By Alvin Conley.

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii – The 25th Infantry Division and U.S. Army Hawaii hosted a Division Change of Command Ceremony Aug. 25, 2023, at the installation’s historic Weyand Field.

The ceremony was held to honor U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Joseph A. Ryan as the outgoing 25th Inf. Div. and USARHAW commanding general, and welcome U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Marcus S. Evans as the incoming 25th Inf. Div. and USARHAW commanding general.

Ryan served as the Division commanding general from July 2021 to August 2023. During his tenure as commander, Ryan oversaw several Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) rotations, deployed 25th Inf. Div. forces throughout the Indo-Pacific as a part of Operation Pathways, and led Task Force Ohana, providing support to Soldiers, families, and the local community.

“I stood here, and I spoke two years ago about commanding with the Hawaiian values of Ha’aha’a and Alaka’i in mind,” said Ryan about his time as the 25th Inf. Div. commanding general. “To be humble and modest, to respect others, to persevere and to lead with courage and commitment. What an honor it has been to serve with you.”

Ryan will move on to become the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, U.S. Army, in Washington D.C. He thanked his family, loved ones, and mentors for their support.

“Family is important in Hawaii,” said Ryan. “To have family here as part of my change of command, and the people I celebrate it with and actually execute it with such as Lt. Gen. Xavier Brunson and Maj. Gen. Marcus Evans, both of whom I’ve known for decades, is really important. It makes this pretty easy because you know what you’ve dedicated yourself to for the past two years is in good hands.”

Ryan welcomed Evans to his new position, as this marks the third time Ryan and Evans have changed command positions.

“Marcus Evans has been my teammate for the last 25 years,” said Ryan. “I’m nothing if not utterly envious of him today. He and Kelly are very simply joining the greatest Division in the Army.”

Evans most recently served as the Chief of Staff, U.S. Special Operations Command.

“Thank you for this opportunity to command in this Division,” said Evans. “Joe and Julie, Kelly and I can’t thank you enough for this transition, and more importantly for you all’s friendship over the years. Thank you both for what your leadership and service has meant to this Division and to our Army. All the best in your next assignment.”

Evans has multiple operational deployments, has served in Airborne, Ranger, Light Infantry and Mechanized formations, and has previously commanded the NATO Special Operations Component Command – Afghanistan, the 75th Ranger Regiment, and the forward deployed Joint Special Operations Task Force.

“I’m truly blessed to be a part of such an incredible unit such as the Tropic Lightning Division,” said Evans. “I look forward to serving alongside you all.”

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This story, “25th ID Welcomes New Commanding General”, by Sgt. Alvin Conley was first published by www.army.mil on August 25, 2023.

Photo: U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Marcus Evans gives a speech at the division change of command ceremony at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Aug. 25, 2023. Maj. Gen. Ryan is now assigned as Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, Headquarters, Dept. of the Army, Washington, D.C., and Maj. Gen. Evans most recently served as the Chief of Staff, U.S. Special Operations Command. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Mariah Aguilar, 28th Public Affairs) (Spc. Mariah Aguilar)

An Induction Ceremony for three Army Special Operations Regiments was held in the JFK Auditorium on April 20, 2023 on Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Thirteen people were named as Distinguished and Honorary Members to the Regiments of the Special Forces, Civil Affairs, and Psychological Operations community. They were honored during the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (USAJFKSWCS) inaugural Heritage Week.

Among the inductees are a former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict (ASD SO/LIC), former acting Secretary of Defense, a Medal of Honor Recipient, and an Ambassador and Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. Each of the inductees has contributed to the history and legacy of the regiments both were serving in uniform and after their service in the military.

Inducted as Distinguished Members of the Psychological Operations Regiment:

• Col. Richard D. Springett, US Army Retired
• 1st Lt. Daniel J. Edelman, US Army (Posthumous)

Inducted as Distinguished Members of the Special Forces Regiment:

• Maj. John J. Duffy, US Army Medal of Honor
• Major Gen. David A. Morris , US Army Retired
• Col. Ronald Johnson, US Army Retired
• Col. Christopher Miller, US Army, Retired
• Col. Mark Mitchell, US Army, Retired
• Lt. Col. Roger D. Carstens, US Army, Retired
• Sgt. 1st Class E. Riley Lott Jr., US Army, Retired (Posthumous)

Inducted as Honorary Member of the Special Forces Regiment:

• Ms. Azadeh Aryana

Inducted as Distinguished Member of the Civil Affairs Regiment:

• Col. Ernesto L. Sirvas, US Army, Retired

Inducted as Honorary Members of the Civil Affairs Regiment:

• Mr. Donald C Barton, US Army, Retired
• Dr. Spencer Meredith III

By Walter Ham.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians from the U.S. Army’s only EOD company solely designed to support Army Ranger and Special Forces missions marked the 11th anniversary of the company’s Airborne status with a record-breaking EOD parachute jump.

