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March-April 2008 | Volume 21 | Issue 2
Articles
Fighting Lawfare
Our enemies are increasingly using lawsuits to tie up U.S. resources and sway world opinion. While lawfare presents unique
challenges, this article proposes tactics and lessons learned that
can help tactical commanders adapt to the threat.
16 Civil Affairs Support to the Surge
The 95th CA Brigades support to the surge in Iraq demonstrates

CAs capability to support conventional forces and yields lessons
for units conducting civil-military operations.
24 Meeting the Standards
Training in Special Forces advanced skills is highly sought-after, yet every year, prospective students arrive for training only
to be turned away because they are not qualified or ready. To
save time and money, the unit responsible for conducting SF
advanced-skills training explains how units and Soldiers should
prepare before they arrive.
24
Departments
4
From the Commandant
Update
28
Career Notes
30
Book Reviews
ON THE COVER
A member of the
96th Civil Affairs Battalion shares photos
of his family with
Iraqi children. The
96th CA Battalion
was in Iraq to support the Surge.
U.S. Army photo
Special Warfare
Commander & Commandant
Major General James W. Parker
Editor
Jerry D. Steelman
Associate Editor
Janice Burton
Graphics & Design
Jennifer Martin
Webmaster
Eva Herrera
16
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU...
The Special Warfare staff needs your help to make this the best publication it
can be. Drop us a line and let us know your ideas and opinions about the new
concept and design of the magazine.
What do you like or dislike?
What would you like to see in future issues?
Are the articles addressing issues that are pertinent to the force?
Are there any issues you want to discuss that may not require a magazine
article?
Just tell us whats on your mind.
Send Letters To:

Editor, Special Warfare;
E-mail:
Attn: AOJK-DTD-MP;
JFK Special Warfare
Center and School
Fort Bragg, NC 28310
Include your full name, rank, address and phone number

with all submissions. Articles dealing with a specific
operation should be reviewed for security through the
authors chain of command.
steelman@soc.mil
Special Warfare is an authorized, official bimonthly

publication of the United States Army John F. Kennedy
Special Warfare Center and School, Fort Bragg, N.C. Its
mission is to promote the professional development of
special-operations forces by providing a forum for the examination of established doctrine and new ideas.
Views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect official Army
position. This publication does not supersede
any information presented in other official Army
publications.
Articles, photos, artwork and letters are invited and
should be addressed to Editor, Special Warfare,
USAJFKSWCS, Fort Bragg, NC 28310. Telephone: DSN
239-5703, commercial (910) 432-5703, fax 432-6950
or send e-mail to steelman@soc.mil. Special Warfare
reserves the right to edit all material.
Published works may be reprinted, except where copyrighted, provided credit is given to Special Warfare and
the authors.
Official distribution is limited to active and reserve
special-operations units. Individuals desiring private subscriptions should forward their requests to: Superintendent of
Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Special Warfare is also available on the
USASOC internal Web (https:asociweb.soc.mil/swcs/
dotd/swmag/index.htm).
By order of the Secretary of the Army:

General George W. Casey Jr.
General, United States Army
Chief of Staff
Official:
Joyce E. Morrow
Administrative Assistant to the
Secretary of the Army
0800801
Headquarters, Department of the Army
America is fighting an enemy that is tenacious and adaptable.

As we take the fight to them, they alter the way they operate. We
know that the special-operations Soldiers we train are just as
tenacious and adaptable as our nations enemies. Its our job to
make them even more so a job taken seriously by the military
and civilian team at the Special Warfare Center and School. Feedback from commanders and Soldiers in the field, often showcased
in this professional journal, allows us to look at the operating environment and adapt our training and doctrine to keep our forces
the most effective unconventional warriors in the world.
Over the past three years, we have updated record amounts
of Army special-operations forces doctrine and put every aspect of
training at the school house under a microscope. Weve examined
not only the content of our training but also the method in which
we deliver it. It is our goal to provide the very best training in the
world to the Soldiers we know we are sending into harms way.
In this issue of Special Warfare, Captain Peter Dungan
explains how insurgent and terrorist forces around the world attempt to use the U.S. legal system against our forces as a means
of diverting resources, tying up commanders time and swaying world opinion against U.S. actions. The emerging
asymmetric tactic, lawfare, poses problems for commanders at all levels. The lesson learned is that it is essential
that commanders include the JAG in planning, consider the legal aspects and ramifications of their operations,
and maintain the support of the local populace.
Another lesson reiterated time and again from the field is that Civil Affairs cannot be conceived and executed
only upon the completion of combat operations. CA forces must be included in the planning process for combat
operations and beyond. In his article, Major Ross Lightsey discusses how 95th Civil Affairs Brigade plans and
operations were a key component in successful conventional-force operations in Iraq during 2007. The 95ths
capabilities to provide nonlethal options helped their supported units achieve mission success and win/maintain
popular trust and support.
As the operational environment has changed, so have many of the skills required of special-operations forces
warriors. As mentioned above, the center and school continues to update old courses and develop new curricula to
meet this need. The Special Forces, Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations qualification courses have all been
transformed during the last two years and are producing entry-level ARSOF Soldiers in the numbers and quality required by the force. As these battle-proven troops return from the fight, it is essential that we consider and
develop their graduate-level skills. This issue of Special Warfare contains a helpful guide that explains available
courses and the prerequisites for Soldiers to attend. Many of these courses have been redesigned in response to
battlefield lessons learned. Soldiers and commanders who want to improve their professional capabilities and
those of their unit should find the enclosed primer to be a helpful summary for preparation and attendance.
At no time has ARSOF been called upon to shoulder a heavier load. Your ability to adapt and succeed has
become your hallmark. At the center and school, we are working hard to match your creativity, meet your training
requirements and bolster your success on the battlefield.
Major General James W. Parker
Special Warfare
U P D A T E
taking command Colonel Kenneth E. Tovo relinquishes command to Colonel Darsie D. Rogers during a Nov. 29 ceremony at Butts Army
Airfield, Fort Carson, Colo. U.S. Army photo.
Rogers takes command of 10th Sf group

Colonel Darsie D. Rogers Jr. accepted command of the 10th Special Forces Group from
Colonel Kenneth E. Tovo during a ceremony at
Butts Army Airfield, Fort Carson, Colo., Nov. 29.
Tovo had commanded the group since
2005 and through two combat tours in support
of Operation Iraqi Freedom as the commander
of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task
Force Arabian Peninsula.
During the traditional change-of-command
ceremony, Tovo passed the group colors and
the responsibility of the units Soldiers to Major
General Thomas R. Csrnko, commander of the
United States Army Special Forces Command.
After a few words of congratulations, Csrnko
passed the colors to Rogers, who returned
them to group Command Sergeant Major
Charles Sekelsky.
You are in charge of taking care of this
great organization, the Soldiers and their
families, Csrnko said to Rogers during his
remarks. Be prepared to deploy into combat
and succeed.
Lieutenant General Robert W. Wagner,
commander of United States Army Special Operations Command, and former 10th SF Group
commanders Brigadier General Charles Cleveland, commander of Special Operations Command-South, and Brigadier General Michael
Repass, commander of Special Operations
Command-Europe were also in attendance.
I could think of no better officer that
I could have passed the colors to today,
said Tovo, who praised the work of the 10th
SF Group.
The Soldiers in this group have made a
strategic difference in the war on terrorism
in Iraq, Africa and Afghanistan, Tovo said.
Regardless of the location, 10th Special
Forces Group warriors have fought heroically,
risking their lives to protect our way of life. It
has been my honor to serve beside each of you
in the 10th Special Forces Group, and it would
be my privilege to fight alongside any of you in
the future.
As we continue to fight around the globe,
I challenge you to carry on the 10th Special
Forces Group tradition of high standards,
discipline and courage, he said, and live and

die our motto De Oppresso Liber.
Rogers previous assignments include
detachment commander, company commander, battalion operations officer, battalion
commander and executive officer with the 10th
SF Group; as well as SOF observer/controller at
the Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk,
La.; staff officer for the deputy director of Special Operations, the Joint Staff, Washington,
D.C.; and executive officer to the commanding
general of United States Army Special Operations Command. He is a veteran of Operation
Desert Storm/Desert Shield, Operation Provide
Comfort, peacekeeping operations in Bosnia
and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Rogers has masters degrees from Louisiana State University and the Air War College
and is a graduate of the Joint and Combined
Warfighting Course and the Army Command
and General Staff College.
Tovos next assignment will be with the
United States Army Special Operations Command, based at Fort Bragg, N.C.
March-April 2008
U P D A T E
Mullholland takes helm of 7th sf group

Colonel Sean P. Mulholland accepted command of the 7th Special
Forces Group from Colonel Edward M.
Reeder Jr. during a ceremony at Fort
Braggs, Meadows Field Dec. 7.
As the commander of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task
Force-Afghanistan, Reeder led the
group through two combat tours
in support of Operation Enduring
Freedom. Also, during his tenure as
commander, hundreds of the groups
Soldiers were deployed throughout
Latin America and Iraq.
Welcome back to the 7th Special
Forces Group, Major General Thomas
R. Csrnko, commander of the United
States Army Special Forces Command, who officiated at the ceremony,
said to Mulholland during his remarks. You are the right commander
to lead this unit. We know that you
will not only prepare this unit but also
successfully deploy them in combat.
Welcome home.
During his remarks, Reeder
praised the groups Soldiers for the
work they have done around the
world. Look around the battlefield,
Reeder said to the Soldiers who stood
before him. Nobody does what you
do, nobody can do what you do, and
nobody does it better than you.
Im extremely proud to have been

your commander, and Im honored to
stand amongst your ranks, Reeder
said. You are the greatest fighting
force on the face of the earth, and being a member of the 7th Special Forces
Group will always be the height of my
career.
Mulholland expressed enthusiasm
for his new position. As a team leader
17 years ago, I could only faintly hope
to ever become the 7th Special Forces
Group commander, but by the grace
of God, here I am, he said. I feel
blessed, honored, humbled, to be in
command of such a superior Special Forces unit. In a few months, we
will go back into the breach. You will
be asked again to do the impossible
without reservation or hesitation. We
will get through this as a unit. I look
forward to working with all of you.
Mulholland has extensive experience with the 7th SF Group, having
moved between several 7th SF Group
positions and many other assignments.
He has served extensively in South and
Central America with the 7th SF Group
and with other units, most recently as
the commander of Special Operations
Command-South (Forward.)
Mulholland has a bachelors in
biology from the Catholic University
in command Colonel Sean Mulholland

accepts the colors of the 7th Group from
Major General Thomas Crnko. Photo by
USASOC PAO.
of America in Washington D.C., and

a masters degree from the Naval War
College in national security and strategic studies.
Reeders next assignment will be
with the United States Special Operations Command, based at MacDill Air
Force Base, Florida. USASOC PAO
Language Institute announces updates to DLPT V test

