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Photo by Cpl. Albert F. Hunt
Capt. Ryan P. Benson, commander of India Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, negotiates with an Afghan man Nov. 3, about compensation fordamages done to his shop in Delaram, Afghanistan. Marines, formerly trained with the army, have developed their own civil military operations training here. |
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In a small hut, Marines sit with the three leaders of the local Afghan community: The mayor, the mullah and village elder. The mission is for them to agree to allow the Marines to establish a Civil Military Operation Center where villagers can come for help. The challenge is getting the three leaders on the same page, because while the mayor is making sure the village is getting money out of this deal, the mullah is concerned about his mosque and the village elder is worried about the welfare ofhis people.
This is a scenario played out in the first ever Civil Military Operations Course that earns Marines the civil affairs secondary MilitaryOccupational Specialty. The course is given by the Security Cooperative Education and Training Center, here at Quantico, which awards the MOS designator 0530 to officers and 0531 toenlisted Marines at course end.
Before, Marine reservists took on the full load of civil affairs, but now active-duty Marines contribute to the civil affairs efforts. Marines were taking civil affairs training with the army, but, with the increase in the number of Marines, they have started their own four-week course that takes place quarterly atCamp Upshur.
When broken down, Marines engage key leaders for one reason.‘‘This engagement with the leaders is why things get better,” said Master Gunnery Sgt. Jeffrey Dyson, the courseinstructor senior staff noncommissioned officer in charge. ‘‘Because of these relations we have quelched improvised explosive devicesand ambushes.
‘‘We try to help civilians, so the commander can accomplish his mission more easily,” Dyson said. ‘‘We engage key leaders, do project management assessments that find out where they need help and set up a CMOC. We work with the host nation’s government. Any kind of work we do we make sure the local government gets credit to make them feel good and to build up that relationship.”
The course curriculum contains classes on how to engage, negotiate and intermediate with village leaders. Also covered is how to be culturally sensitive and talk through an interpreter. All of these skills are cumulatively tested in the final field week through different scenarios at Combat Town B.
‘‘They learn to meet with village leaders and set up a CMOC,” said Master Gunnery Sgt. James Allen, a courseinstructor. ‘‘Another scenario is doing civil reconnaissance through the village. They walk around and see where the village needs help. They find the number of people in the village, what kind of businesses are present and who the leaders are. Basically they find any points of interests for the commander.”
These skill and scenarios are focused on our present day mission in Afghanistan but the base of the training is designed so it can be deployed anywhere in the world.
‘‘You can take these skills anywhere,” Dyson said. ‘‘Now it’s focused on Afghanistan, but before it would be on Iraq and who knows, in five years it might be somewhere else.”
Marines are trained to be combat machines and win battles. While the civil affairs mission may not seem as Gung-ho as an infantryman’s it is just as critical.
‘‘It’s ultimately about mission accomplishment,” said Lt. Col. Robert Carr, the head of the civilian military operations branch. ‘‘We train and fight as Marines, but civil affairs helps us accomplish the mission. We shift our focus from enemies to the civilian population. We work with them, service them and help with economic development. This is how we supportthe commander.”
- Correspondent: jahn.kuiper@usmc.mi
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