EOD Soldiers from the 28th EOD Company (Airborne) and other Airborne Soldiers recently celebrated the anniversary with the largest U.S. Army Airborne EOD technician jump in history at the Sicily Drop Zone on Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Maj. Stephen M. Knudsen, the commander of the 28th EOD Company, said 175 jumpers participated in the anniversary jump, with Airborne troops from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Joint Special Operations Command, XVIII Airborne Corps, 82nd Airborne Division, 18th Air Support Operations Group and 192nd EOD Battalion.

Among the jumpers were 48 Army EOD technicians from the 28th EOD Company (Airborne) and three other EOD companies that are part of the 192nd EOD Battalion.

“Although this seems like a small number, it was the largest amount of EOD technicians to jump at a single time in Army EOD history,” said Knudsen. “The 192nd EOD Battalion supports the 82nd Airborne Division on a constant rotational basis, supporting each brigade and the Immediate Response Force mission year-round.”

The jump was originally scheduled to mark the 10th anniversary of Airborne status last year but was postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions. Since a German jumpmaster participated in the event, 21 U.S. Army EOD Soldiers also earned German Jump Wings.

The 28th EOD Company is part of the 192nd EOD Battalion, 52nd EOD Group and 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, the U.S. Department of Defense’s premier all hazards formation.

Headquartered on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the 20th CBRNE Command is home to 75 percent of the active-duty U.S. Army EOD technicians and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) specialists, as well as the 1st Area Medical Laboratory, CBRNE Analytical and Remediation Activity, five Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordination Teams and three Nuclear Disablement Teams. The multifunctional command has units on 19 bases in 16 states.

In June 2008, the 28th Ordnance Company (EOD) was activated at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and directed by the commander of 20th CBRNE Command to assume all current and future support to the 75th Ranger Regiment, the U.S. Army’s premier direct action raid force.

In 2012, the 28th EOD Company earned its status as the first ever Airborne EOD company.

A 14-year veteran from Sutter Creek, California, Knudsen said the Airborne EOD company has a rigorous selection process.

“Qualified EOD technicians submit a packet to attend assessment and selection, which is comprised of both mental and physical tests,” said Knudsen, who has deployed to Iraq once and Afghanistan three times. “If selected, they then move to Fort Bragg to attend the Direct Action Certification Course and upon completion are operationally employed in support of the 75th Ranger Regiment and Special Operations Command.”

Soldiers from the 28th EOD Company and 192nd EOD Battalion have deployed continuously to hot stops around the world to support military operations at the tip of the spear.

When assigned to the rotational Immediate Response Force mission, EOD technicians must stay ready to deploy within 18 hours.

“The 192nd supports Joint Forcible Entry as a member of the Immediate Response Force for the conventional forces, enabling division commanders to choose an airborne entry capability with a full spectrum of EOD technicians,” said Knudsen.

Purpose built to support the 75th Ranger Regiment, the 28th EOD Company has quietly earned numerous accolades during decades of combat operations. The unit’s EOD technicians have successfully conducted more than 5,200 operations in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan to date.

During the Global War on Terrorism up to this point, 28th EOD Company Soldiers have earned 32 valorous awards, including two Distinguished Service Crosses and 21 Purple Hearts.

“The 28th delivers an EOD capability that enables direct action Special Operations raids that consist of seizure of key terrain to include airfields, destruction of strategic facilities and precision no fail operations responsible for capturing or killing of high value targets with strategic importance,” said Knudsen. “Members of the 28th maintain a combat presence supporting Special Operations.”

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This article by Walter Ham was originally published on December 12, 2022 by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. DVIDS publishes content for the public domain.