The Defense Language Institute, or
DLI, has announced release dates for new
or revised tests for four of the languages included in the Defense Language Proficiency
Test V, the test used by the Department of
Defense to test the language skills of its
Soldiers and civilians.
DLPT has long been used by DoD to measure language proficiency and assign ratings
on a scale that indicates a persons level of
fluency in reading, speaking and understanding. DLPT V, which DoD began using in 2006,
is a computer-based test that uses content
from a variety of subject areas to measure
the reading and listening skills of its users.
Release dates for the new and revised
Special Warfare
tests are as follows:

Modern Standard Arabic. In September
2007, the Defense Language Institute pulled
the Modern Standard Arabic DLPT V as the
test of record, pending an external review.
As of Dec. 3, 2007, the external review has
been completed, and DLI has implemented
the changes recommended during the review.
Validation of the new DLPT V for Arabic is
scheduled to be complete by early spring, and
the test will be re-implemented not later than
May 2008.
Persian Farsi. Pending an external
review, the DLPT V for Persian Farsi is
scheduled to be released not later than
September 2008.
French. The DLPT V for French is scheduled to be released before the end of June 2009.
Korean. The Korean DLPT V is scheduled
to be released by early summer 2009.
In the future, all DLPT V tests will receive
an external review before they are implemented as the DoD test of record.
Soldiers can get more information on the
DLPT V by visiting the DLI Web page: http://
www.dliflc.edu/ or by visiting their commandlanguage-program training facility. Information
is also available from Terry Schnurr, the U.S.
Army Special Operations Commands sustainment program manager, at schnurrt@soc.
mil or Rusty Restituyo, USASOC contingency
program manager, at restituf@soc.mil.
U P D A T E
Baer takes responsibility for usasoc enlisted soldiers

The United States Army Special
Operations Command welcomed a new
senior enlisted Soldier Dec. 11 during
a change of responsibility ceremony at
Meadows Field.
Command Sergeant Major Parry L.
Baer assumed responsibility of USASOC from Command Sergeant Major
Michael T. Hall during the ceremony.
Thanks to all of you for allowing
me to be the sergeant major I think
the command needed, Hall said. I
was thrilled when Command Sergeant
Major Baer was selected for the Special
Forces Command. (He was) the right
man then, and now I can think of no
other man I would want to hand my
responsibilities over to than Parry.
Baer, a native of Croswell, Mich.,
comes to USASOC after serving as the
command sergeant major of the U.S.
Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) since April 2006.
He has served in Special Forces
for the last 27 years, 20 of which were
with the 5th Special Forces Group, Fort
Campbell, Ky. Baer has participated
in several combat operations throughout his career, ranging from Operation
Desert Storm to the current Global War
Taking Responsibility Command Sergeant Major Parry L. Baer, incoming USASOC command sergeant major, shakes hands with Command Sergeant Major Michael T. Hall, outgoing
command sergeant major during a Dec. 10 ceremony at Meadows Field. Lieutenant General Robert
W. Wagner, commander of USASOC, looks on. Photos by Private First Class Anthony Hawkins, Jr.,
USASOC PAO.
on Terrorism.
I can say without reservation that
youve (Hall) done more for special
operations over the past six years
than any single predecessor, Baer
said. You always pushed to get the
capabilities that we needed out there
in the field and took those issues to
the forefront. I want to thank you on

behalf of all the Soldiers in USASOC
for your tireless effort as the USASOC
sergeant major.
Hall, the command sergeant major
of USASOC since November 2001, is
scheduled to retire after 31 years of
military service.
20th Special Forces group Soldier Earns Silver Star

valiant service Major
General William E. Ingram Jr.,
the Adjutant General of the N.C.
National Guard, pins the Silver
Star Medal on Chief Warrant
Officer James B. Herring of
Company B, 3rd Battalion, 20th
Special Forces Group, while his
wife Michelle watches. The ceremony was held at Halifax Community College in Weldon, N.C.
Herring received the prestigious
award for combating insurgents
and leading his patrol of Green
Berets and Iraqi soldiers out of a
complex ambush near Baquba,
Iraq, on Dec. 23, 2006. This is
the second Silver Star Medal
earned by a N.C. Army National
Guard Soldier in the Global War
on Terrorism. U.S. Army photo.
March-April 2008
U P D A T E
dont go to war with outdated doctrine

Recent changes in doctrine have
resulted in a series of updated manuals. To ensure that you are keeping
with the approved doctrine, please
compare your current manuals with
the following list.
The following is a list of the
Army special-operations forces
field manuals and other doctrinal
products most recently released by

the doctrinal and training divisions
of the JFK Special Warfare Center
and Schools Directorate of Training and Doctrine.
Many of these versions are available through the Reimer Digital
Library (http://www.adtdl.army.
mil/), Army Knowledge Online, the
U.S. Army Publishing Directorate (http://www.usapa.army.mil/),

the ARSOF Training and Doctrine
Library (https://portal.soc.mil/C1/
C18/ARSOF%20Doctrine%20Librar
y/default.aspx) and the JFK Special
Warfare Center and Schools ARSOFU Web portal (https://arsofu.
army.mil/).
Doctrinal Products Update

Joint and Army Doctrine Division
FM 3-05
FM 3-05.60
FM 3-05.120 (S//NF)
FM 3-05.132
FMI 3-05.140
FM 3-05.160
Army Special Operations Forces

ARSOF Aviation Operations
ARSOF Intelligence
ARSOF Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Ops
ARSOF Logistics
ARSOF Communications Support
September 2006
October 2007
July 2007
August 2007
February 2007
July 2006
SF Operations (U)
SF R & E (U)
SF UW (U)
SF FID (U)
SF Guide to PE (U)
SFAUC (U)
SF SR TTP (U)
SF Vehicle Mounted OPS (U)
October 2006
March 2007
September 2007
February 2007
June 2007
July 2006
October 2006
October 2006
CA Operations
CA TTP
CA Planning and Execution Guide
CA Arts, Monuments and Archives
Foreign Humanitarian Assistance
Joint CA Planning Guide
Religious Factors Analysis
Working with OFDA
CA Reference CD
CA Specialist Soldiers Manual and Trainers Guide
Collective Task Exportable Package
September 2006
July 2007
January 2008
February 2007
March 2005
September 2007
January 2008
October 2007
January 2008
January 2008
December 2007
FM 3-05.301
PSYOP Process TTPs
August 2007
ST 3-05.303
ST 3-05.302
STP 33-37II-OFS
ARTEP 33-712-MTP
GTA 33-01-001
MTP for the PSYOP Product Development Co.

MTP for the Tactical PSYOP Co.
Officer Foundation Standards II,
MTP for HHC of the PSYOP Group and Battalion
PSYOP Leaders Planning Guide
October 2007
October 2007
July 2007
April 2006
November 2005
SF Doctrine Division:
FM 3-05.20 (C)
FM 3-05.701 (C)
FM 3-05.201 (S/NF)
FM 3-05.202 (U)
TC 31-16 (S/NF)
FM 3-05.221 (C)
FM 3-05.204 (C)
FM 3-05.214 (C)
CA Doctrine Division:
FM 3-05.40
FM 3-05.401
GTA 41-01-001
GTA 41-01-002
GTA 41-01-003
GTA 41-01-004
GTA 41-01-005
GTA 41-01-006
STP 41-38A-14
PSYOP Doctrine Division
Special Warfare
by Captain C. Peter Dungan
fighting lawfare
While it is not a new concept, lawfare has become

an especially important method of warfare used by our
enemies in the war on terrorism. A popular definition of
lawfare is the one developed by the United States Council
on Foreign Relations: A strategy of using or misusing law
as a substitute for traditional military means to achieve
military objectives.1
The enemy uses lawfare as an asymmetric means of
abusing our complex legal system to tie up resources, shift
momentum and, most importantly, sway world opinion to
his cause. Examples of lawfare include habeas corpus lawsuits by terrorist detainees and complaints to international
organizations regarding violations of the Law of Armed
Conflict, or LOAC.
Some legal engagements, such as the Supreme Court
detainee cases, actually seek to change the rules that govern how our forces fight on the battlefield. Most instances
of lawfare, such as the more than 400 habeas corpus lawsuits filed by detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,2
simply seek to harass and burden our legal mechanisms.
Like a computer virus or a hackers denial-of-service attack
on a network, meritless suits seek to grind the wheels of
justice to a halt.
Lawfare in its most visible form engages U.S. forces
on the strategic level of warfare. Supreme Court battles
and complaints through organizations like Human Rights
Watch seek long-term effects on a global scale. Insurgents
also use lawfare at the operational level of war to seek medium-term effects against a theater or regional command.
For instance, insurgents often use puppet local leaders to
complain officially about a particular tactic or procedure
used by a brigade combat team or regional command. This
may serve to change an operational-level commanders
decision-making calculus or to turn local opinion in a particular theater against a command.
Recently, insurgent forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have
been waging a legal battle against tactical-level forces to
extend the lines of operation of their leaders lawfare efforts and to attempt to blunt Americas tip of the spear.
For instance, detainees may make claims of abuse at the
point of capture by indigenous forces, claim abuse again
when transferred to an American detachment or team, and
then claim abuse once again when they reach the detention facility of the special-operations task force, or SOTF.
Knowing that U.S. forces are duty-bound to investigate all
claims of detainee abuse, insurgents can effectively burden
leaders at three different levels of tactical command with
detailed investigations.
While U.S. doctrine and lessons learned publications
are addressing the problem of lawfare at the strategic and
operational levels of war, our tactical-level units are only
beginning to learn how to counter this asymmetric threat.
This article proposes tactics and techniques for combating
10
Special Warfare
lawfare, encapsulating lessons learned by the command

and staff of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group,
while organized as a SOTF headquarters in southern and
western Afghanistan from August 2006 to April 2007. By
adapting to the asymmetric threat of lawfare, SOTF-31
was able to counter it effectively and keep the insurgency
from placing the command in legal paralysis. That allowed
SF detachments to concentrate on their core competency:
advising and assisting indigenous forces to defeat the insurgency.
Identifying the threat

