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MEMORANDUM FOR 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Special Operations) (Airborne) SUBJECT: Command Training Guidance
1. Purpose. To provide training guidance to the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (SO) (A) that focuses on individual and collective training and allows the brigade to prioritize training resources in preparation for global employment.
2. Intent. The 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (SO) (A) will train and certify individual warrior tasks, battle drills, and CA Team Battle Tasks, validate companies on Mission Essential Tasks (MET), certify battalions on METs, and develop leaders. The illustration below depicts the Foundational Training Strategy that builds proficiency at the point of contact thorough certification, verification, and validation at echelon.
1. (CUI) Situation.
a. (CUI) Training Environment. The 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (SO) (A) will train in permissive, contested, and denied environments – to include in preparation for large scale combat operations (LSCO) based on the complex areas of responsibilities that we operate in. To the greatest extent possible, collective training events will incorporate contested space and LSCO environments. Training focus will be 50 percent on Strategic Competition, 25 percent on LSCO, and 25 percent on Counter-Violent Extremist Organizations.
b. (CUI) Friendly Forces.
(1) (CUI) United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) Mission. Our Army Special Operations Forces Mission is to prepare for any conflict and arm the joint
force with the world’s premier Army Special Operations Forces. Army Special Operations Forces are vital to the Nation through our unique capabilities— advancing partnerships, influencing adversarial behavior, executing special operations, and responding to crisis.
(2) (CUI) 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) (1SFC(A)) Mission. The 1st SFC
(A) mans, trains, equips, validates, and deploys Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) globally to conduct special operations in support of theater and national objectives. On order, 1st SFC (A) serves as the Army core of deployable Special Operations Joint Task Forces (SOJTF) headquarters to command and control special operations and coalition forces supporting global crisis response and contingency missions.
(3) (CUI) 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) (1st SFC (A)) Commander’s Vision and Value. 1st SFC (A) is the premier partnered Irregular Warfare Force. 1st SFC (A) provides tailorable, scalable, purpose-built ARSOF units of action that are specially selected, trained and equipped to conduct Irregular Warfare (IW) in complex environments across the competition continuum- transregionally and in all domains. As masters of the indigenous approach, we are culturally astute, regionally oriented, globally networked, and forward postured. We build generational relationships with allies and partners to extend influence, while developing a deep understanding of our environment. Forces that can rapidly transition from cooperation through conflict, that are at the point of need to respond, and also inform, assist, or enable those who will respond. A deployable two-star warfighting headquarters that plans and executes full spectrum IW campaigns across the competition continuum. During conflict, forces that enable deep fires and asymmetric effects inside of an anti-access/area denial environment, creating windows of opportunity for the joint force and multiple dilemmas for the adversary.
c. (CUI) Training Management
(1) (CUI) Leaders at all levels must be good stewards of our Nation’s resources: people, money, and time. Systems exist to ensure we are managing these properly. These include Defense Ready (DR), the Digital Training Management System (DTMS), and Training Resource Management (TRM). Proper utilization of these systems enables the brigade to maximize readiness and reduce operational risk.
(a) (CUI) Defense Ready (DR) / SOF READY. The brigade will use DR – scheduled to be renamed SOF READY in 2023 – to record, track, and project individual Soldier PERSTEMPO and D2D ratios. The brigade, battalions, and companies must have a sufficient number of DR trained personnel to effectively manage PERSTEMPO and D2D throughout training and operational deployments. The Unit Status Calendar in DR will be used in place of the DTMS training calendar from brigade to team echelon, with daily duty status tracking
individuals.
(b) (CUI) DTMS. DTMS will be used to document, store, and communicate individual training records and small unit level training plans. In accordance with HQDA EXORD 295-20, units in the brigade will support this program and the standardization of training management by submitting Mission Essential Task (MET) proficiency monthly and updating warrior task and battle drills, individual and crew served weapons qualification, Army Combat Fitness Test data, Soldier height and weight, and Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) training as necessary.