Photo: U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Soldiers from the 28th EOD Company (Airborne) marked the 11th anniversary of the company’s Airborne status with a record-breaking EOD parachute jump. Honoring the service of the one-of-a-kind unit, 175 Airborne troops from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Joint Special Operations Command, XVIII Airborne Corps, 82nd Airborne Division, 18th Air Support Operations Group and 192nd EOD Battalion participated in the jump. Courtesy photo by 20th CBRNE Command, November 10, 2022.

SWCS has a new website and it is chock full of some great information about training for Special Forces, Civil Affairs, and Psychological Operations. The U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (USAJFKSWCS) or SWCS for short is one of the Army’s premier training and education centers.

At any given time during the year SWCS is host to over 3,000 students that are attending courses ranging from entry-level training to extremely advanced training for Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) soldiers. There are over 41 courses at the training center located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

There are some great features available on the website:

• Academic Handbook
• Past Issues of Special Warfare Magazine
• Info on the JFK Special Warfare Museum
• Pineland Underground Podcast
• Special Operations Center of Excellence (SOCoE) Libraries

USAJFKSWCS website:
https://www.swcs.mil/

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Photo: A student from the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School who is in the Special Forces Combat Diver Qualification Course leaps off the tailgate of an MH-47 over the open ocean at dusk near Key West, Florida February 24, 2020. Students who attended the six-week course were qualified as basic military open-circuit and closed-circuit combat divers knowledgeable in waterborne surface infiltration and exfiltration tactics, techniques and procedures and qualified in waterborne operations including day and night ocean subsurface navigation swims, day and night infiltration dives, deep dives, search dives, diving physics, physiology and injuries, marine hazards, tides and currents. (U.S. Army photo by K. Kassens)

By Twana Atkinson.

As the Army continues to reinforce their vision for 2028 to fill the force; the U.S. Army Parachute Team is also making ambitious efforts to maintain their formations as one of three Department of Defense sanctioned demonstration teams.

The USAPT, also known as the Golden Knights, conduct worldwide parachute demonstrations, competitions and tandems to connect the Army with the American public. They also enhance the Army’s recruiting efforts; while simultaneously providing technical expertise in support of military free-fall programs.

Recently, the Golden Knights implemented a “Green Platoon” initiative to recruit local Fort Bragg Soldiers that aspire to become Golden Knights, but lack skydiving experience. “The basic purpose of the ‘Green Platoon program’ is to strengthen the United States Army’s Parachute Team by ensuring that we get the right people for the team,” said Staff Sgt. Blake Gaynor, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the USAPT Preparation Program.

Currently, the Golden Knights hold an assessment and selection program once a year. But according to Gaynor, only half of the candidates make it through the program. “We get about four to eight candidates a year that make it….and it’s a constant struggle to maintain competency and people while Soldiers ETS or retire out of the organization,” said Gaynor.

The Golden Knights operate on an elite level while conducting at least 10 tandem camps, and performing at more than 40 shows a year throughout the United States. “Myself and Sgt. Skylar Romberg are former Golden Knight Assessment and Selection cadre; so we know what it will take to become a Golden Knight,” said Gaynor. The preparation platoon will better prepare interested Soldiers not only in skydiving but also in being a good ambassador for the Army. The experience that they will get from the program will give them a better chance in making it through the assessment and selection.

“As cadre, I’ve seen a lot of candidates come through and not make it because of their skydiving experience or their inability to conduct public speaking,” said Gaynor “Sometimes they have the skydiving experience but lack maturity or stress management skills. We travel all over the world and perform at very high profile events in small teams; so each individual has to remain very proficient in all of their tasks.”

Interested Soldiers will conduct more than 300 free-fall parachute jumps, receive public speaking coaching, develop stress management skills and receive U.S. Parachuting Association licenses. Sgt. 1st Class William Comancho from the 27th Eng. Bn., an interested candidate, used his lunchtime to come and get information on the upcoming program. “I would love to travel all over the world representing the Army doing something that I love,” said Comancho.

The Golden Knights held several information briefings for interested Soldiers in their headquarters building for a week. As the Army continues to fortify their mission of building a more modern, lethal force, the Golden Knights are duty-bound to help the United States Recruiting Command to achieve that. Soldiers local to the Fort Bragg area have until Feb. 17 to submit their packets to usarmy.knox.usarec.list.meb.apt.gkas@army.mil.