As stated previously, lawfare at the tactical level may
not be as visible as those aspects of legal warfare that
make the news. Indeed, the commander of a detachment;
advanced operating base, or AOB; or SOTF may be engaged on the legal battlefield without even realizing it. For
example, during SOTF-31s tour in southern Afghanistan,
a detachment commander detained someone who seemed
to be a relatively unimportant individual carrying contraband. Within an hour of transporting the detainee to the
detachment firebase, the detachment commander received
a phone call from the local police chief demanding the
detainees release.
The seemingly unimportant detainee turned out to be
an unofficial local leader who was well-liked (or feared)
by the town but previously unknown to the detachment.
The police chief threatened that unless the detainee was
released, he would tell organizations like the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, and
the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, or
AIHRC, that the Americans were abusing the detainee.
The chief also threatened to have a rabid crowd of townspeople massing at the firebase gate decrying the Americans
abuses. Although the detachment commander thought
he was simply detaining a small-time gun-runner, he was
unwittingly being thrust into the lawfare arena.
At the tactical level, lawfare engagements by the enemy
tend to fall into a few basic patterns. The most common
charge leveled against American forces at the tactical level
is detainee abuse. Intercepted Taliban communications,
captured documents and interviews with jailhouse informants at theater-level facilities confirm that it has become
Taliban standard operating procedure to claim abuse every
time a detainee moves from one facility to the next. Usually, the claim is leveled during initial inprocessing into the
field detention site or SOTF detention facility, either during
the initial medical examination or during the first interrogation. Intelligence indicates that Taliban leaders know
Americans must fully investigate claims of abuse leveled
by detainees, and that those leaders also know or suspect
the potential burden those inquiries place on a commands
time and resources.
think tank Proper task organization is essential countering the insurgencys lawfare efforts at the tactical level, which
means have the right people in the right place, at the right time. U.S. Army photo.
As American units have learned to deal with allegations of detainee abuse, the enemy has adapted his
tactics, techniques and procedures to maintain a relevant
and credible lawfare threat. For example, Afghan enemy
combatants have virtually stopped claiming abuse by
American Soldiers and instead are charging Afghan forces
accompanying Special Forces with beatings and physical
torture.
Taliban detainees know that claims of abuse by Afghan
soldiers are more credible because of the perceived relative
lack of respect for human rights by the Afghan military.
The enemy also knows that SF Soldiers are required to investigate claims of abuse by the forces they advise and assist. The ever-present duty to investigate, coupled with the
perceived increased credibility of the allegation, directly
increases the amount of time an investigator will likely
have to spend validating or discounting charges of abuse.
While most allegations of detainee abuse are leveled
by the detainees themselves, some charges of beatings
or torture come from international organizations or the
indigenous government. The fact that the international
media have greatly sensationalized some of the perceived
abuses and rights violations at Guantanamo Bay and the
actual abuses at Abu Ghraib means that the enemy can
use these organizations to lend credibility to allegations
that would normally be too implausible to forward. For
instance, during SOTF-31s recent deployment, the taskforce commander received a complaint forwarded by higher
headquarters from UNAMA. It alleged that an SF team rappelled from a fleet of unmarked black helicopters onto a
rooftop, broke through the roof into the house of a member

of the AIHRC, blindfolded that individuals entire family,
tied their hands together with detonation cord, placed a
time fuse on the det-cord, threatened the family that
they would activate the fuse if anybody tried to move, and
then quickly left the house, leaving thousands of dollars of
property damage in their wake.
Notwithstanding the fact that multiple higher and adjacent headquarters had full visibility on our operations
and knew that we had no forces in the area in which the
complaint alleged the abuse had taken place, and the
fact that the complaint, on its face, looked like it had been
taken out of a Tom Clancy novel, the burden fell on SOTF31 to answer the mail. Properly responding to the allegation diverted two days of time and resources away from
the command group, operations center and legal
section that could have been better spent supporting
combat operations.
Countering the threat

According to the Armys new counterinsurgency manual, FM 3-24, Counterinsurgency, tailoring the design of
the counterinsurgency task force may very well be the
most important aspect of countering an insurgency.3
Proper task organization is essential to countering the
insurgencys lawfare efforts at the tactical level. Having
the right people in the right place, performing the right
task, is essential to getting ahead of false allegations and
media mistruths. SOTF-31s efforts in task organization
involved actions on several levels, including staff embedMarch-April 2008
11
fighting lawfare
ding, firebase combined operations, coalition involvement

and engagement, and direct involvement by the task-force
commander. The commanders leadership in crafting and
modifying the task forces organization is often the most
important aspect of the process.
At the staff level, the legal section is tasked with managing the task forces day-to-day efforts to combat lawfare.
The SOTF judge advocate and paralegal NCO are integral
members of the SOTF staff and advise the command on all
legal aspects of current and future operations. Although
historically referred to as a special staff member, the SOTF
judge advocate has increasingly taken on operations-staff
functions to provide added value and integrate himself into
the task force. In Afghanistan for instance, the SOTF judge
advocates serve as officers in charge of detainee operations,
actually managing detainee operations instead of simply
advising other staff members on their legal implications.
SOTF judge advocates write operations reports, make routine decisions on the movement of detainees, and manage
the establishment and maintenance of detainee facilities.
The location of the SOTF judge advocate is critical.
Traditionally, a unit judge advocate maintains his office in
the unit administrative area. However, this arrangement
is inadequate for responding quickly to lawfare offensives,
such as public allegations of LOAC violations. Hours count;
Afghan officials originally validated the claims, they, the

coalition partners and the mainstream media sources
eventually agreed that the allegations were false. One of the
key factors cited by the various investigating was the fact
that the detachment commander talked to the SOTF judge
advocate via telephone before dropping ordnance. That opportunity would have been missed had the author not been
in the right place at the right time, performing the right
task.
Properly resourcing the legal section is key to success in the lawfare arena. This applies to personnel and
equipment. Traditionally, judge advocates have been
permanently assigned only to the group headquarters.4
If a forward operating base, or FOB, was geographically
detached from the group headquarters, an Army Reserve
judge advocate was given the assignment. The 1st Battalion, 3rd SF Group, was the first SF battalion to field a fulltime, active-duty judge advocate. The experiment proved
successful, and today all SF battalions field active-duty
judge advocates.
Having an experienced paralegal NCO has also proved
invaluable. For instance, although SOTF-31s judge advocate was new to the unit and to Afghanistan, the paralegal
had been in the unit for three years and was on his third
deployment. The paralegal was able to provide the judge
The enemy uses lawfare as an asymmetric means of abusing our

complex legal system to tie up resources, shift momentum and,
most importantly, sway world opinion to his cause.
often the first side to reach the mainstream media wins the
ability to publish its version of the truth. A judge advocate cannot respond adequately if he is buried in a cubicle
reviewing reports. SOTF-31 made it a practice during its
first tour in Afghanistan to place the judge advocate in the
operations center, or OPCEN, so that he could provide instant guidance for current operations. That location proved
invaluable during SOTF-31s most recent deployment.
For example, one night, a detachment commander
called the OPCEN by satellite phone seeking authorization
to bomb a compound suspected of holding a large contingent of armed Taliban fighters. Sitting next to the battle
captain, the author talked to the commander and advised
him to request additional imagery assets and further develop the situation before engagement. The commander followed this advice, and after several hours of developing the
situation, he became reasonably certain of the occupants
hostile status and the low probability of collateral damage.
Ordnance was dropped and the target was destroyed.
The enemy quickly ramped up his lawfare efforts and
made various allegations of LOAC violations. Although
12
Special Warfare
advocate and the rest of the staff with invaluable institutional memory and operational experience.
Resourcing the legal section with adequate equipment
is essential to the units counter-lawfare efforts. In the OPCEN, the judge advocate must be able to monitor classified
message traffic, intelligence reports and open-source news
reports to stay ahead of the enemys lawfare operations.
This requires access to dedicated secure and nonsecure
computer workstations inside the OPCEN. On two occasions, the author was able to monitor news reports on the
Internet about an LOAC violation or an abuse allegation
before the operational detachments themselves were aware
of them.
He was then able to communicate with the detachments
instantly via a secure network to advise them and begin
working on a plan to counter the allegations. These detachments were able to engage Afghan leaders and persuade
them to agree publicly that the allegations were false, eliminating the need for the unit to conduct lengthy, resourceintensive investigations.
In addition to the OPCEN duties, the judge advocate has
traditional duties, such as legal assistance and administrative law review, that require an office outside the OPCEN.
Indeed, many state bars might consider a judge advocate
guilty of malpractice if he counseled Soldiers within earshot of others or maintained legal-assistance files outside
of a lockable office.
While the judge advocate maintains primary responsibility for day-to-day counter-lawfare operations, other staff
sections also play a key role. Some staff sections, like the
S3, are traditionally located in the OPCEN and can therefore integrate seamlessly with the judge advocate. During
SOTF-31s most recent deployment, it was common for
the judge advocate to meet with the S3/OPCEN director
10 times or more during a single day regarding separate
issues.
Other staff sections have a less traditional but equally
important role. For example, SOTF-31 established a position for a liaison officer, or LNO, from the PSYOP task
force of Combined Joint Special Operations Task ForceAfghanistan so that their PSYOP messages and operations
could be synchronized with SOTF-31s operations. Such a
position was not authorized, but the command recognized
the need and filled the position out of hide. The arrangement proved invaluable: The PSYOP officer was able to
draft messages and have the Afghan media release them
instantly after every major operation. Other key staff members included coalition LNOs from all countries conducting
special operations in the area, as well as LNOs from federal
agencies. Coalition LNOs were able to verify the falsehood
of Taliban abuse allegations instantly and communicate it
to their home countries. LNOs from federal agencies, such
as the U.S. Agency for International Development, were
able to provide the task force with key contacts and ground
truth essential in countering charges of LOAC violations.
The central driving force behind the design and constant re-design of the task force is the commander. No task
force ever has enough people or equipment. It requires
command vision and involvement to prioritize positions
and energize higher and adjacent headquarters to fill them.
For example, SOTF-31 was not authorized any LNOs from
coalition partners, federal agencies, or PSYOP and CA units
sharing our battlespace. It required constant commanderto-commander engagement to ensure that the right personnel manned the OPCEN not only during major operations
but also during the day-to-day operations, when abuse
allegations by the Taliban were most likely to pop up.
The commander also energizes the staff and subordinate units to respond properly when the enemy conducts
lawfare against the task force. When allegations of detainee
abuse or violations of the rules of engagement, or ROE, enter the OPCEN, the reputation and combat effectiveness of
the task force are on the line. By being personally involved
in the response efforts and placing the finger in the chest
of the right staff officers and subordinate commanders, the

task force commander can ensure that the unit properly
and truthfully responds to lawfare engagements in minutes
instead of hours or days.
Documenting the truth

