About the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy
Special Warfare Center and School

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The U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (SWCS) at Fort Bragg, N.C., is one of the Army's premier education institutions, managing and resourcing professional growth for Soldiers in the Army's three distinct special-operations branches: Special Forces, Civil Affairs and Military Information Support. The Soldiers educated through SWCS programs are using cultural expertise and unconventional techniques to serve their country in far-flung areas across the globe. More than anything, these Soldiers bring integrity, adaptability and regional expertise to their assignments.

On any given day, approximately 3,100 students are enrolled in SWCS training programs. Courses range from entry-level training to advanced warfighter skills for seasoned officers and NCOs. The 1st Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne) qualifies Soldiers to enter the special-operations community, and teaches them advanced tactical skills as they progress through their careers. The Joint Special Operations Medical Training Center, operating under the auspices of the Special War- fare Medical Group, is the central training facility for Department of Defense special-operations combat medics. Furthermore, SWCS leads efforts to professionalize the Army's entire special-operations force through the Special Forces Warrant Officer Institute and the David K. Thuma Noncommissioned Officer Academy. While most courses are conducted at Fort Bragg, SWCS enhances its training by maintaining facilities, and relationships with outside institutions, across the country.

In all, SWCS offers 41 unique courses that give Soldiers the skills they need to survive and succeed on the battlefield.

The Army's special-operations force is only as good as its education system. Likewise, that education system is only as good as its instructors. By employing the most experienced Soldiers within its units and directorates, SWCS ensures the U.S. Army of tomorrow is equipped with the very best special-operations force.

SWCS classes and field exercises are led by more than 400 military instructors, each of whom has operated in the same environments, for the same units, as their students will. Their real-world experience not only enhances the courses' instruction; it fosters camaraderie built on students' and instructors' shared sense of duty and commitment. Annually, one third of the uniformed instructors rotate back to the operational force from which they came, to maintain operational relevancy in both SWCS and the Army's special-operations units. As military personnel rotate between assignments, more than 200 expert civilian instructors and staff members support training, doctrine development and publishing initiatives by providing unique skill-sets.

Special-operations Soldiers cannot be mass produced, and are elite because only the best are selected. As the gateway to the special-operations community, SWCS selects only the top candidates to even attempt its rigorous training — Soldiers who demonstrate character, commitment, courage and intelligence in their daily lives and professional careers. The Army's special-operations unit commanders rely on the SWCS directorates to select the strongest candidates and give them the tools to succeed on the battlefield. Using lessons learned from these battlefields, curriculum and doctrine can be amended in a matter of weeks when gaps in training are identified. Together, these directorates oversee administration and policy throughout the community, serving the operational units while allowing them to focus on their missions with full confidence in their Soldiers' preparedness.

Army special-operations Soldiers have a tremendous impact on today's world. At each stage in their careers, the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School is with them to guide and develop their skills.

Last update: Feb. 8, 2013

SWCS History

The U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, or SWCS, dates back to 1950, when the U.S. Army developed the Psychological Warfare (PSYWAR) Division of the Army General School, Fort Riley, Kan.

The U.S. Army Psychological Warfare Center and School, a unique organization with operational tactical units and a school under the same umbrella, moved to Fort Bragg from Fort Riley, Kan. in April 1952. In 1956, the PSYWAR Center and School was renamed the U.S. Army Center for Special Warfare/U.S. Army Special Warfare School. The school was given the responsibility to develop the doctrine, techniques, training and education of Special Forces and Psychological Operations personnel.

In 1960, the school's responsibilities expanded to counterinsurgency operations. In 1962, the Special Warfare Center established an SF Training Group to train enlisted volunteers for operational assignments within the SF groups. The Advanced Training Committee was formed to explore and develop sophisticated methods of infiltration and exfiltration. On May 16, 1969, the school was renamed the U.S. Army Institute for Military Assistance. The curriculum was expanded to provide training in high-altitude, low-opening (HALO) parachuting and SCUBA operations. The institute comprised the SF School, Psychological Operations, Military Assistance Training Advisors School, Counter-Insurgency School, Unconventional Warfare School and Department of Non-Resident Training.

On April 1, 1972, the U.S. Army Civil Affairs School was transferred from Fort Gordon, Ga., to Fort Bragg, operating under the center's umbrella. In 1973, the center was assigned to the new U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, or TRADOC.

On June 1, 1982, the Chief of Staff of the Army approved the separation of the center as an independent TRADOC activity under the name U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center. The SWC integrated special operations into the Army systems, training and operations, becoming the proponent school for Army Special Operations Forces.

In 1985, SWCS was recognized as the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. The major change at this time was the establishment of six training departments: Special Forces; Special Operations Advanced Skills; Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape; Foreign Area Officer; Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations. A few years later, the Noncommissioned Officer Academy was instituted. In 1989, SWCS was restructured following the establishment of a training-group and three training battalions with one support battalion.

