This is the third and final part of our interview focused on how Civil Affairs serves as the connective tissue between the military and civil government during military operations. Civil Affairs engage and leverage the civil component or population of an area, region, or country. Civil Affairs operates during peace time operations, competition, crisis, and conflict by providing guidance and support to both the military and civil government. During rotation 25-02 at the National Training Center (NTC) a Civil Military Operations Center (CMOC), a Company level CA entity, executed SOF operations along side a conventional Brigade. This three part episode discusses the experiences that the CMOC had during that rotation. About the Guests:

Jessica Lauder: MAJ Lauder is the CMOC Chief. Jess was an Chemical Officer in the National Guard prior to switching to active duty Air Defense Officer prior to becoming SOF Civil Affairs. As a CA Officer, she has operational experience across CENTCOM. Kevin: Kevin is the operations Sergeant for the CMOC. He has over eight years of SOF Civil Affairs experience. Prior to becoming SOF CA, Kevin was a fueler. He has multiple conventional and SOF deployments to CENTCOM and AFRICOM. About the OC/T:

Pat McCluskey: CPT McCluskey is the lead Civil Affairs Observer Coach-Trainer for Burro team. He served as the lead OC/T for this CMOC only rotation. Pat has operational experience in EUCOM. About the Host:

CPT Weston Rich is a member of SOF Plans at the NTC and former member of Burro Team, the Special Operations Training Detachment OC/T Team at NTC. Prior to his time at NTC, Weston served as a Detachment Commander with 1st SFG (A) and as an Infantry Officer with 3-509th IN (ABN)/4/25 ID (now part of 2/11 ABN DIV). Following his time at NTC, Weston will attend Carnegie Mellon University with a follow-on assignment to Army Futures Command. This episode covers:

- CA serving as the sole ARSOF entity during a CTC rotation, CMOC fulfilling all staff functions and being the sole SOF entity integrating with a conventional brigade

- The importance of Intel and having the right people working on Intel, Intel war fighting function in the targeting cycle

- integration through physically being co-located versus integrating and interoperating while displaced

- Commanders guidance; specifying what the limits might be and the criteria that needs to be met by the unit if action

- Prolonged Casualty Care scenario; using non-standard medical network and planning evacuation; passing of information from adjacent unit missions to get unit faction the required information in a timely manner

- Balancing operations and resources ins resource constrained environment, managing battle rhythm with rhythm of battle

- Deliberate method for planning, communication, and executing the plan

- Civil Affairs in Large Scale Combat: consolidation of gains (more USACAPOC task), creating opportunities beyond the FLOT and creating operational time for the maneuver force, horizontal escalation: actions in third countries or separate regions that effect the combat zone, influencing the Division deep and extended deep areas

- Commander’s role to visualize the battlefield, commander serving as plans officer to push the planning process further forward and visualize the future battlefield to make decisions now to drive end state

- biggest lessons learned: fundamentals: PCC/PCIs, comms, taking training seriously, systems and processes, mentally towards training Please like, subscribe, and share these episodes with ARSOF any conventional Soldiers and Leaders to spread the knowledge of ARSOF in LSCO.

To provide feedback please email the host, CPT Rich, at weston.rich@socom.mil.

Produced, edited, and sound engineering by Micah Popp of Salty Sounds

This episode is focused on how Civil Affairs serves as the connective tissue between the military and civil government during military operations. Civil Affairs engage and leverage the civil component or population of an area, region, or country. Civil Affairs operates during peace time operations, competition, crisis, and conflict by providing guidance and support to both the military and civil government. During rotation 25-02 at the National Training Center (NTC) a Civil Military Operations Center (CMOC), a Company level CA entity, executed SOF operations along side a conventional Brigade. This three part episode discusses the experiences that the CMOC had during that rotation. About the Guests: Jessica Lauder: MAJ Lauder is the CMOC Chief. Jess was an Chemical Officer in the National Guard prior to switching to active duty Air Defense Officer prior to becoming SOF Civil Affairs. As a CA Officer, she has operational experience across CENTCOM. Kevin: Kevin is the operations Sergeant for the CMOC. He has over eight years of SOF Civil Affairs experience. Prior to becoming SOF CA, Kevin was a fueler. He has multiple conventional and SOF deployments to CENTCOM and AFRICOM. About the OC/T: Pat McCluskey: CPT McCluskey is the lead Civil Affairs Observer Coach-Trainer for Burro team. He served as the lead OC/T for this CMOC only rotation. Pat has operational experience in EUCOM. About the Host: CPT Weston Rich is a member of SOF Plans at the NTC and former member of Burro Team, the Special Operations Training Detachment OC/T Team at NTC. Prior to his time at NTC, Weston served as a Detachment Commander with 1st SFG (A) and as an Infantry Officer with 3-509th IN (ABN)/4/25 ID (now part of 2/11 ABN DIV). Following his time at NTC, Weston will attend Carnegie Mellon University with a follow-on assignment to Army Futures Command. This episode covers:

- Translating CA operations onto graphics and products; link analysis, overlays, common operating picture (depicting human terrain on top of physical terrain)

- Coordinating and communicating with the conventional Brigade; using the conventional CA component; attending Brigade battle rhythm events; commander to commander dialog

- Handling civilians on the battlefield / displaced civilians; influence the environment to reduce civilian movement through battlefield; balancing risk to networks and capabilities through changes in operational environment

- Messaging why the environment is shifting; gas to operational area is shut off to civilians, narrative of who is responsible and why, is Coalition or host nation government delivering gas to civilians during this time

- Passing off responsibilities and resources to the conventional CA as the battlefield changes and the SOF focuses shifts farther forward

- CA generates options for Special Operations Forces and conventional forces

- Understanding authorities and permissions to reduce the approval time for operations

- Understanding issuing guidance and allowing down trace units to develop the how, the military decision making process; requesting and speaking in effects Please like, subscribe, and share these episodes with ARSOF any conventional Soldiers and Leaders to spread the knowledge of ARSOF in LSCO.

To provide feedback please email the host, CPT Rich, at weston.rich@socom.mil.

Produced, edited, and sound engineering by Micah Popp of Salty Sounds

This episode is focused on how Civil Affairs serves as theconnective tissue between the military and civil government during military operations. Civil Affairs engage and leverage the civil component or population of an area, region, or country. Civil Affairs operates during peace time operations, competition, crisis, and conflict by providing guidance and support to both the military and civil government. During rotation 25-02 at the National Training Center (NTC) a Civil Military Operations Center (CMOC), a Company level CA entity, executed SOF operations along side a conventional Brigade. This three part episode discusses the experiences that the CMOC had during that rotation.

About the Guests:

Jessica Lauder: MAJ Lauder is the CMOC Chief. Jess was anChemical Officer in the National Guard prior to switching to active duty Air Defense Officer prior to becoming SOF Civil Affairs. As a CA Officer, she has operational experience across CENTCOM.

Kevin: Kevin is the operations Sergeant for the CMOC. He hasover eight years of SOF Civil Affairs experience. Prior to becoming SOF CA, Kevin was a fueler. He has multiple conventional and SOF deployments to CENTCOM and AFRICOM.

About the OC/T:

Pat McCluskey: CPT McCluskey is the lead Civil Affairs Observer Coach-Trainer for Burro team. He served as the lead OC/T for this CMOC only rotation. Pat has operational experience in EUCOM.

About the Host:

CPT Weston Rich is a member of SOF Plans at the NTC andformer member of Burro Team, the Special Operations Training Detachment OC/T Team at NTC. Prior to his time at NTC, Weston served as a Detachment Commander with 1st SFG (A) and as an Infantry Officer with 3-509th IN (ABN)/4/25 ID (now part of 2/11 ABN DIV). Following his time at NTC, Weston will attend Carnegie Mellon University with a follow-on assignment to Army Futures Command.

This episode covers:

- How the CMOC prepared for their NTC rotation, through training at home station, using realistic military training, and operational deployments; starting to prepare as earlier as possible

- Training basics, such as convoy briefs to go to a team dinner,training focused on shoot, move, communicate, and medicate

- Managing operations when the headquarters is split

- Testing systems, processes, and set-ups through varioustraining and operations; seting up a TOC: figuring out what tents, vehicles, etc are needed to execute a mobile operations center

- Task organization of a CA Company

- SOF CA conducting non-kinetic / non-lethal targeting

- Reporting; reducing ambiguity in writing, issues clearguidance, ensuring down trace units understand guidance, and training down trace units to report in a clear concise manner

- Learning from the mentorship of the retired SOF role players

- Creating a shared understanding; getting the information out of your head and into a digestible format for others to understand and initiate action

- Communicating capabilities and intent and demonstrate value to conventional unit

- Providing recommendations not just data

Please like, subscribe, and share these episodes with ARSOF any conventional Soldiers and Leaders to spread the knowledge of ARSOF in LSCO.

To provide feedback please email the host, CPT Rich, atweston.rich@socom.mil.

Produced, edited, and sound engineering by Micah Popp ofSalty Sounds