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Article: Civil affairs: as demands for nation-building troops soar, leaders ponder reorganization.(SPECIAL OPERATIONS)
- Article from:
- National Defense
- Article date:
- May 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 National Defense Industrial Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Army and U.S. Special Operations Command officials are studying proposals to reorganize the small but highly in-demand civil affairs force.
Civil affairs troops, who specialize in nation building and civilian-military relations, possess skills that have become indispensable to U.S. commanders. In the Iraqi war zone, particularly, forces fight insurgents, and at the same time try to rebuild the economy and the infrastructure.
Civil affairs soldiers, who are trained on the intricacies of foreign cultures and institutions, currently are part of the Army Special Operations Command, under SOCOM. More than 90 percent of them are reservists.
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