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This story by Twana Atkinson was originally published on February 15, 2022 by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. DVIDS content is in the public domain.

Photo of Golden Knights jumpmaster by Sgt. Brian Collett, U.S. Army, February 3, 2021.

Story by Staff Sgt. Joseph Truckley, 95th CA Brigade.

Civil Affairs Soldiers with the 92nd Civil Affairs Battalion, Special Operations, Airborne, conducted a cultural immersion exercise in Chicago, Ill. May 17-23.

The 92nd Civil Affairs Battalion is regionally aligned with Europe and the immersion with the ethnic Lithuanian population, approximately 100,000 in the Chicago metro area, provides an insight prior to deploying forward to support their respective mission.

“It is rare that you can work alongside your partner nations and learn from them prior to being deployed,” said the team’s leader. “This was a great experience being able to learn about the rich history and culture of Lithuanua.”

This exercise allowed the Civil Affairs team to interact with the Consulate General of Lithuania located in downtown Chicago and speak with the consulate’s primary diplomat to learn more about the country’s current state. The Consulate General, Mantvydas Bekesius, found the meeting beneficial to both parties, “learning and working together is a two-way street, the exchange of experience, no matter the nationality, is definitely beneficial for not only the U.S. military, but Lithuania itself.”

The outlying areas surrounding the city provided an opportunity to interact with the Lithuanian diaspora community who have been settled in Northeastern Illinois since the early 20th century; Chicago having the largest population of Lithuanians of any municipality outside of Lithuania itself. This included a tour of the Lithuanian World Center in Lamont, Ill. that hosts 40 Lithuanian organizations and provides a cultural and linguistic education to the area as well as the Belzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture in Chicago that has been serving their community for over 50 years.

Training opportunities like this is what separates Special Operations Force Civil Affairs from other conventional units, said the team’s medical sergeant. “The cultural diversity within the city of Chicago provides a great opportunity for the team to conduct cultural immersion training prior to deploying as well as conducting this mission training which provides us the opportunity to speak to real people instead of practicing with role players with a script. We are able to develop relationships that will help us down the line during our deployment.”

Instead of training solely on military installations, we are able to not only conduct our necessary training but also have the ability to see the city of Chicago and experience everything the city has to offer that I would not have had the opportunity to do so in most conventional units, the sergeant added.

SOF Civil Affairs teams can find themselves stretched far across the country while validating and preparing for onward deployments across the globe. Teams find themselves in cities such as Miami, Washington D.C., Nashville, El Paso and even Flagstaff, AZ to name a few. The interaction with local leaders allows them to get a better understanding of how these cities operate and how to adopt the best practices to carry onward keeps the Civil Affairs teams ready to engage on a global level no matter the environment.

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Photo: Soldiers from the 92nd Civil Affairs Battalion, 95th Civil Affairs Brigade, Special Operations, Airborne, meet with the Consul General of Lithuania, Mantvydas Bekesius in Chicago, May 18, 2021. Photo by Staff Sgt. Joseph Truckley, 95th CAB (SO) (Abn).

Original Story. This story by Staff Sgt. Joseph Truckley of the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Special Operations) (Airborne) was originally published on May 21, 2021 by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. DVIDS media is in the public domain.

The Army announced on March 25, 2021, that Maj. Gen. Richard E. Angle will be the next commander of the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He is currently serving as the deputy commander of Joint Special Operations Command at FBNC.

He was posted to JSOC in November 2019. Prior to that he served as the Deputy Commanding General (Operations) of the United States Army Cyber Command at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

His military career began at the United States Military Academy at West Point – where he graduated in 1991 and became an infantry officer. His first assignment was at the platoon level with the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany.

After graduating from the Infantry Officer Advanced Course and the Special Forces Qualification Course, Angle was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), where he commanded a Special Forces Operational Detachment and served as the battalion assistant operations officer.  He later commanded 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), in Okinawa, Japan.

Angle graduated from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and was assigned to the United States Army Office of Military Support in Washington, D.C.  While assigned to this unit, he served as a troop commander, squadron operations officer, unit operations officer, squadron commander, and unit commander. 

His staff assignments include tours as military assistant to the Secretary of the Army; as Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Special Operations Command; and as Deputy Commanding General, 1st Special Forces Command.  He has participated in contingency and combat operations in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, the Horn of Africa, and the Philippines.

