ARTICLE

April 2004

Growth in Civil Affairs Units Will Continue

by Sandra I. Erwin

The U.S. Special Operations Command plans to continue the expansion of Civil Affairs units. The goal is to add more than 1,000 positions within the next two years.

Discussions also are under way between SOCOM and the Marine Corps concerning the possibility of creating new Marine Civil Affairs units. A Defense Department official told National Defense that, so far, those are preliminary discussions only, and no firm plan is yet in place.

The U.S. Army Reserve added a Civil Affairs battalion in 2003, another battalion will come on board in 2004, to be followed by another in 2005. A combination of restructuring existing units and the addition of new Civil Affairs specialists will result in 1,140 new CA Reserve positions. There are about 6,000 CA soldiers in the Army, most of whom are in the Reserves and the National Guard.

There is one active duty CA battalion in SOCOM, based in Fort Bragg, N.C. With currently authorized 215 slots, the battalion is scheduled to grow to 410 positions by fiscal year 2009, the Defense Department official said. “A major restructuring is planned for the future,” he said. By fiscal year 2011, the CA active component will have four battalions, and one brigade headquarters, for a total of 783 authorized positions.

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