Military units rely on honesty and integrity as a bedrock
on which to base the exchange of communication. A subordinate commanders word is assumed to be the truth unless proved otherwise. Units rely on verbal reports to satisfy
a variety of information requirements. Unfortunately, in the
legal arena, a persons word is often useless unless backed
up by sufficient evidence. A unit cannot simply tell higher
headquarters that it did not raid a particular site or did
not abuse a specific prisoner; it must be able to prove it,
as well. Indeed, Army Regulation 15-6 requires investigating officers to base findings of fact on sufficient evidence.5
This means that in order to discount abuse allegations, an
investigating officer must be able to support that finding
with either documentary exhibits or corroborating sworn
statements.
Documenting operations, especially at the lowest level,
highlights a key difference between special-operations
forces and conventional forces. Because of the high level
of training, maturity and operational experience of special
operators, they are usually less likely to lose discipline and
commit ROE violations or detainee abuse than conventional Soldiers. However, because special operators are used to
thinking outside the box and departing from a checklist
mentality, SOF Soldiers are sometimes less likely to document the fact that they are in compliance with all policies
and procedures.
Further compounding this is an unfortunate perception by some conventional-force commanders that special
operators, because of the fact that they are not strictly regimented, somehow lack the discipline to remain in compliance with various ROE or LOAC requirements. Thus, some
commanders are inclined to agree to launch time-consuming, resource-intensive investigations that rob SOF units of
their operational momentum.
To combat that institutional inclination to investigate, the
SOTF must be able to produce documentation within minutes of
an allegation to essentially make any investigation moot. SOTF31 was able to produce a professional, above-board and comprehensive investigation into detainee abuse within 12-24 hours
of receiving an allegation, many times having the investigation
complete before staff officers at higher headquarters were able to
brief their commanders that an allegation even existed.
Developing that capability requires proper equipment and
strict adherence to documentary requirements. Every detachment at every firebase must have access to a scanner, digital
camera, and secure-network connection to the OPCEN. The
detachment cannot wait to send a detainees paperwork out on
March-April 2008
13
fighting lawfare
the next flight to the FOB; waiting even 48 hours can mean the
enemy will win the lawfare battle regarding a particular allegation. The detachment must use these tools to properly document its actions.
For instance, every operational detachment was required to
photograph detainees and perform a documented medical examination and immediately send the files via secure network to
the judge advocate. Later, if the detainee claimed abuse by our
task force, we were able to instantly e-mail the documents and
refute the allegation.
Other skills are essential to properly documenting that
operations are conducted in accordance with policies and
procedures. All operators must be proficient in executing sworn
statements. The sworn statement, usually produced on a DA
Form 2823, provides the best method of providing a legitimate
and legally binding document of eyewitness testimony.
Unfortunately, Afghan and Iraqi authorities are likely to
dismiss sworn statements by anyone who is not a Muslim.
Therefore, units should also make it standard procedure to
secure statements from indigenous soldiers accompanying the
U.S. force. Additionally, OPCEN personnel should keep a ready
electronic archive of operational products, such as past concepts
nately, his team discovered three dead civilians under a tent

that had been hidden from the view of multiple imagery assets
airborne at the time of engagement. The team immediately reported the fact to the OPCEN.
Within hours, the Taliban lawfare machinery ramped up its
operations. That afternoon, a leader of the local parliament told
the press that SF had killed more than 100 unarmed civilians
that night. The erroneous reports made network newscasts as
main stories before SOTF-31 and higher headquarters had a
chance to respond. More than four investigations arose from
those news reports; investigations by higher headquarters, coalition forces and the Afghan government. All of them concluded
that the bombing was justified, that the casualty count was
much lower than initially reported, and that the bombing, while
resulting in unfortunate casualties, was a classic case of a balanced and measured response that took every effort to minimize
collateral damage.
Within a couple of weeks, media organizations printed small
retractions, but the damage was done. Whatever the facts were,
the local populace and the world were left with the impression
that SF were indiscriminately bombing civilians. More importantly at the tactical level, SOTF-31 was undergoing the most
In order to retain the high ground, the tactical-level unit must be able to market
its story effectively to the populace and the international media. When a higher
headquarters takes 48 hours to issue an approved press release, that is 47
hours too long. Aggressive information operations conducted using the SOTFs
organic and attached assets are key to maintaining the momentum in the
lawfare fight.
of operation, situation reports, operations reports, and force arrays, ready to allow higher headquarters and, when appropriate,
coalition partners and outside agencies, to rapidly respond to
bogus charges of abuse.
Getting the truth out

Simply packaging products for higher headquarters is not
sufficient to fight the lawfare battle effectively. In order to retain
the high ground, the tactical-level unit must be able to market its story effectively to the populace and the international
media. When a higher headquarters takes 48 hours to issue an
approved press release, that is 47 hours too long. Aggressive
information operations conducted using the SOTFs organic and
attached assets are key to maintaining the momentum in the
lawfare fight.
The following example highlights the IO lawfare challenges
that SOTF-31 faced during its deployment and the procedures
it developed to combat them. The detachment commander cited
above dropping ordnance on a confirmed Taliban compound
conducted a sensitive-site exploitation the next day. Unfortu-
14
Special Warfare
intense of its 10 investigations in its first two months in theater.

Recognizing that the enemys lawfare efforts were severely
burdening the resources of the command group and staff, the
SOTF-31 commander decided that the unit needed to seize the
initiative in information operations, or IO. He placed the S3/
OPCEN director in charge of spearheading an IO crisis-management group that would meet during any lethal event. The working group consisted of the S3, plans officer, current operations
officer, judge advocate, PSYOP LNO, Civil Affairs LNO, S2 and
the AOB commander from the province in which the operation
took place.
This group executed a rehearsed battle drill that included the
following tasks: First, the group met to craft a message, deciding
which facts were key to emphasize. Often, because of his experience in dealing with the media and local Afghan leaders, the
SOTF commander crafted all or a portion of the message, with
the advice of the working group.
Second, the message was then pushed back down to the
commanders of the AOB and the detachments. The AOB commander would meet with the governor of the affected province
to tell his side of the story before that leader was engaged by the
Taliban. Simultaneously, the operational detachment would,
as soon as the tactical situation permitted, hold a shura with
village elders to discuss what had happened and come to an
agreement on the facts.
During these events, the judge advocate and current-operations officer were gathering documentary evidence to feed
to higher headquarters and preparing unclassified versions
for coalition partners and the media. The judge advocate also
prepared for any investigations that might develop despite the IO
battle drill. The plans officer and the PSYOP LNO further refined
the message and immediately released it to the Afghan media
for dissemination to the populace. Because of regulatory and
timeline restrictions, using the Afghan media instead of organic
assets like our own PSYOP teams that had to follow approved
messages was the most efficient way of disseminating messages.
The CA LNO would then plan follow-on humanitarian assistance for the area affected by the strike. Throughout this
process, the S3 and SOTF commander conducted high-level
talks with Afghan government leaders and senior leaders of the
coalition and U.S. forces. As a result of the new IO strategy,
during the SOTFs remaining time in country, it did not have
to conduct a single investigation that resulted from a bogus allegation by the Taliban. Any time a reporter would approach an
Afghan leader to confirm an allegation fed by the Taliban, that
leader would respond that SF acted appropriately, and the story
lost momentum before it was ever printed.
monthly training meetings conducted by the ETT judge advocate. Thus, SOTF-31 was able to extend the lines of operation
of the ETT and provide tactical-level experience to the ANA legal
staff. With ANA legal advisers better able to respond to lawfare engagements by the Taliban, SOTF-31 noticed a marked
decrease in the number of abuse allegations. The task force
attributed the decrease to an increased capability of the indigenous force to quash the allegations before they gained visibility
of U.S. forces.
Indigenous capacity
Notes:
The most important element of fighting an insurgency is

developing the indigenous armed forces ability to fight and win.
After all, this ability is the ticket home for U.S. and coalition
forces. SOTF-31s efforts to develop that indigenous capability
focused on providing training and assistance to partnered units
at the brigade-staff level. The judge advocate was key in the
process.
Early during its deployment, SOTF-31 recognized a marked
decrease in the ability of its partnered units to plan and conduct
battalion- and brigade-level operations, as compared to that observed during previous deployments. This included the inability
of the Afghan National Army to respond effectively to allegations
of abuse or LOAC violations.
A major cause of this was staff officers who were not properly
trained in the military decision-making process and other key
staff tasks. SOTF-31 also assessed that while embedded training
teams, or ETTs, were making headway in training companylevel troops, ETT staff-officer mentors did not have the time
available to properly mentor staff officers, including the Afghan
legal adviser, at the brigade level.
SOTF-31 established a staff-assistance program that partnered staff officers, including the judge advocate, with counterparts in the ANA brigade. The judge advocate was able to meet
weekly with the ANA brigade-legal adviser to supplement the
Council on Foreign Relations, Lawfare, the Latest in Asymmetries,

Transcript of Proceedings, March 18, 2003, on http://www.cfr.org/publication.
html?id+5772 (last visited Feb. 2, 2008, on file with author.)
2
Warren Richey, New Lawsuits Challenge Congresss Detainee Act, The
Christian Science Monitor, Oct. 6, 2006.
3
Field Manual 3-24, Counterinsurgency, para. 4-28 (Dec. 2006).
4
Field Manual 3-05.230, Special Forces Base Camp Operations, appendix D
(July 2003).
5
Army Regulation 15-6, Procedures for Investigating Officers and Boards of
Officers, para. 3-10b (Oct. 2006).
Conclusion
The lawfare fight is one of many important lines of operation that the SOTF must consider in developing and executing
its campaign plan. Units that properly prepare to combat the
enemys lawfare efforts experience increased freedom of maneuver and increased leader resources to spend on the core mission
of assisting the indigenous military in taking the fight to the
insurgency.
Units that ignore the lawfare battle see their time and
resources consumed by unfounded investigations. During its recent deployment, SOTF-31 applied lessons learned to effectively
neutralize the tactical lawfare threat in its area of operations. By
organizing properly to fight the lawfare battle, documenting its
actions carefully, winning the IO battle through swift message
dissemination and training up an indigenous counter-lawfare
capability, a tactical-level unit can stop investigations before
they start.
Captain C. Peter Dungan currently serves as the battalion judge advocate for the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, and he has deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He
holds a bachelor of science degree from the United
States Military Academy and a juris doctor degree
from the University of California at Los Angeles. His
previous assignments include claims judge advocate; aviation battalion S2, with duty in Kosovo; and
attack helicopter platoon leader, with duty in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
March-April 2008
15
CA SUPPORT TO CONVENTIONAL UNITS IN THE SURGE
In the spring of 2007, the United States Army Special