Angle has earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from West Point, a master’s in business administration from Webster University, and a master’s in national resource strategy from the National Defense University’s Eisenhower School. 

His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit (one bronze oak leaf cluster); the Bronze Star Medal; the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (one bronze oak leaf cluster); the Meritorious Service Medal (one bronze oak leaf cluster); the Joint Service Commendation Medal; the Army Commendation Medal; the Army Achievement Medal; the Combat Infantryman Badge; the Expert Infantryman Badge; the Master Parachutist Badge; the Military Free Fall Parachutist Badge; the Ranger Tab; the Special Forces Tab; the Pathfinder Badge and the Army Staff Identification Badge.

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Information from official Army biography.

By Lisa Litchfield, USACAPOC, Feb 11, 2021.

Maybe this has happened to you. You’ve been friendly with the local farmer near your basecamp, exchanging waves and occasional greetings, when suddenly one morning, without warning, he is unexplainably hostile and his friendly greetings have digressed into exchanges of gunfire.

Participants in the Agricultural Development for Armed Forces Pre-Deployment Training (ADAPT) program know what went wrong.

“The program really came into its own in Afghanistan,” explained Col. Bradford “Brad” Hughes, who is the Functional Specialty Team (FxSP) Chief for the 351st Civil Affairs Command (CACOM)
out of Mountain View, California.

“During the training we did in January we had a guest speaker, retired two-star, Maj. Gen. Darren Owens, from the Texas National Guard,” said Hughes. “He’s considered kind of the architect of the ADTs, agriculture development teams … with respect to Afghanistan, I want to say this went on for about 10 years while things were pretty active there.”

The message of ADAPT is to provide fundamental training in basic agricultural systems in regions where are troops are going to deploy or mobilize, whether it be for humanitarian aid, or for long term conflict operations. The goal of the program is to ensure Soldiers have a base understanding of the situation before they leave, some awareness of the landscape and its relationship to food insecurity and stability operations while they are down range, and also some very basic intervention techniques they can use, and have continued to use, to build trust with the local population. This allows them to affect a small amount of incremental change during their mission.

One of the goals of the January familiarization training was to expose the entire FxSP to the concepts of food security, and ensure each team member had at least some exposure to information about the influence of agriculture on U.S. missions, both abroad and at home.

The 351st CACOM conducted the ADAPT familiarization for personnel across the Civil Affairs and Security Cooperation ecosystems, including personnel from U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Army Pacific, the 9th Mission Support Command and it’s 322nd Civil Affairs Brigade, and units under the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne) footprint, including the 350th CACOM, the 351st CACOM the 352nd CACOM, and the 353rd CACOM.

Training focused on quick impact, practical, agriculture and food security intervention techniques in pre/post disaster scenarios, and in under-governed regions. Keynote speaker, Maj. Gen. (R) Darren Owens discussed lessons learned and battlefield effects from the Agribusiness Development Team (ADT) mission and Afghanistan, while Dr. Bill Erysian and Mr. Paul Sommers (ADAPT Program Leads) reviewed triggers for food systems insecurity, framing their insights towards Theater Security Cooperation goals within the USINDOPACOM area of responsibility (AOR).

The FxSPs are a way to leverage our “soft power.” A grouping of highly educated experts with specialized career experience and unique skill sets, the teams are brought together to gain influence through human interactions. The FxSPs currently have command and control over the 38G area of concentration. The holders of the 38G MOS are Military Government Specialists and they have a subset of an additional 18 individual skill identifiers where the real expertise lies.

Amongst those specialties lies the 6U skill identifier: Agriculture, business and food individuals. The ADAPT program is designed to give everyone a baseline exposure to what these 6U Soldiers specialize in, and the January training was part of that exposure.

Hughes considers the January ADAPT seminar to function as a sort of preview for Soldiers.

“The familiarization was just a teaser. The full-blown program is 3-5 days and they teach you enough where you can intelligently enter a conversation.” Hughes went on to add that although the team members obviously don’t know as much as the instructors, a key benefit to the training is having that network of people who are available for you to call on in any given situation.

While the training you get through the ADAPT program may not cover every type of agriculture you may encounter, it gives a base understanding of issues and solutions and allows you the capability to reach back to Fresno State and as part of the institutional alignment to provide that reach back support.

