairs specialist does. Some of their duties involve coordination with other US Government agencies, disaster and reconstruction relief coordination, civil and military planning support, administration and emergency services where the government has been wiped out, and overall fostering communications and productive interaction between the military and the civilian population. Training for Army Civil Affairs specialist consists of 11 weeks of individual advanced training. You will learn the responsibilities, duties and job requirements of an Army Civil Affairs specialist, and after completing your training you will be assigned to a civil affairs unit of the Army. If you are a team player, and you do not mind the thought of working in alterative permissive then hostile environments, then this may be the job for you.