Operations Command was called upon to support the surge
in Iraq with Civil Affairs forces. It employed the newlyformed 95th CA Brigade to support conventional brigade
combat teams, or BCTs, in Iraq. The CA missions there in
support of civil-military operations, or CMO, were crucial,
and national attention would be directed at their successes and failures. In the end, the 95ths support to CMO
achieved the commanders intent and demonstrated CAs
capability, strategic utility and flexibility as a member of
Army special-operations forces and yielded valuable lessons
regarding CMO.
Combating insurgents in Iraq is complicated and continues to evolve. Defining the role of the 95th CA Brigade and
its Civil Affairs teams, or CATs, in an area of such turmoil
is complex, primarily because of the difficulty in conducting CMO, whose requirements vary from province to province. When direct-combat counterinsurgency operations are
ongoing, the planning and execution of Civil Affairs missions may appear to be questionable: Why should we start
a road-paving project when insurgents destroy the roads?
Why open a police station when potentially corrupt authorities may well use it for their personal gain? Why conduct a
cooperative medical exercise when the doctors may very well
be ambushed or threatened?
Those questions are representative of the challenges to
CMO in combat areas. Despite the difficulties of accomplishing CMO in a nonpermissive setting, they are a valuable
resource that can help quell the violence and insurgent
activity in Iraq.
Background
The vast majority of U.S. CA forces are found in the U.S.
Army Reserve, in units assigned to the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command. The small
percentage of CA forces on active duty, assigned to the U.S.
Army Special Operations Command, or USASOC, provides a
rapid-deployment capability; highly trained, tactically skilled
ARSOF Soldiers; and a history of achieving success in working with combined, joint special-operations task forces, or
CJSOTFs.
Because of increased CMO requirements in the GWOT,
the Army activated two new active-duty CA battalions in
March 2007. Prior to that, the Armys only active-duty CA
battalion was the 96th. At the same time the 97th and the
98th were activated, the 95th CA Brigade was activated as
a headquarters for the three existing battalions. A fourth
battalion, the 91st CA Battalion, is scheduled for activation later this year. All four active-duty CA battalions will be
regionally oriented, and all are scheduled to be fully operational by the end of fiscal year 2008. There are also plans to
activate a fifth CA battalion with the activation of the U.S.
Africa Command.
In Iraq, the 95th CA Brigade supported the surge by
operating with conventional Army units. The 96th CA Battalion supported units from the 2nd Infantry Division, the
18
Special Warfare
3rd Infantry Division, the 1st Cavalry Division and the 82nd
Airborne Division. Most of the 96ths companies deployed to
the Baghdad area, attaching their teams to units at the BCT
and battalion levels.
The authors team supported the 2nd Squadron, 1st
Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division; a
Fort Lewis, Wash.-based reconnaissance, surveillance and
target-acquisition squadron. Our area of operations, or AO,
was near Baqubah in the Diyala Province. The commander
of the 2-1 Cavalry Regiment knew both the importance
of CMO and CAs capabilities, and we worked to meet his
intent.
Tactical strategy
Using CA capabilities to a strategic advantage required
creativity. Our strategy was to provide the ground truth
of the civil situation to the commander of the 2-1 Cav and
advise him of his civic responsibilities. By interacting with
leaders and key players in each town the spheres of influence, or SOIs, CA Soldiers could assess the human terrain
and furnish the commanders of battalions and BCTs with
the information they needed to make their operational decisions.
For example, we were able to provide ground truth on
the attitudes of local nationals toward coalition forces by
conducting civil reconnaissance immediately after cordonand-search missions. During a cordon-and-search operation, it is critical that coalition forces maintain a balance
between civility and aggression. CA teams help to ensure
that balance, and by conducting daily SOI engagements,
they can gain the peoples respect and help maintain their
trust.
It became standard operating procedure for the CA
teams to conduct dialogues with the populace following
cordon-and-search operations and to provide commanders
with immediate information. Frank discussion is critical
to gaining truthful and time-sensitive information. For the
most part, the Iraqi people are eager to engage in discussions regarding their towns infrastructure, their security
concerns, the U.S. presence, etc.
Experienced and dedicated CATs can greatly enhance
rapport between the ground forces and the Iraqi citizens.
During the summer of 2007, there was a major offensive
campaign, Operation Arrowhead Ripper, focused on pushing al-Qaeda in Iraq, or AQI, out of Baqubah, the provincial
capital of Diyala province. During the operation, the 96ths
CA Soldiers supported conventional forces by:
Providing face-to-face interaction with local leaders and
the populace.
Making themselves approachable to the public by
building rapport.
Coordinating immediate cash pay-outs for damages.
Negotiating temporary rental agreements for coalitionforces occupation.
Gaining influential and popular support by providing
immediate medical care.
winning respect A medic attached to the unit provides medical care for an Iraqi child. U.S. Army photo.
Providing quick-impact projects to jump-start local

economies.
Providing limited humanitarian assistance to Iraqi
citizens in need.
Once cavalry and infantry forces had searched and occupied populated areas, CATs began conducting SOI engagements to gain rapport with the local villagers. Over the past
few years, conventional forces have become good at gaining
feedback from the populace. However, when commanders
are conducting chai sit-downs, it takes them out of the
fight. Todays commanders know the importance of dealing
with the populace, but they also have a unit to manage. CA
can help commanders focus on security, tactics and maneuvers by conducting the interactions and providing daily
briefings to the commanders on the civil situation.
Lethal vs. nonlethal operations. Conventional forces have
learned CAs versatility, particularly in averting combat
operations. In one instance, the 96th helped avert a potentially large-scale lethal operation on a suspected stronghold.
The CAT conducted civil reconnaissance in a town that
was planned for a forced occupation. The CA team discov-
ered the town was productive, cooperative and receptive to

coalition forces. At first, the locals were leery of the teams
presence it was their first interaction with the U.S. Army.
During the teams second visit, the locals warmed up to
the teams presence and engaged in positive dialogue. CA
planned and conducted humanitarian aid missions delivering meals and much-needed water. We elevated the
position of the mokhtar (mayor) by having him assist in food
distribution to his people. The gesture gained the peoples
trust in our peaceful intent, and they became even more
friendly and receptive to coalition forces.
We used our CA medics on a daily basis to treat U.S.
soldiers during combat operations and to provide aid to
influential leaders and the public. CA medics are typically
trained in the Special Operations Medical Course at the JFK
Special Warfare Center and School. Their skills allow CATs
to deploy and operate independently without a significant
medical infrastructure. These highly trained and seasoned
NCOs give CA much more flexibility and local impact than
standard Army medics. For example, our CA medic advised
several local-national doctors on ways of improving their
March-April 2008
19
ground truth A Civil Affairs Soldier talks with village youth while on patrol. The team is able to gain ground truth by their interaction with
the villagers. U.S. Army photo.
clinics and hospitals.

When combat units become heavily engaged and committed to the fight, it is easy to forgo CMO and focus on
lethal operations. In those cases, CMO plays a secondary
role, but if CMO falls completely by the wayside, commanders could lose their connection with the Iraqi people, who
might reject U.S. and Iraqi government interests in favor
of the insurgents. Thus, it is imperative that a maneuver
commander dedicate a platoon to accompany a CAT on
daily SOI engagements, CMO and other related CA tasks designed to separate the populace from the insurgency.
If coalition forces neglect to build upon their newly
founded relationship with the people, then AQI will step in
and build its own relationship. Power in Iraq moves through
interpersonal relationships, and AQI knows the importance
of maintaining interpersonal connections with the populace.
During Operation Arrowhead Ripper, AQI activities included
its own version of meeting the needs of the people.
There is a proverb that says, Bread bears no name.
If AQI provides bread to the people of Iraq, and we do not,
then to the people, AQI appears to be relevant and benevolent. We know of AQIs atrocities and its hidden agenda, but
do the people?
Movement around the battlefield. Movement on the bat-
20
Special Warfare
tlefield was by far the biggest problem for us to overcome.

Traditional CMO tasks infrastructure improvement, civil
management, humanitarian actions and key-leader engagement require freedom of maneuver. In some cases, CATs
blended into combat operations and proved beneficial; however, it is extremely difficult to carry out CMO tasks when
IEDs, small-arms fire and ambushes are ever-present.
The 96ths CA teams were used to operating in the
company of a small SF detachments. That makes the CA
mission set of conducting civil reconnaissance fairly easy,
because members of the populace are more prone to accept
members of a small contingent. But they are less likely
to accept CA teams who are travelling in convoy with the
larger contingents of conventional units, especially when
those units are in the business of clearing homes rather
than sitting down and talking. To lessen the intimidation, the CA team leader would usually greet leaders with
smiles, handshakes, waves and a welcoming posture. The
team sergeant would behave similarly, but he was more
involved with internal security, internal communications,
contingency management and maintaining overall situational awareness.
Power vs. force. The platoons that support civil reconnaissance usually perform outer-security duties walking
On call A medic from the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion checks the health of an Iraqi child. By meeting the physical needs of the populace, Civil
Affairs Soldiers are able to earn popular support. U.S. Army photo.
around the houses, up and down streets and displaying

power rather than force. Displaying power vs. force can be
as simple as having all security measures in place but also
conducting low-key interaction with curious locals. The
security platoons avoid distraction by continually moving around the secured area, which prevents their being
swarmed by children or crowds that can lower their guard
against insurgent attacks.
DIME principle
Commanders in the 21st-century Army are familiar
with the DIME principle that diplomatic, informational,
military and economic factors are key to influencing other
nation-states and recognized factions. CMO can assist commanders in accomplishing all four of the DIME factors.
Diplomatic. CA units are highly trained in regional relations, cross-cultural relationships and in arbitration and
mediation between warring factions. Reconciliation meetings are the best tools for bringing together warring factions
within a battalions sector to establish a peace plan. These
can serve as a micro-scale diplomatic model.
Informational. CMO can best be used as part of an information-operations campaign aimed at the populace. Most
Iraqi ideological views are formed through word-of-mouth
communication rather than from published media.
Military. The U.S. military currently dominates any

head-to-head conventional operations in Iraq. Tactically
speaking, no organized insurgent forces larger than a squad
will directly engage U.S. patrols or bases. At the same time,
CATs typically do not conduct direct offensive operations.
Economic. The U.S. dollar can be the most effective instrument in the fight against terrorism, if it is used successfully. When used efficiently, CATs and provincial reconstruction teams have the overwhelming monetary power to
influence economically depressed areas and to jump-start
local economies.
Influential key leaders