Hughes pointed out that, as Americans, and especially Servicemembers, we have sort of a “fix-it” mentality where we want to go in and put something in, make it work, apply the band aid to the situation. With ADAPT, this isn’t the way to sustainability.

“Culturally with some of these nations, things take time to evolve… technology isn’t always the answer,” explained Hughes. “I think what we would leave behind, if we are able to really be culturally attuned and assist, is that reach back. In Civil Affairs it’s all about relationships. Hopefully, at the end of the day, when we leave… these nations know who to call if there’s an issue.”

Building that bridge, establishing that connection is the legacy that these functional specialty teams leave behind in the areas that they are assigned to.

“This is a good program,” enthuses Hughes. “It supports institutional alignment, support geo-strategic reach back and supports the efforts of the Strategic Initiatives Group (SIG) and everything that USACAPOC is wanting to do with the 38G program.”

ADAPT instructors are a group of 15 core personnel who together represent 75 countries of experience. The curriculum, made up of 20% classroom lecture and 80% field work, can be taught in three- or five-day blocks, and can utilize partial or full VTC remote learning. Although useful for all Soldiers deploying, the program was specifically designed with Civil Affairs and the FxSP mission in mind.

Because the ADAPT team has such a broad knowledge base with expertise across all AORs and agro-climatic environments, focusing on the specific AOR that the teams are preparing to assist is an easy task. Actual training during the course is focused on building situational awareness of the assigned region. That base knowledge of the relationship between agriculture, food insecurity, and instability in a given theater of operation greatly enhances the ability to engage and built trust in our partner nations.

The SIG is working hard to establish relationships for each one of the 18 special skills, aligning them with academia, with a university or with an organization like the Smithsonian or the Federal Aviation Administration, whichever relates to that ASI. For food security, or agriculture, business and food, that institutional alignment is with Fresno State in California. Bill Erysian, Ph.D., is one of the key instructors for the ADAPT program and brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge.

Erysian recalls the roots of the ADAPT program going back to approximately 2010 when he and a group of colleagues, who had spent a considerable amount of time overseas working in various agricultural development and rural reform projects, realized that there were just a lot of places they couldn’t get to because of conflict.

Tired of being shot at, and having gained exposure to the Civil Affairs mission through a working relationship with a visiting Marine Corps officer on a goodwill mission to the Fresno area, Erysian identified a gap in pre-deployment education.

Erysian and company developed a program, endorsed by the DoD, that allowed them to engage in training various Soldiers prior to their departure and deployment to different parts of Afghanistan.

The message of ADAPT is to provide fundamental training in basic agricultural systems in regions where are troops are going to deploy. The goal is to make sure they have a base understanding of the situation before they leave, some awareness of the landscape and its relationship to food insecurity and stability operations while they are down range, and also some very basic intervention techniques which they can use, and have continued to use, to build trust in the local population. This allows them to affect incremental change during their mission.

Once the drawdown of forces in Afghanistan began, the program made a switch to focus on the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) region which aligned geographically due to the institution being on the West Coast.

With most of the instructors for the program being veterans, active-duty members, or civilians with conflict environment experience, the program managers decided that their services, program, training principles, and paradigm would be useful for USINDOPACOM given the expertise most of them had in tropical agriculture. This led to a relationship with the 351st CACOM and their subordinate units.

The same principles apply to USINDOPACOM that applied to Afghanistan. Incremental change, an understanding of the local environment, and particularly, do no harm while downrange. This was the training that Hughes and company attended in January.

With the 351 CACOM aligned with Army Pacific, active with Task Force Oceania and having a presence on several of the Indo-Pacific islands, there is the understanding that food is important.

“It really has cultural ramifications, we think there is value there to build rapport, establish credibility, and show that we’re interested in helping these nations, these communities and these cultures,” enthused Erysian.

With over 130 attendees from the USINDOPACOM area of operations and heavy participation from the USACAPOC (A) CACOMs, the January training filled an agricultural knowledge gap that defines the relationship between food insecurity and conflict, and laid the groundwork for future mission success.

Oh, and that farmer? The troops took a shortcut across a field of “weeds” late one night destroying his entire wheat crop. An ADAPT graduate would have known better.

