Hi. I'm talking to a recruiter tomorrow about enlisting in the reserves as a 38A. I'm a female and was wondering if there are any restrictions as to what I can do. For ex., in PSYOPS, I read that females were not allowed to be on tactical teams. Does Civil Affairs have different kinds of "teams" as well that doesn't allow females on it?
I do have my B.A and am considering going the enlisted route. I'm a very "hands-on" type of person and wanted to know if being an officer would limit you from doing that.
Also, does Civil Affairs participate in building the schools, water systems, etc., or are they more just about finding local contractors and using other units, like Combat Engineers, to help build?
If anyone from Civil Affairs can tell me how it really is in this unit, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks so much.. and sorry for all the questions! Thank you.
Originally posted by 18042138: I do have my B.A and am considering going the enlisted route. I'm a very "hands-on" type of person and wanted to know if being an officer would limit you from doing that.
Not really, CA is a fairly skill oriented MOS. The person with the most experience in a job (should) run it. E vs. O is not so much an issue in CA. As a reservist, assuming you can stand the pay difference (on deployments) you might want to try a couple years as enlisted, then think about OCS or WOC.
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Also, does Civil Affairs participate in building the schools, water systems, etc., or are they more just about finding local contractors and using other units, like Combat Engineers, to help build?
Both usually, dependant on the scale of the situation. You could be pouring cement sidewalks for a schoolhouse in Guatamala or negotiating construction contracts to rebuild Iraqi powerstations.
Sorry, I never saw any difference in the roles but my CA time was before the conflicts so it could easily have changed. I'm sure someone here is more current.
In PsyOP, females can not be on a TPT, (which you already know) - in CA, females are part of every team, including CAT-A teams.
I just got home from a 3 week op in Germany where we spent a few weeks training the 172nd BCT for their upcoming deployment - there were 6 female soldiers on our FOB.
Overall, in CA, you will find many enlisted have their degrees. It is a "high-speed" MOS for reserves, we do a LOT more than a weekend a month and two weeks a year.