(c) (CUI) TRM. 1st SFC (A) directs the implementation of training resource management at the lowest levels. The TRM process enables the brigade to justify its training resource requirements. Companies are responsible for developing cost estimate worksheets by event and sharing them with the brigade S37 TRM section. The FY 24 TRM is due to BDE on 23 JUN 2023.
(2) (CUI) Company Validation Opportunities. Combat Training Centers (CTCs), Joint National Training Capability (JNTC) exercises, Geographic Combatant Command (GCC) exercises, and brigade-ran exercises (e.g. STALKHM) are all approved validation exercises. See paragraph 3 for more details.
(3) (CUI) Battalion Certification Opportunities. The priority battalion certification events are STALKHM and Warfighter Exercises. However, battalions can certify at other certification venues. To be prepared for respective CONPLANs, battalions will certify at these exercises on a rotational basis. Battalion Commanders certify their battalions.
(4) (CUI) Partnered Training. The brigade encourages training partnership with regionally aligned SOF units, Army Reserve CA, and the interagency in most collective training events. All companies and teams will conduct combined training with SOF partners that they will deploy with to the greatest extent possible. Additionally, companies and teams will coordinate training with Army National Guard units aligned to their country of deployment under the State Partnership Program (https://www.nationalguard.mil/Leadership/Joint-Staff/J-5/International-Affairs-Division/State-Partnership-Program/)
2. (CUI) Mission. The 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Special Operations) (Airborne) mans, trains, equips, validates, and deploys Civil Affairs forces globally to understand and influence the civil component to support theater and national objectives. On order, the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (SO) (A) deploys a CA Task Force or rapidly task-organizes as part of a cross-functional team to achieve military objectives across the competition continuum.
3. (CUI) Execution.
a. (CUI) Commander’s Training Guidance. The 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (SO) (A) will train and certify individual warrior tasks, battle drills, and CA Team Battle Tasks, validate companies on Mission Essential Tasks (MET), certify battalions on METs, and develop leaders.
(1) (CUI) Combat-focused training. The 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (SO) (A) must be prepared to support operations up to and including large-scale combat operations. Mastery of individual warrior tasks, battle drills, and CA Team Battle Tasks is paramount to building proficiency through multiple repetitions over time. Incorporating the basics throughout all phases of training is key. Leaders will develop unit training plans that incorporate the following throughout the training cycle: mobile command and control, personnel recovery, C4I integration
and protection, UAS/C-UAS, CBRNE, air threats, information warfare, electronic warfare and cyber, identity management, and team-level airborne operations with follow-on missions.
(2) (CUI) Civil Reconnaissance (CR) and Civil Engagement (CE). Core capabilities of the brigade include civil reconnaissance, civil engagement, and civil knowledge integration. The brigade continues to develop the Advanced CR Course. This advanced course’s objectives are to train Soldiers on techniques to conduct CR through partners, digital CR, and employment of UAS in support of CR. Companies can build on the brigade’s Advanced Skills Detachment (ASD)-led CR training with a variety of means, including DoD or NGT training and unit-developed CR training.
(3) (CUI) Civil Knowledge Integration (CKI) The brigade CKI Section is both a training and operations resource for battalions and companies. The section facilitates digital force protection training and the safe conduct of open-source research (OSR) through publicly available information (PAI) for training, in preparation for deployment, and while deployed. To support this, the section maintains the brigade’s OSR lab, which has NIPR, SIPR, and DISA Private Data Internet Service Provider (PDISP) internet connections as well as access to managed attribution system. Any element within the brigade may coordinate with the CKI Section to use the lab. The section is also responsible for facilitating CKI training and is developing a formal CKI course. Units looking for training or operational support should contact the brigade CKI Section through their respective battalion CKI sections.
b. (CUI) Operating in the Information Environment. Deployed Civil Affairs forces will operate with partners and against adversaries active in the information environment. Leaders must understand the relationships between Information Operations and Civil Affairs Activities and Civil Affairs Supported Activities. At a minimum, one member of every CMOC will train on the conduct of Information Operations through the Army’s Information Operations Planner’s Course (AIOPC), Tactical Information Operations Planners Course (TIOPC), or other Information Operations courses.