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For more information about how to join Army Reserve Civil Affairs, contact the USACAPOC(A) Task Force Manning recruiting officer at: usarmy.usarc.usacapoc.list.ca-recruiting@mail.mil

For more information about the 351st Civil Affairs Command, Functional Specialty Team (FxSP) contact: Col. Bradford “Brad” Hughes, FxSP Chief, at: bradford.l.hughes.mil@mail.mil

For more information on the ADAPT program contact: Bill Erysian, Ph.D., Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Fresno State University at:
bille@csufresno.edu

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Photo: USAR soldiers attend Agricultural Development for Armed Forces (ADAPT) pre-deployment training with representatives from the Jordan College of Agriculture at Fresno State University, in Fresno, CA, in an undated photo. (courtesy photo USACAPOC)

Author: This story was originally published on February 11, 2021 by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) and is in the public domain. Story entitled “ADAPT and overcome”, by Sgt. 1st Class Lisa Litchfield, U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne).

The Joint Special Operations University has released a new report that explores the use of special operations forces Civil Affairs as a key element for competing below the level of armed conflict. “Great Power Competition” will likely see Civil Affairs assume a more prominent role as the United States and its competitors (Russia, China, and a few others) seek broader influence across the Global South.

In this JSOU report Major Travis Clemens provides an overview of how Civil Affairs can contribute in new and highly valuable ways in the great power competition. For the past two decades the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has dramatically increased its capability to conduct kinetic counterterrorism (CT), counterinsurgency (COIN), and countering threat networks. However this new era of great power competition will see USSOCOM utilize its vast experience with populations-centric missions and influence-oriented capabilities.

A return to great power competition (GPC) has changed how the Department of Defense intends to employ its military forces in the coming years. U.S. military forces must be prepared for a major general war involving planes, ships, and tanks. However, the DoD has recognized that it must also perpetually seek political and military advantage below the level of armed conflict. Its activities for shaping the environment for advantage must be aligned with (and oftentimes in support of) interagency, intergovernmental, multilateral, and corporate partners.

SOF CA has, for the past two decades, focused on stability operations and counterinsurgency. SOF CA will need to widen its range of potential operations in this new era of GPC. The report outlines four principal roles for SOF CA:

• Initial Entry
• Reconnaissance
• Engage and Influence
• Support to Resistance (STR)

Contents of the report:

• Chapter 1. Operational Art and CA Doctrine for Great Power Competition
• Chapter 2. Special Operations CA
• Chapter 3. The PRC
• Chapter 4. Russian Federation
• Conclusion
• Acronyms and Abbreviations
• Endnotes

This report details how SOF CA can help the U.S. military as it faces its adversaries in the many aspects of international competition. It also provides an ‘consolidated’ explanation of the role that SOF CA plays within great power competition. In the conclusion the author offers recommendations for changes needed in doctrine, organization, training, and equipment to further develop the capabilities of SOF CA in great power competition.

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The author, Major Travis Clemens, is an active duty civil affairs officer in the U.S. Army. He holds a master’s degree in defense analysis with a specialization on special operations and irregular warfare from the Naval Postgraduate School and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from California Polytechnic State University. Clemens has multiple SOF and conventional force deployments. During his career he has worked with Naval Special Warfare, U.S. Army Special Forces, and Marine Special Operations units and teams.

Special Operations Forces Civil Affairs in Great Power Competition, by Travis Clemens, JSOU Report 20-4, Joint Special Operations University, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, 2020, PDF, 126 pages.
https://jsou.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=56753304

By Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Williams.

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. – Clip, clip, snap … an Army Reserve paratrooper breathes heavily through his facemask while donning the harness of an MC-6 parachute. As the paratrooper adjusts his parachute, noises could be heard six feet away as two Sailors assist one of their own in donning the parachute system. With temperatures reaching the mid 90’s and individuals adhering to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines, service members work together to refine and retool their proficiency in airborne operations.

More than 70 paratroopers, including members of the 404th Civil Affairs Battalion and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 12 conducted joint airborne operations training here on Aug. 13, 2020 in order to “maintain currency” among their jumpmasters.

“We have to be able to talk purple, especially when we deploy,” said Lt. Col. JohnPaul Le Cedre, commander of the 404th Civil Affairs Battalion. “We have units deployed around the world and when we conduct joint ops with the active component or Navy jumpmasters we need to be able to cross talk which allows us to cross operate.”