It is crucial that CATs and commanders conduct their
terrain-analysis knowing the human element prior
to their deployment to a given area. The foundation of Iraqi
society is the family and its ties to the community. Iraqi
society has witnessed many changes because of the various
regimes that have controlled the tribal communities.
Al-Usrah (the family). The family is the main pillar of
Iraqi society. In accordance with Islamic doctrine, the father
is the head of the family and has the authority to make all
family decisions.
Qabeelah (tribe). The tribe is composed of many
asheerahs (multiple, blood-related families), but the conMarch-April 2008
21
Humanitarian aid Deliveries of food supplies and water helped gain the trust of the populace in the peaceful intent of U.S. forces and made
the people more receptive to working with the coalition. U.S. Army photo.
nections within the tribe are not as strong as within the

asheerah, because they may not be blood connections.
Sheik (tribal head). The sheik, the head of the tribe, deals
with all issues concerning daily life, as well as economic,
social and war-and-peace issues. The sheik mediates conflicts, exerts influence within the tribe and can even wield
influence at the national level. It is common for Iraqis to
call any respected man in the community a sheik, and that
loose usage of the term can be confusing. Nevertheless, we
accommodated and honored them by calling them sheiks.
Mokhtar (mayor). This is the primary SOI figure that
CATs and maneuver units encounter. The mokhtar is much
like the chief of the village. Although he also records places
of residence and births, he is not like a sheik, because he
is sometimes appointed by the government to control the
civic affairs of the village. He has an official capacity in the
government, whereby he can make some decisions and
judgments.
In our area of operations, we encountered one sheik. He
was influential and affluent, and his words carried great
power within his personal sphere of influence, which included at least 250 Iraqi key leaders and village mokhtars.
He probably influenced more than 50,000 Iraqis. During
COIN operations, a CAT can bridge the gap between the
sheik and the commander. The continual interaction will in-
22
Special Warfare
crease the flow of dialogue and greatly benefit conventional

forces interests.
Key leader review

The Analyst Notebook Program, or ANP, serves as an
aid to the CAT in organizing its contacts with key leaders or
SOIs. The ANP is essentially a database. We consolidated
contact information and standard biographical data. On
a daily basis, the unit staff would approach us to get local-leader information in preparation for a key event. The
system proved so beneficial that we constructed maps that
included leader photos and quick-reference information.
The data in the ANP proved beneficial in conveying the political landscape.
Neighborhood watch program

Another nonlethal approach that CATs helped develop
was the formation of a neighborhood-watch program
throughout Iraq. The neighborhood-watch program is composed of concerned local citizens who are frustrated with
extremists such as al-Qaeda and Shiite extremists. They
are not vigilantes but Iraqis who want to reclaim their towns
and volunteer to help stop the violence, shootings and kidnappings. Most of the violence in Iraq is Arab-on-Arab, often
in retribution for acts committed decades or centuries ago.
hide and seek A concerned local citizen looks inside a culvert for signs of hidden improvised explosive devices during a joint clearing operation with Iraqi National Police and U.S. Army Soldiers. U.S. Army photo.
There are some caveats to observe when forming neighborhood-watch groups. First, we insisted that they refrain
from calling themselves a militia. Second, they were not
to engage in any offensive actions; they were only to protect
key infrastructure in their towns. Third, they were to affirm
that they would join the Iraqi police after the neighborhoodwatch program expired. As part of protecting the key town
infrastructure, they would operate tactical checkpoint operations at critical intersections to hinder AQI and extremist
movement along the routes into their towns.
There are risks inherent in arming locals; however, our
options were limited, and we had to rely on non-vetted
locals to take charge of their towns. At some point, we must
rely on the locals who want to reclaim Iraq and help stop
the insurgency, by arming them and expecting that they will
do the right thing. This is a grass-roots approach.
The neighborhood-watch program is extremely successful and is quickly becoming effective throughout Iraq.
When starting a program, it is extremely important to train
group members on ethics, checkpoint procedures, weapons
readiness, uniform clarification, friendly-fire mitigation and
communications planning.
It is also important to note that conventional forces
neither arm nor support rogue elements that are not sanctioned by the government of Iraq.
Conclusion
The CATs from the 95th CA Brigade were resourceful
in providing CA flexibility and adaptability to conventional
forces throughout Iraq. CATs engaged key leaders, assisted
with neighborhood-watch programs, assisted commanders in CMO and helped incoming reserve-component CATs
transition to supporting the surge BCTs. Through their
actions, the CATs demonstrated the capability of all Civil Affairs forces to operate successfully with conventional forces
and to provide numerous nonlethal options to an otherwise
lethal operation.
Major Ross F. Lightsey is assigned to the 96th
Civil Affairs Battalion, U.S. Army Special Operations
Command. Major Lightsey has served in officer assignments in Infantry and Special Forces, and he
is a 2007 graduate of the Civil Affairs Qualification
Course. He has served tours in Iraq in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as numerous tours
in the Balkans.
March-April 2008
23
Meeting the Standards

Preparing for Advanced Skills Training
One of the hallmarks of Army special-operations forces are their highly
developed skills, and their advanced
skills put an even keener edge on the
tip of the spear.
Ranging from advanced shooting
skills, military free-fall, combat diving
and close air support to intelligence
and information operations, advanced
skills enhance the abilities of ARSOF
Soldiers to fight, survive and prevail
on the battlefield. Advanced skills
are taught by the 2nd Battalion of
the JFK Special Warfare Center and
Schools 1st Special Warfare Training
Group.
ligence activities, combat operations

and collateral activities from the SF
detachment level to the unified-command level. SFISC is taught at Fort
Bragg, N.C.; ASOT is taught at Fort
Bragg and at Fort Lewis, Wash.
SFISC
Prerequisites: Students must be
active- or reserve-component Special
Forces enlisted personnel in the rank
of E6 or E7.
Special instructions: At class inprocessing, students must have their
medical records and a memorandum
from their security manager, dated
the course. Candidates must have a

valid state drivers license.
They must be assigned to or
on orders to a two-year utilization
assignment that requires ASOT
Level III. Candidates must also be
airborne-qualified, on jump status
and able to participate in airborne
operations.
Company B
Company B trains ARSOF and
other Department of Defense personnel in the Military Free-Fall
Parachutist Course, or MFFPC;
the Military Free-Fall Jumpmaster
Advanced skills enhance the abilities of

ARSOF Soldiers to fight, survive and prevail
on the battlefield.
Slots in advanced-skills courses
are highly sought-after, but given the
operational tempo of the units in the
fight, units occasionally send Soldiers who would benefit from further
preparation prior to enrollment. To
be successful, in the career-enhancing professional-development courses
outlined below, Soldiers must seek
and units must afford an appropriate
amount of time and effort to meeting specified prerequisites. When
in doubt about the preparation and
documentation outlined below, unit
schools NCOs are encouraged to contact the JFK Special Warfare Center
and School for clarification.
Company A
Co. A conducts two advanced-skill
training courses: Advanced Special
Operations Techniques, or ASOT, and
the Special Forces Intelligence Sergeant Course, or SFISC. Graduates of
these courses are capable of planning, directing and supervising intel-
not earlier than 30 days prior to the

class start date, verifying their security clearance.
ASOT
Prerequisites: Students must
be graduates of the Special Forces
Qualification Course or SEAL Qualification Course in the rank of E6-E8,
W1-W3 or O2-O4 and have a validated mission requirement.
They must have at least two years
of SOF experience at the tactical
level; i.e., SF detachment or SEAL
platoon. At the time of in-processing,
service members must also have a
letter from the first O5 in their chain
of command certifying that they have
completed a USASOC-validated Level
II training program.
Special instructions: Candidates
must be U.S. citizens and have at
least a secret clearance. The 1st
SWTG S2 will verify all clearances,
and individuals without a verified
clearance will not be admitted into
Course, or MFFJMC, and the Special

Operations Terminal Attack Controller Course, or SOTACC. It conducts
training at Fort Bragg and at Yuma
Proving Ground, Ariz.
MFFPC
active- or reserve-component DoD
personnel in the rank of O1-O3, W1W3 or E3-E9, DoD civilian personnel
or selected allied personnel. They
must be assigned to or on orders to
a military free-fall coded position.
Requests for exceptions to the above
must be endorsed in writing by the
first O5 commander in the applicants
chain of command.
Applicants must be qualified
military static-line parachutists and
cannot weigh more than 240 pounds.
They must have a current Class
III flight physical examination, in
accordance with AR 40-501, dated
not more than two years before the
course completion date.
by SWCS. They must have served as

a military free-fall parachutist for at
least one year and have completed
at least 50 military free-fall jumps.
They must be rated Military Free-fall
Parachutist Level III IAW USASOC
350-2, 27 September 01. They must
have a current class III flight examination, IAW AR 40-501, dated within
five years of the course completion
date, if they are on military free-fall
status. Students must have a current Physiological Training Record,
High-Altitude Parachutist Initial
(AF Form 1274; AF Form 702; Navy
Form 1550/28-NP-6 card; or USAAMC AA Form 484). Their weight cannot exceed 240 pounds.
Special instructions: Students
orders must state that they are attached to Co. B, 2nd Bn., 1st SWTG,
for the purpose of attending the
MFFJMC. Their itinerary will be from
their home station to Yuma Proving
Ground and a return to their home
station or to the next duty assignment. Students must provide their
own transportation to and from the
Yuma airport. Co. B will provide
transportation to and from the daily
training events.
SOTACC
on the line A student at the Special Operations Terminal Attack Controller Course calls in
fire over the Arizona desert. Photo copyright Hans Halberstadt.
They must report with complete

medical records, including a current Physiological Training Record,
High-Altitude Parachutist Initial (AF
Form 1274; AF Form 702, Navy Form
1550/28-NP-6 card; or USAAMC AA
Form 484).
Special instructions: Initial
MFFPC training in the vertical wind
tunnel is conducted at Fort Bragg,
with follow-on training at Yuma Proving Ground. Students itinerary will
be from their home station to Fort
Bragg to Yuma Proving Ground and
a return to their home station or the
next duty assignment. Students must
provide their own transportation to

and from the Yuma airport.
MFFJMC
active- or reserve-component officers,
warrant officers, NCOs or enlisted
personnel of the U.S. military services, or selected students of allied
foreign countries. They must be assigned to or on orders to a military
free-fall position.
Students must already have
completed a static-line jumpmaster
course and a military free-fall parachutist course that are recognized

male, active- or reserve-component
officers, warrant officers or NCOs
who have at least one year of experience in an operational unit. They
must be assigned to or on orders
to an SF detachment or the Ranger
Regiment. Students must not have
any medical condition, such as
dyslexia, that would prohibit them
from performing the duties of a joint
terminal air controller.
Company C
Co. C trains SF and other U.S.
SOF, DoD and U.S. government
personnel in three courses: the
SF Combat Diver Qualification
Course, or SFCDQC; the SF Combat Diving Supervisor Course, or
SFCDSC; and the SF Diving Medical Technician Course, of SFDMTC, Training is conducted at the
Key West Naval Air Station, Fla.
March-April 2008
25
Requisite Requirements
on deck Students at the Underwater Diving Facility workout on the pool deck. U.S. Army photo.
SFCDQC
male service members of units of the
U.S. Special Operations Command
and must be assigned to or on orders
to an authorized combat-diver position. Students must fulfill the following requirements IAW AR 611-75
Management of Army Divers, Paragraph 2-18: Meet the medical fitness
standards of AR 40-501, Standards of
Medical Fitness, Paragraph 5-9, with
the examination completed within
24 months of the course completion
date, and ensure that DD Forms 2808
(Report of Medical Examination) and
2807-1 (Report of Medical History) are
sent to the CG; USAJFKSWCS; Attn:
AOJK-OP (G3); Fort Bragg, NC 283109610. Students must pass a PT test
that requires at least 52 push-ups;
62 sit-ups; seven forward-grip pullups; a two-mile run in 14 minutes, 54
seconds or less; a 500-meter openwater swim in BDUs using a side or
breast stroke; and a 25-meter sub-
26
Special Warfare
surface swim. Students must present