c. (CUI) Concept of Operations. The brigade directs a focus on individual warrior tasks, battle drills, and CA Team Battle Tasks. The ARM cycle is not constrained by prescribed time windows for each phase. ARM cycles will differ by battalion due to operational requirements and slants, but individual soldier skills and proficiencies establish a solid foundation for unit collective training and are the basis for collective task proficiency. Units will develop their own training pathways that follow the Foundational Training Strategy depicted earlier. These pathways will incorporate individual certification, team collective training events, team certification, and company validation exercises with ample time for retraining. The following graphic depicts a sample company training pathway:
(Sample Company Training Glidepath)
d. (CUI) Phase One (Individual Training). This phase begins with the development of the Unit Training Plan and ends with an Individual Warrior Tasks and Battle Drill certification and
retraining event.
(1) (CUI) During the individual phase, companies will prioritize individual schools and building individual task and weapons proficiency. Individual warrior task and battle drill training should be planned and executed at the team level. Company command teams will prioritize individual battle tasks in their Unit Training Plan (UTP). Company Commanders will conduct and document a warrior task and battle drill certification exercise certifying each Soldier according to GO/NO GO criteria. Company Commanders certify Individual Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills, while Battalion Commanders verify the certification.
(2) (CUI) Commanders must reference their respective Theater Special Operations Command’s (TSOC) Mission Guidance Letter (MGL) when building their training plan.
(3) (CUI) Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills are located in the Army Training Network (ATN) (https://atn.army.mil/wtbd).
(4) (CUI) Language, Regional Expertise, and Culture (LREC). Command teams must plan for language training throughout their ARM cycle, beginning in the individual phase. All 38-series Soldiers will maintain the 1+/1+ current/qualified standard in their control language at all times.
e. (CUI) Phase Two (Collective Training). This phase begins with the successful certification of individual and team Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills and ends with successful execution of a Company EXEVAL. Each collective training phase includes training events found in section (2) b. and retraining throughout the pathway. Company Commanders certify teams, while Battalion Commanders verify the certification.
(1) (CUI) CA Battle Tasks:
(a) Conduct Area Assessment
(b) Conduct Civil Reconnaissance
(c) Conduct Civil Engagement
(d) Conduct Civil Knowledge Integration
(e) Conduct Troop Leading Procedures
(f) Develop Indigenous Governance Capabilities
(g) Develop Support Networks
(h) Plan Civil Affairs Operations in support of UW
(i) Perform Civil Information Collection
(2) (CUI) 1st SFC (A) Prioritized Battle Task List Common to all ARSOF UAs:
(a) Conduct Troop Leading Procedures
(b) Conduct Tactical Movement – Platoon
(c) Conduct Tactical Convoy
(d) Establish Operational Areas
(3) (CUI) 1st SFC (A) Prioritized Battle Task List for CA Teams:
(a) Conduct an Area Assessment
(b) Conduct Civil Reconnaissance
(c) Conduct Civil Engagement
(d) Analyze Civil Networks
(e) Develop Civil Networks
(4) (CUI) Collective Training Events. During the Collective Phase, companies will conduct the following collective training events, incorporating retraining as required:
(a) 2 x Team Collective Events
(b) 1 x Team Certification Event (e.g. STX, FTX, exercises)
(c) 1 x Company Convoy Live-Fire Exercise
(d) 1 x Company Collective Event (may be done in conjunction with Team Certification)
(e) 1 x Company External Evaluation (e.g. CTC rotation, STALKHM, other approved exercise)
(5) (CUI) Validation Exercises. The training cycle will culminate with a Company External Evaluation (EXEVAL). For all events, companies will execute integrated irregular warfare training with SOF counterparts. The Brigade Commander validates each Company. Companies are considered “Ready” upon completion of a Company Validation Brief to the Brigade Commander.
(6) Companies will utilize the following EXEVAL opportunities, listed in order of precedence. Deviations are approved by the BDE CDR.
