Civil Affairs

Civil Affairs (CA) units help military commanders by working with civil authorities and civilian populations in the commanders’ areas of operation to lessen the impact of military operations during peace, contingency operations, and declared war. CA forces support activities of both conventional and special-operations forces and can assist and support the civil administration in the area of operations. CA soldiers are culturally oriented linguists, and may be tasked with providing functional expertise for foreign internal defense operations, unconventional warfare operations, and direct action missions.