a memorandum signed by the first
O5 in their chain of command stating
that they have passed all the PT requirements. The memorandum must
be dated within six months of the
start date of the SFCDQC. Completion
of the PT requirements must also be
verified in writing by the individuals
unit commander. Students must pass
an oxygen intolerance/hyperbaric
chamber pressure equalization test
on the first day of the course, in accordance with the requirements of AR
40-501, Chapter 5, Paragraph 5-9W.
SFCDSC
graduates of the SFCDQC or the
Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL
Course and in the grade of E6 or
above. They must have a current SF
diving physical examination, in accordance with the requirements of AR
40-501, Standards of Medical Fitness,
Chapter 5, Paragraph 5-9, completed
within 24 months of the course

completion date. Students must have
their medical records and originals of
the physical-examination documents
on the day of course in-processing.
They must pass a physical-fitness
test conducted in accordance with
the provisions of FM 21-20, Physical
Fitness Training, consisting of at least
52 push-ups; 62 sit-ups within a twominute period; and a two-mile run
completed in 14 minutes, 54 seconds
or less for all age groups, IAW AR
611-75, Management of Army Divers,
Chapter 2, Paragraph 2-19B. Students must report with a certification
that they have passed the physicalfitness test signed by a commander in
the grade of O5 or higher.
Special instructions: Students
must be proficient in the use of dive
tables and in the theory of diving
physics and diving physiology. They
will be given a written test on the first
day of the course, covering subjects
taught in the SFCDQC.
SFDMTC
male, active- or reserve-component
DoD enlisted personnel. They must
be qualified SF or Ranger medics who
have graduated from the Special Operations Combat Medic Course, U.S.
Navy SEAL corpsmen, U.S. Air Force
Para-Rescue medics or other DoD
medical personnel assigned to or on
orders for duty as SOF medics.
Candidates not on dive status
must pass an initial SFCDQC physical examination completed not more
than 24 months before the start date
of the scheduled SFDMTC, IAW AR
40-501, Paragraphs 5-9 and 8-14a(7).
Candidates on dive status must have
a current SFCDQC physical examination completed not more than 36
months before the start date of the
SFDMTC, IAW AR 40-501, Paragraphs
5-9 and 8-14a(7).
All candidates must report to inprocessing with their medical records
and original DD Forms 2808 and
2807-1. They must have passed an
Army Physical Fitness Test within six
months of the course completion date
and administered IAW the provisions
of FM 21-20, Physical Fitness Training, Chapter 14, and they must have
scored at least 70 percent in each
event according to the 17-21 yearold standards, regardless of their age
[AR 611-75, Paragraph 2-18d(2)].
They must pass a swim test consisting of swimming 300 meters using
any stroke [AR 611-75, Paragraph
2-18D(3)]. Students must report for
in-processing with a certification that
they have passed the AFPT and swim
tests signed by their unit commander.
Students must pass an oxygen
intolerance/hyperbaric chamber pressure equalization test on the first day
of the course, in accordance with the
requirements of AR 40-501, Chapter
5, Paragraph 5-9W.
Company D
Co. D trains SF Soldiers in advanced combat techniques and trains
SF and other SOF personnel in sniper
techniques. Its two courses: the Special Forces Sniper Course, or SFSC;
and the Special Forces Advanced
Reconnaissance, Target Analysis

and Exploitation Techniques Course,
or SFARTAETC, are taught at Fort
Bragg.
SFSC
active- or reserve-component officers
in the grades O1-O3, SF warrant officers or enlisted personnel in grades
E4-E8, who are SF- or Ranger-qualified and assigned to or on orders to
an SF detachment or Ranger company. Selected DoD personnel may
also attend.
During class in-processing, students must have a memorandum
from their security manager verifying that they have at least a secret
security clearance. No interim security clearances are allowed. Students
must also have their medical records
and a psychological evaluation
(MMPI or CPI) administered within 12
months of the class start date.
Students must have qualified as
expert with the current service rifle
within six months of the class start
date, as certified in writing by their
unit commander. They will have to
pass a diagnostic shoot, firing five
five-round groups from 25 meters, in
the prone supported position, using the current service rifle with iron
sights. To pass, three of their fiveround groups must be equal to or less
than 1 1/4 inches in diameter.
Students must not have a medical
profile that would prohibit participation in training, and they must not be
taking any medications that might affect their reflexes or judgment. Their
vision must be correctable to 20/20
in each eye, and they must be on
jump status and able to participate in
airborne operations.
SFARTAETC
Prerequisites: The U.S. Army
Special Operations Command G3 selects Soldiers to attend SFARTAETC.
Eligibility is limited to SF enlisted
Soldiers, warrant officers and officers
who are assigned to specific SF units.
Students must have orders assigning
them to the designated unit or have a
memorandum from their group com-
mander or command sergeant major

verifying that they will be assigned
to that unit following the course. The
memorandum must also verify that
the Soldier has completed at least one
year on an SF detachment. This can
be waived by the commanding general
of the Special Forces Command.
Students must meet the height and
weight standards outlined in AR 6009. They must have their medical records with them at in-processing, and
they must not have a medical profile
that would prohibit their participation
in training.
Students must have qualified as
expert with the M-4 rifle and M-9
pistol within six months of the course
start date and have a memorandum
signed by their company commander
verifying their score. During in-processing, students must qualify as
expert with the M-9 pistol. If they
fail to qualify as expert, they will be
returned to their parent unit.
Special instructions: At class
in-processing, students must have
a memorandum from their security
manager verifying that they have at
least a secret security clearance. No
interim clearances will be allowed.
Clearances will be verified during
in-processing, and students without
valid clearances will not be allowed to
begin training.
Waivers
Any variations from the above
listed standards for any of the courses require a waiver from the CG,
USAJFKSWCS. All waiver requests
will be sent to: Commanding General;
USAJFKSWCS; Attn: AOJK-OP (G3);
Fort Bragg, NC 28319, no later than
45 days prior to the class start date.
For more information, call the
S3, 2nd Bn., at DSN 239-4011 or
commercial 910-432-4011. Course
prerequisites, packing lists and other
helpful information may be obtained
from the candidates battalion schools
NCO.Soldiers can also download
course information from the ATRSS
Course Catalog, located at www.atrrs.
army.mil/atrrscc/, or on the USASOC portal at USAJFKSWCS/1ST
SWTG(A)/2ND BN.
March-April 2008
27
cAREER nOTES
Enlisted
ARSOF NCOs should prepare
for promotion boards
The fiscal-year 2008 Sergeant

Major/Command Sergeant Major
Promotion-Selection Board will meet
June 3-24. Master sergeants who
will be considered for promotion
should begin updating their records
and ensure that their DA photo is
up-to-date.
While the board will give special
consideration to civilian education,
the greatest single determinant for
promotion is operational experience
and performance. For more information or assistance in updating
their records, Soldiers should contact their S1 or personnel services
battalion.
The 2009 Master Sergeant
Promotion-Selection Board will meet
Aug. 5-28 rather than in October.
The change is due to the fielding
of the Defense Integrated Military
Human Resources System in October. With the continuing increased
operational tempo, Soldiers should
keep their Official Military Personnel Folder, DA photo and Enlisted
Record Brief updated as part of a
continuous process.
Taking care of records while not
deployed pays dividends by ensuring that a selection board will see
a Soldiers true picture. The selection-board schedule is available
on the Army Human Resources

Commands Enlisted Selections and
Promotions Web page: https://www.
hrc.army.mil/site/Active/select/Enlisted.htm.
For additional information, telephone Sergeant Major Jeff Bare at
DSN 239-7594, commercial (910)
432-7594, or send e-mail to: barej@
soc.mil.
Schedule changes for activation

of new SF battalions
The schedule for the activation of

a fourth battalion in each of the SF
groups has changed. The 4th Battalion, 5th SF Group, will still activate
in August, and the 4th Battalion, 3rd
SF Group, remains scheduled for
activation in August 2009. However,
the 4th Battalion, 10th SF Group, is
now scheduled for activation in August 2010; the 4th Battalion, 1st SF
Group, is scheduled for activation
in August 2011; and the 4th Battalion, 7th SF Group, is scheduled for
activation in August 2012.
CA NCOs eligible
for re-enlistment bonus
Under the Bonus Extension and

Retaining program, some NCOs in
Career Management Field 38 (Civil
Affairs) are eligible for re-enlistment
bonuses. Soldiers in the rank of sergeant are eligible for a bonus of up
to $15,000; staff sergeants are eligible for $10,000. The Critical Skills
Re-enlistment Bonus for sergeants
first class and master sergeants is
still pending approval by the Office
of Secretary of Defense.
For more information on the bonuses, Soldiers should contact their
career counselor or telephone SFC
Herring or SFC Pease at the Special
Operations Recruiting Battalion,
(910) 907-9697.
4th POG to add two regional

companies
Beginning in March 2008, the 4th

Psychological Operations Group will
undergo a reorganization as part of
a force-design update. During the
reorganization, the 4th Group will activate two additional regional PSYOP
companies, giving each of the 4th
Groups regional PSYOP battalions
two companies each.
In addition, each company will be
reorganized to contain four PSYOP
detachments comprising two operational detachments each, for a
total of 99 Soldiers in each regional
PSYOP company.
The operational detachments will
contain Soldiers from the following career-management fields: 37F
(PSYOP specialist), 35M
(HUMINT collector) and 25M
(multimedia illustrator).
Warrant Officer
Key and developmental
positions mark WOs path
to success
The newly released DA Pam

600-3, Commissioned Officer
Development and Career Management, defines career paths
for SF warrant officers, clarifies
key and developmental positions
throughout the SF warrant officers
career and serves as a basis for
establishing further guidance and
policies.
Notable changes in the latest
28
Special Warfare
revision of the pamphlet include the

requirement that all active-component CWO 3s complete the Warrant Officer Advanced Course, or
WOAC, prior to promotion to CWO
4 and that all active-component
CWO 4s complete the Warrant Officer Senior Course, or WOSC, prior
to promotion to CWO 5.
The changes do not apply to
warrant officers in the Army National Guard. In the ARNG, CWO
2s must complete the WOAC to
be eligible for promotion to CWO
3, and CWO 3s must complete

WOSC to be eligible for promotion
to CWO 4.
SF warrant officers are encouraged to attend WOAC and WOSC
as soon as they are eligible, so
that they will be competitive for
promotion.
All SF warrant officers are encouraged to visit the Army Publishing Directorates Web site to view
and download a copy of the revised
DA Pam 600-3 (http://www.usapa.
army.mil/pdffiles/p600_3.pdf).
Officers eligible for Expanded