(a) (CUI) Combat Training Center (CTC) rotations consist of the National Training Center (NTC), the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC), the Mission Command Training Program (MCTP), and the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC). CA companies should only utilize these events for EXEVALs if a 0/1/3 slant can be achieved. CA rotational units will be aligned with supported deploying Special Forces Groups and battalions or Joint SOF elements first, followed by regionally aligned Special Forces Groups.
(b) (CUI) Army Special Operations Forces – Testing and Experimentation Center (SOF-TEC) is the primary venue for ARSOF maneuver battalions conducting SOTF EXEVAL or Operation Inherent Resolve. Battalions and companies will seek to execute integrated training at SOF-TEC in support of SOTF training objectives.
(c) (CUI) Geographic Combatant Command (GCC) Exercises identified as funded in the USSOCOM Enterprise Wide Training and Exercise Program (UEWTEP) Program Execution Plan (PEP). CA companies, when able, should combine with cross-functional partners in available GCC exercises to provide SOTF support elements to leverage joint and multi-national interoperability OCONUS.
(d) (CUI) Joint National Training Capability (JNTC) Exercises, TSOC Exercises, or Operation STALKHM.
(e) (CUI) Contracted or battalion-sponsored exercises designed to certify and/or validate mission-specific training objectives.
f. (CUI) Leader Development. The brigade conducts leadership professional development (LPD) training each fiscal quarter. These deliberate training events aim to develop our Soldiers and Civilians into competent and confident leaders capable of directing teams and organizations to execute decisive action. Battalion and company command teams should incorporate their own LPD programs into their unit training pathway IAW DA PAM 350-58.
g. (CUI) Assessment.
(1) (CUI) Brigade 350-1. The Brigade 350-1 is the primary document regarding individual and collective training, professional development prioritization, and grade-plate
development for the brigade. This document assigns training responsibilities, ties training management to resources, states resource policy, prescribes individual and collective training requirements, and establishes training assessment and certification guidance. This CTG compliments the 350-1 with more refined guidance and additional areas of emphasis that demand command attention.
(2) (CUI) METL. In accordance with FM 7-0, Training (2021), only commanders assess training. Based on observed task performance and other feedback, the commander renders a proficiency assessment (Trained, Practiced, Untrained). The commander’s assessment also informs planning for future training events on the areas that require improvement or sustainment. Commanders take a holistic view of feedback when assessing training. A holistic view ensures that the final assessment is not based on one or a few sources of feedback but is a balanced consideration of all available information. These sources include – but are not limited to – training and enabling objectives (T&EOs), commander-to-commander dialogue, higher commander feedback, after action reviews, evaluator comments, and subordinate leader input.
(3) (CUI) Support to Transitional Governance Framework. Support to Transitional Governance training should be incorporated across ARM cycle events. Companies should leverage individual and collective schools, courses, and exercises to introduce governing concepts that support this task. Most importantly, companies must continue to leverage and integrate governance concepts and tools in enhancing training. The mode of brigade support to these events continues to be the training resource meeting. The following graphic depicts the brigade’s Support to Transitional Governance Framework:
(4) (CUI) Certification, Verification, and Validation (CV2) methodology. The Commander’s training priority is individual and collective CV2 of CA units of action prior to operational deployments and to be ready to support requirements for CONPLANs/OPLANs. All CA units will execute a CV2 process that is synchronized with Joint / Army training events and/or exercises that ensure a regional focus. Conventional Forces / Special Operations Forces Integration, Interoperability, and Interdependence (CF/SOF I3) and alignment with GCC requirements in accordance with USSOCOM Dir. 350-12 remain a priority.
(a) (CUI) Certification. Unit certification is confirmation by the unit commander that all individual/team qualifications are current and that the unit has trained to standard on individual tasks, collective tasks, and battle drills.
(b) (CUI) Verification. Unit verification is the preparation of a packet addressing manning, training, equipment, operation design, and key engagements conducted during the certification process. The packet should provide the commander (two levels up) an overview of the unit, certification process, and any training shortcomings and mitigating issues.
