International and Civil Affairs Specialist ... (Military - Enlisted)

What They Do

About This Career

International and civil affairs specialists perform various duties incident to the planning, coordination, and conduct of civil-military operations. They support the operation of civil affairs planning and coordination centers. They also perform civil-military assessments of their assigned operational area and coordinate with a wide variety of civilian populations, organizations, and agencies.

This career is part of the Government and Public Administration cluster National Security pathway.

A person in this career:

  • Assists in conducting assessments, coordination, analysis, production, and processing of civil affairs products and information
  • Serves as key advisor and consultant to commanders and supervisors on issues pertaining to foreign language and regional culture
  • Functions as interpreter or translator, and provides language skills, regional expertise, and cultural capabilities to commanders throughout the phases of military operations
  • Builds and maintains relationships and rapport with civil and military counterparts to further mission objectives
  • Recognizes and mitigates cultural stress
  • Develops and implements cultural/language training plans and events
  • Participates in security cooperation planning between the Military and local authorities

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

  • You would sit most of the time. There's some walking and standing. You may have to lift and carry things like books, papers or tools weighing 10 lbs. or less.
  • Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

  • Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
  • Identifying and understanding the speech of another person

Work Hours and Travel

  • Irregular hours
  • Overnight travel