Graduate School Program
During fiscal year 2006, in an effort
to enhance development of the broader
intellectual capital required in a joint and
expeditionary Army, the Army Human Resources Command was authorized to offer
outstanding junior officers additional opportunities for attending graduate school.
Under the Expanded Graduate School
Program, officers attend a high-quality degree program in residence (1218 months) and then return to a field
environment for their follow-on assignment. Officers selected for the program
attend between their 8th and 12th year of
service.
The majority of officers are selected
by commanders in the field, who use the
program as a tool for development and
retention of outstanding officers. Other
selections are made by the Army Human
Resources Command.
Officers are required to attend a U.S.
graduate school. They must study in an
approved discipline that enhances the
competencies required in an expeditionary Army: cultural awareness, regional
Pamphlet identifies key SF

major, captains positions
The latest version of DA Pam 600-3,
Commissioned Officer Professional Development and Career Management, was
published Dec. 11, 2007.
The pamphlet outlines development
and career-management programs for
officers in each of the Armys career
branches and functional areas. An important part of the pamphlet focuses on key
and developmental, or KD, positions. KD
positions for SF majors and captains are
outlined below:
Captains. SF captains should command an SF detachment for 24 months.
(1) Detachment commander is the
only KD position for SF captains.
(2) Upon graduation from the SF
Qualification Course, captains should
serve at least 36 months (at least 24 as a
detachment commander) in an 18A-coded position within an SF group. Reassignment of captains prior to the completion
of the 36-month utilization assignment
knowledge, foreign language, governance,

diplomacy, national security and social
sciences that reinforce operational skills.
Application requires a letter of acceptance from the university, as well as an
agreement by the school that tuition will
not exceed $15,000 per academic year.
Participants incur an active-duty service
obligation of three days for every day
spent in graduate school.
To be eligible for the 2008 selection,
officers must be in the Army Competitive
category in Year Group 2005. They must
have an outstanding potential for future
service, must have a minimum undergraduate grade-point average of 3.0, must
hold a secret clearance and must hold
a regular-Army commission. They must
not be competing or selected for any
other Army-sponsored graduate program,
fellowship, scholarship or training-withindustry program.
Additional information on EGSP is
available in MILPER messages 07-237
and 07-347 or from HRC at https://www.
hrc.army.mil/site/protect/active/opfamacs/acs00.htm. The point of contact for
the Army Special Operations Command
requires a DA Form 4187 signed by the

battalion and group commanders.
(3) Selected captains may remain
assigned to an SF group for as long as
four years.
Majors. SF majors should serve successfully for approximately 24 months in
any of the KD positions listed below or in
a combination of these positions:
(1) SF company commander.
(2) SF battalion S3.
(3) SF battalion XO.
(4) SF group S3.
(5) SF group support company
commander.
(6) SF group operations detachment
commander.
(7) 1st Special Warfare Training
Group S3.
(8) 1st SWTG battalion S3.
(9) 1st SWTG battalion XO.
(10) 1st SWTG company
commander.
(11) Special Operations Recruiting
Battalion XO.
is Major Joseph Worley, DSN 239-5426,

commercial (910) 432-5426, or send email to: joseph.worley@us.army.mil.
Definition of success changing

for CA and PSYOP officers
The new DA Pam 600-3, released in
December, will be revised to reflect the new
training pipeline for students in 38A (Civil
Affairs) and 37A (Psychological Operations). Officers in both branches should
review their branchs key and developmental positions in order to understand the
changing environment for promotion and
command-selection.
Success will depend not on the
number or type of positions held but rather
on the quality of duty performance in
every assignment. Success is tied to the
individual officers contribution and related
to his or her definition of success in the
profession of arms. Previously accepted
conventions regarding personnel management and branch-qualification no longer
apply, and not all officers will be afforded
opportunities to perform all types of duty
(DA Pam 600-3, Chapter 1 [1-1]).
(12) Commander, SFOD-39 in Korea.

(13) Designated positions for operations or plans officers in the SF groups,
theater special-operations commands,
U.S. Special Operations Command or
Joint Special Operations Command.
(14) Designated positions for operations or plans officers at the Western
Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, Combined Arms Center or Joint
Readiness Training Center.
Field units can nominate SF major
positions as KD so long as the positions
are coded for 18A majors on the modified
table of organization and equipment/table
of distributions and allowances; have an
SF officer in the rating chain (rater or
senior rater); and the duties have direct
relevance to recruiting, training, employing or commanding SOF at a majors level
of responsibility.
See Chapter 17 of DA Pam 600-3 for
information on the professional development and career management of SF
officers and warrant officers.
March-April 2008
Career Notes
Officer
urban guerrilla warfare

Guerrilla warfare has been and
will be a challenge for years to come.
Currently, the U.S. military is confronting guerrilla insurgents in Iraq,
Afghanistan, Africa, Colombia and
the Philippines, with no end to these
conflicts foreseeable. One of the biggest challenges to a military force is
urban guerrilla warfare. The book,
Urban Guerrilla Warfare, by Anthony
James Joes, provides the reader
with a well-written description of
the challenges confronting a military
force operating against guerrillas in
an urban environment.
The importance of studying urban guerrilla warfare is stressed by
Joes, as he contends that this type
of conflict will be more prevalent in
the future. As demographics change,
populations have been migrating to
urban centers. As the number and
size of urban areas continue to grow,
guerrilla conflicts in the urban environment will become more frequent.
It is apparent that the U.S. military
may find itself fighting more often in
this challenging environment.
Joes explores eight 20th-century
regional urban insurgencies in detail:
Warsaw in 1944, Budapest in 1956,
Algiers in 1957, Sao Palo and Montevideo from 1963 to 1973, Saigon
in 1968, Northern Ireland from 1970
to 1998, and Grozny from 1994 to
1996. As he analyzes each example,
he evaluates the common aspects
and differences in the methods used
by urban insurgents. He also discusses the reasons for the successes
and failures of each conflict. Joes
also examines how urban insurgents
veer from the fundamental principles
of guerrilla warfare established by
Clausewitz, Mao Zedong and others.
As Joes takes the reader through
each of these eight cases, a common
theme emerges. All of the urban in-
30
Special Warfare
surgencies outlined failed to achieve

decisive success. In fact, most of the
cases studied turned into complete
defeat for the urban guerrillas. Joes
explains that this unsuccessful record continues into the 21st century,
as illustrated by the failure of the
urban insurgents in the battle of Fallujah in November 2004.
Joes maintains that urban insurgencies fail because they deviate
almost completely from the fundamental principles of guerrilla warfare
defined by Clasusewitz and Mao
Zedong. According to their teachings, guerrillas need to operate in
rough terrain, thus impeding the
movements of well-equipped military forces. Furthermore, guerrillas
should operate in a rural area so
that their movements do not become
predictable and they cannot be easily
surrounded. All eight cases demonstrate ways that urban guerrillas
have violated these principles.
If recent conflicts demonstrate
that urban insurgencies will fail, why
should the U.S. be concerned with
urban insurgencies? In his concluding chapter, Joes articulates a persuasive rationale for the U.S. to weigh
all its options before committing its
military against an urban insurgency.
He also explains three keys to success when we have decided to commit
forces in an urban guerrilla-warfare
environment. These keys isolation,
intelligence and political pre-emption
are discussed in detail.
The last point that he discusses,
rectitude, or lawful conduct on
the part of American forces toward
prisoners, defectors, amnesty-seekers and civilians, is the most important component of any U.S. political
strategy. The good conduct of American troops is critical for U.S. political
success in this environment. As Joes
Details
By Anthony James Joes
Lexington, Ky.:
The University Press of Kentucky, 2007.
ISBN: 978-0-8131-2437-7.
217 pages. $35.
Reviewed by:
Lt. Col. David A. Kilcher
U.S. Air Force
Air Land Sea Application Center
states in the book, inappropriate
conduct by occupation forces creates
more insurgents, while proper conduct saves counterinsurgent lives.
We see this challenge every day in
current global conflicts.
Overall, Joes has produced a
well-written, in-depth read on the
increasingly important topic of
urban guerrilla warfare. His historical case studies provide the reader
with examples of urban conflict
and lessons learned. This book is
highly recommended for individuals
seeking lessons on urban guerrillawarfare engagements from both the
insurgent and the counterinsurgent
viewpoint.
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March-April 2008 | Volume 21 | Issue 2

16 Civil Affairs Support to the Surge

The 95th CA Brigades support to the surge in Iraq demonstrates

for units conducting civil-military operations.

24 Meeting the Standards

From the Commandant

Send Letters To:

Include your full name, rank, address and phone number

Special Warfare is an authorized, official bimonthly

By order of the Secretary of the Army:

America is fighting an enemy that is tenacious and adaptable.

Major General James W. Parker

Rogers takes command of 10th Sf group

discipline and courage, he said, and live and

Mullholland takes helm of 7th sf group

Im extremely proud to have been

in command Colonel Sean Mulholland

of America in Washington D.C., and

Language Institute announces updates to DLPT V test

tests are as follows:

Baer takes responsibility for usasoc enlisted soldiers

the forefront. I want to thank you on

20th Special Forces group Soldier Earns Silver Star

dont go to war with outdated doctrine

products most recently released by

U.S. Army Publishing Directorate (http://www.usapa.army.mil/),

Doctrinal Products Update

Army Special Operations Forces

PSYOP Process TTPs

MTP for the PSYOP Product Development Co.

PSYOP Doctrine Division

by Captain C. Peter Dungan

While it is not a new concept, lawfare has become

lawfare, encapsulating lessons learned by the command

Identifying the threat

rooftop, broke through the roof into the house of a member

Countering the threat

ding, firebase combined operations, coalition involvement

Afghan officials originally validated the claims, they, the

The enemy uses lawfare as an asymmetric means of abusing our

of the right staff officers and subordinate commanders, the

Documenting the truth

nately, his team discovered three dead civilians under a tent

Getting the truth out

intense of its 10 investigations in its first two months in theater.

The most important element of fighting an insurgency is

Council on Foreign Relations, Lawfare, the Latest in Asymmetries,

CA SUPPORT TO CONVENTIONAL UNITS IN THE SURGE

In the spring of 2007, the United States Army Special

Providing quick-impact projects to jump-start local

ered the town was productive, cooperative and receptive to

CA SUPPORT TO CONVENTIONAL UNITS IN THE SURGE

clinics and hospitals.

tlefield was by far the biggest problem for us to overcome.

around the houses, up and down streets and displaying

Military. The U.S. military currently dominates any

Influential key leaders

CA SUPPORT TO CONVENTIONAL UNITS IN THE SURGE

nections within the tribe are not as strong as within the