(c) (CUI) Validation. Validation is a comprehensive process resulting from a well-resourced and executed unit training plan serving to facilitate commander dialogue and mitigate risk. At Quarterly Training Briefs (QTB), battalions and companies will brief their training plan to the Brigade Commander to provide the details of unit level training and the validation events. Prior to employment, every company headquarters will conduct a validation brief (includes mission concept, training pathway, proficiency assessment, and retraining plan if necessary) where a validation memo will be presented to the Brigade Commander which encompasses the company’s entire training pathway, the unit’s method and assessed MET rating upon completion of their EXEVAL, and the mitigations put in place for any residual risk. All “T” ratings stem from an EXEVAL approved and resourced by the Brigade Commander.
(5) (CUI) Evaluators The brigade runs an evaluator academy to train and certify individuals to assess companies on behalf of the Brigade Commander. Company-level evaluators will be resourced from outside the battalion. Team-level evaluators will be resourced from within the battalion. If unable to resource evaluators from within the battalion, units may submit a formal request for support to brigade. Evaluators should be at least equal in rank to the leader of the unit they will assess. Evaluators perform evaluations using the METL and associated T&EOs to record a unit’s performance as training is executed.
h. (CUI) 95th Advanced Skills Detachment (ASD). The ASD is a training resource that provides advanced mobility, tactics, combatives, and reconnaissance training committees. Experienced, command-selected instructors serve as subject matter experts to develop, standardize, and execute training in advanced SOF Civil Affairs skills. ASD will be utilized as a train-the-trainer platform to develop training proficiency in the cadre of company-level NCOs. Refer to the Brigade 350-1 and ASD Course Catalog for additional information.
i. (CUI) Preservation of the Force and Family (POTFF) / Human Performance and Wellness (HPW). The end-state of POTFF is a resilient SOF enterprise with optimized performance across all five domains, enabling improved readiness to best meet operational demands for the duration of a SOF career. Commanders will ensure every training event, regardless of scope or duration, incorporates more than one of the five domains: physical, psychological, cognitive, social & family, and spiritual. All CA teams that are in the collective training phase are required to enroll with trainers at the Human Performance Training Center (HPTC) and execute team-centric physical fitness training throughout the entire phase.
4. (CUI) Sustainment.
a. (CUI) Concept of Support. Priority of training support and resources will be to units in the collective training phase of the ARM.
b. (CUI) Material and Services.
(1) (CUI) Class V – Ammunition. The brigade land and ammo section will plan, allocate, forecast, manage, and approve requests for ammunition. Battalions will forecast ammunition and explosive requirements and input them into TAMIS no later than 90 days prior to training execution. The unit executing training will manage ammunition requirements, issues, expenditures, and turn-ins.
(2) (CUI) Realistic Military Training (RMT). In accordance with Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI) 1322.28, dated 18 March 2013, all military training events occurring outside real federal property will be conducted IAW RMT instruction. 1st SFC (A) has determined "Real Federal Property" is defined as military installations only. Therefore, any training event occurring off a military installation is considered a RMT event.
(3) (CUI) Non-Governmental Training (NGT). Commercially available training designed to supplement the training of soldiers on required skills that are either not available in the ATRRS catalog or are unavailable during the time required. This training is available for anyone to purchase. See S37 Sharepoint for guidance on developing packets.
(4) (CUI) Combat Trauma Management (CTM) and Combat Trauma Management Cross Training (CTM-XT). Culminating training events for SOF medics and critical to mission readiness. The training events are not classified but are sensitive in nature. To safeguard this training asset for the future, USASOC prohibits CSUs from participating in contractor provided medical training using live tissue and requires that all information pertaining to this training be limited to the smallest population possible. All training must be conducted in strict compliance with public law, DOD instruction, and applicable regulations and policies. Training may only be conducted under USAJFKSWCS Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approved protocols. (See RMT-NGT-CTM Guidance)
5. (CUI) Command and Signal.
a. (CUI) Command. The 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (SO) (A) is headquartered at Building X-4647, Fort Bragg, NC, 28310.
b. (CUI) Signal. The 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (SO) (A) will utilize a variety of platforms for training and operational purposes. Units will be trained and proficient in the use of available platforms and will fully comply with OPSEC-related regulatory guidance.