During the last five months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 404th has maintained their readiness by administering virtual airborne refresher classes to Soldiers. During these virtual classes, jumpmasters talk through each of the steps involved in airborne operations, touching on tasks and procedures from donning a parachute to properly exiting an aircraft. As Solders move away from virtual training and come together for the first time, members of a U.S. Navy explosive ordnance disposal unit were invited to train alongside them and exchange their best practices.

“We invited them here because their proficiency allows them to bring their point of view and we don’t want to keep our experience insular,” Lt. Col. Cedre said. “We want to share our experience with others because it builds our own proficiency and we feel that, ‘hey maybe we can tweak things to become a little better and safer.’”

As members of EODMU 12 take turns in donning the MC-6 parachute system, Jumpmasters made their way around the field, observing the paratroopers engaged in rehearsals for sustained airborne training.

“They did a really good job of offering hands-on training and putting the parachute on to physically jump out of a mock airplane,” Lt. Jack James, an officer in charge with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 12 said. “Learning how to practice the parachute landing fall is extremely important to staying safe during combat falls, and learning the positioning on how to jump from an airplane was helpful as a refresher.”

EODMU 12 sailors are trained to diffuse conventional bombs, ordnance, and even biological weapons. Besides the ability to defuse bombs under water, the unit also possesses airborne capabilities which allow them to support operations alongside Army assets. Being offered an opportunity to train alongside their counterparts enhances their ability to perform at a higher level.

Lt. James said it was interesting to see the how things are done differently between the services and how much insight he was given into how a battalion level Army airborne programs works through this joint training.

“This unit requires a sailor to be a jack of all trades,” Lt. James said. “We have to have the ability to insert with a lot of different units. At the end of the day airborne is like diving. It gets us to the point of the problem. Wherever we need to go, that’s the route, whether it’s diving in the water or jumping out of an airplane onto a target.”

No matter what military branch a paratrooper belongs too, each jumper’s mindset is different when it comes to mentally preparing for an airborne mission. Whether it’s pacing around a grassy area talking through the motions, or sitting down on hot concrete mentally mapping how a scenario plays out, jumpers prepare their minds for what their bodies are about to go through.

“I visualize everything from hooking up the static line to jumping out of the airplane,” Lt. James said. “I think about how I’ve been trained and the muscle memory I have through practice. It gets dangerous when you get complacent; training prevents that complacency.”

Lt. James said unlike what is seen in movies, jumping is a nerve-wracking experience, but he’s learned new techniques, which will help him mitigate injuries and perform better in the field alongside service partners.

As the training day winds down and the sun sets, Soldiers and Sailors wipe sweat off of their foreheads and congregate six feet apart muffling words of encouragement to one another through their masks.

“Success with a battalion airborne program in the Army Reserve means you must have good communication and relationships with your adjacent airborne units. Those units, in my experience, have been other Army units, U.S. Navy Special Operations, and Air Force Pararescue,” Lt. Col. LeCedre said. “When I see another jumpmaster from any unit there’s a recognition that this is a professional; this is an expert that can be relied upon, and I can trust this person.”

The question of “how will the military adapt to COVID-19?” is far gone as units continuously identify ways to overcome the challenges this pandemic presents, but no matter how rough the road, military services will continue to function and thrive … together.

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Story: This article was first posted on the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) and is part of the public domain. “404th Paratroopers and US Navy EOD Conduct Joint Training”, by Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Williams, 361st Theater Public Affairs Support Element, August 19, 2020.

Photo: A U.S. Army Reserve Paratrooper with the 404th Civil Affairs Battalion practices a landing technique by jumping out of a mock airplane here on Aug. 12, 2020. (U.S. Army Photo By: Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Williams, 361st Theater Public Affairs Support Element/Released)

About the 404th. The 404th Civil Affairs Battalion is located on Fort Dix, New Jersey. It is a unit of the U.S. Army Reserve. B Company of the 404th recently completed a tour in Djibouti while assigned to Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) in 2019.
https://www.facebook.com/404CABN/

About Civil Affairs. The U.S. Army Civil Affairs Regiment was formally established in 1955 as a U.S. Army Reserve branch. It was designated as the Civil Affairs Regiment in October 1959. In October 2006, civil affairs was further established as a basic branch of the Army. On August 17, 2020 the Civil Affairs Regiment celebrated its 65th anniversary (Army.mil, Aug 17, 2020).