How does civil affairs transfer to civilian employment?

2016-03-21T10:46:32-04:00

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 21 at 2016 10:57 AM

2016-03-21T10:57:15-04:00

That's a good questions. It would seem like being a spokesperson for companies would be a common transition.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 21 at 2016 2:00 PM

2016-03-21T14:00:21-04:00

My nephew was a Civil Affairs Specialist, with two tours in Iraq. He transitioned to a law career, and is doing exceptionally well.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Mar 21 at 2016 3:04 PM

2016-03-21T15:04:44-04:00

My Guesses: UN, DSCA', and as a liaison officer, NORTHCOM, FEMA, DoS, USAID, and various other Federal and Cabinet organizations.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 22 at 2016 10:19 AM

2016-03-22T10:19:21-04:00

It really depends on your deployment experiences, how you word your resume, and your civilian experience. There are CA folks I deployed with who are lawyers on Capitol Hill, Public Works Administrators, Police Officers, Nuclear Couriers, or all the way professional students/entry level employees.

Some of the skills/experiences you can gain from CA that can set you apart from other Joes are: Foreign Humanitarian Assistance, Populace and Resource Control, Civil Information Management, Nation Assistance, and Support to Civil Administration. Each of these things alone could give you the skills/experience to land a sweet ass gig, but it all depends on how you sell yourself and those experiences.

With those five areas of concentration for CA soldiers, it opens up your portfolio to a wide array of options!

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 22 at 2016 1:49 PM

2016-03-22T13:49:50-04:00

It also depends on what skills set you have under your belt before joining CA. Be it Junior Enlisted, NCO or Officer.

If you're coming into CA - and you have an ear for a foreign language, you'll get the chance to go to DLI in Monterey, CA to learn anything from Afrikaans thru Urdu.

If you're coming into CA and you have a degree - that will put you into a good population base of CA soldiers. (On one deployment to Iraq, I worked with guys who had worked the floor at the NYSE. Now, that's an education... and they were both Junior Enlisted)

If you go to various military - and veteran websites - you'll see that CA translates into Business Continuity Planners/Business Operational Planners.

If you have worked previously in manufacturing - try to get a Lean Six Sigma course under your belt (Lean and Efficiency are now watch words), as well as taking classes in project/program management.

All that I've written - fit all three of the grades above.

LTC David A. Tuttle

Response by COL John Handy made Mar 22 at 2016 7:00 PM

2016-03-22T19:00:24-04:00

As noted by others, it depends on your initial background, your civilian skills and your experience while deployed. I worked with both (small) renewable energy and CERP and was able to use experience to improve my resume when moving into the solar industry.

Response by CPT Pedro Meza made Mar 22 at 2016 8:53 PM

2016-03-22T20:53:31-04:00

First CA teaches you to think outside the box, second depending on your area of expertise you can easily enroll in college courses and university degree programs to further develop your expertise and increase your rank NCO to Officer.

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 29 at 2016 2:58 PM

2016-03-29T14:58:42-04:00

Civil Affairs applies through the principles and guidelines on the interaction and cooperation between military and civilian organizations and entities in disaster response and humanitarian assistance abroad, especially in the case of disaster and complex emergencies. Many NGOs and IGOs, such as UN-OCHA, UN-DPKO, EUCPM, NATO, ICRC, UN-CMCoord, and EADRCC are conveyed by mission experienced international subject matter experts. The CCOE (CIMIC Center of Excellence) located at The Hague in The Netherlands is a great place to get relevant training courses, and to build invaluable working networks.

Response by SSG Christopher Wootton made May 31 at 2016 7:50 PM

2016-05-31T19:50:01-04:00

It really doesn't. As an enlisted person you will be given tremendous responsibility and be able to do some very exciting projects and make project and planning decisions that may be well beyond your rank. That experience is invaluable, but I have found in the civilian market, most positions of similar responsibility will also require a masters degree at a minimum and certifications or licensure in project planning and government contesting/bidding.
If you are willing to put in the school work to meet the education to your experience, then you will be well above your competition

Response by SFC Jon Vandeyacht made Jul 19 at 2017 10:44 AM

2017-07-19T10:44:54-04:00

The biggest takeaways are government service. If you were successful and retire without being broken, then getting in with USAID (If trump doesn't kill that program) or with the state department working at an embassy.
Outside of federal government, getting some sort of administrative job at the county level is easier.
Jobs that need someone that can do research, work with data, generate reports, conduct meetings or give sales pitches are your bread and butter.
I now work as a County Veterans Service Officer. I help veterans get their benefits and get service connected disability which can be difficult. I use every skill I learned in C.A.
The biggest thing that will make you successful as a civil affairs NCO/O is the ability to think... come up with simple solutions to complex problems, ability to sell... ice to an Eskimo/ sand to an Arab. You need to be able to apply your research and create reports and briefs for various levels which all have different reporting styles
You can get just about any admin type of job or a analyst job with an OGA. It's all about researching their requirements and applying your ability to sell yourself with your skills.
That was s the job of the CAs

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 6 at 2018 12:30 AM

2018-01-06T00:30:38-05:00

I am the medic in a reserve CA unit. From what I have seen thus far. You experience and education may get you into governmental agencies such as FEMA but the vast majority of all the 38Bs in my BAN are in Law Enforcement, Fire Dept or medical. All of which are great areas. Planning, coordinators, and thinking outside the box to accomplish tasks are what they do.

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 20 at 2018 11:20 AM

2018-07-20T11:20:22-04:00

FEMA, USAID, FBI, CIA, DHS, any emergency management agency, emergency management for corporations (yes they have that), NGOs, private contracting jobs, the list goes on. This is one of the jobs that actually does translate well into civilian markets, lots of people just don't see it or think "outside the box" enough to relate it. As CA you will be well versed in briefing, talking to high government officials, planning, project management, and governance. These are skills highly desired among large corporations and govt agencies. Try the Army COOL website as a start