On June 20, 1990, SWCS was reassigned from TRADOC to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. This designation gave USASOC control of all components of SOF, with the exception of forward-deployed units. Throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century, the primary SWCS mission has been to fill the force with quality special-operations Soldiers.

Last update: Feb. 8, 2013

SWCS Organization

SWCS is a direct reporting unit to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, or USASOC, and has a close working relationship with U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, or TRADOC, as a training center. SWCS also works closely with the Special Operations Recruiting Battalion, or SORB, which is responsible for recruiting Soldiers from within the Army for the CA, MIS and SF regiments. The SWCS command comprises a headquarters element, the center which consists of one directorate and the school which consists of five training units.

1st Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne)

The 1st Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne) develops U.S. Army Special Forces, Civil Affairs and Military Information Support Operations Soldiers by providing superior entry-level through advanced training and education. The SWTG serves as the center of gravity for SOF institutional training, ensuring that we develop our special operators with the best capabilities available to produce a full-spectrum special-operations force prepared to work independently or as part of a combined, joint, interagency effort through or with indigenous partner forces to address the diverse range of threats posed by an uncertain 21st-century environment.

1st Battalion: Trains entry-level Special Forces Soldiers to succeed in combat on a SFOD- A. The training consists of tactical combat skills that include squad- through company- level tactics, Level C survival techniques enabling students to apply the Code of Conduct in order to survive and return home with honor, basic military occupational specialty (MOS) training and unconventional warfare (UW) instruction conducted in urban and rural locations throughout central North Carolina.

2nd Battalion: Trains SOF and other selected personnel in advanced special-operations skills, techniques, tactics and procedures in CONUS. Implements and evaluates associated doctrine, then deploys military training teams worldwide in support of regional combatant commanders and DoD missions.

3rd Battalion: Trains and educates Army officers, NCOs and Advanced Individual Tran ing Soldiers in Civil Affairs operations.

4th Battalion: Utilizing the Instructor ODAs (IODAs) and ODBs they trains, advise, manage, counsel, and provide mentorship to all assigned Students (US and Foreign) in the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) in order to produce expertly trained and well-prepared Special Forces Soldiers.

5th Battalion: Trains and educates Army officers, NCOs and Advanced Individual Training Soldiers in Military Information Support.

6th Battalion: Trains and educates Green Berets, Joint Special Operations Forces and other selected interagency personnel to conduct specialized intelligence and operational activities in order to provide them an unmatched capability to understand and address the diverse threats of the 21st century.

Support Battalion: Sustains the training force through the forecast and management of eight fundamental commodities consisting of communication and electronic, armament, aerial delivery, transportation, food service, publications, facilities and CIF. In concert with the commodities, the Support Battalion oversees a number of logistics-management programs that enhance training efforts. The SWCS Personnel Action Center (SWCSPAC) is a human-resource and academic-records company integrated with Installation Management to provide personnel-service support for the more than 3,500 students annually entering the Special Warfare Center. The Support Battalion has a support detachment forward to support the separate entities training at Camp Mackall and encompasses transportation, maintenance, food service, armament, C&E and installation support.

Special Warfare Education Group (Airborne)

The Special Warfare Education Group (Airborne) or SWEG(A) is located in Bank Hall and is responsible for assessing, selecting, and educating U.S. Army Civil Affairs (CA), Military Information Support Operations (MISO), and Special Forces (SF) Soldiers and civilians throughout their careers by providing relevant instruction and professional development in order to possess the capability to succeed in any global region.

SWEG(A) is divided into a Headquarters Company and four departments: Academic Affairs and Education, Regional Studies, Human Dynamics, and Language.

Human Dynamics Department: Conducts the Army Special Operation Forces Assessment and Selection and Screening Course Programs in Civil Affairs, Military Information Support Operations, Special Forces, and Cultural Support. Human Dynamics also supports learning and performance enhancement through the Special Operations Center for Enhanced Performance (SOCEP); through Tactical Human Optimization, Rapid Rehabilitation, and Reconditioning (THOR3); and through Adaptive Thinking and Leadership courses and training enhancement.

Academic Affairs and Education Department: supports Army Special Operation Forces Soldiers (ARSOF) in attaining their AA, BA, MA, or PhD. The department also provides instructor training and certification through the Special Operations Instructors Courses as well as conducting professional military education programs through the Captain's Career Course and the Pre-Command Course. Contact an education couselor for additional information.

Regional Studies Department: Offers both a foundational introduction to the systems approach to regional analysis and cultural competencies and an intermediate course that is a country-focused cross-cultural communications studies in a regional and global context. These regional study courses are taught within the language courses, as part of the Qualification courses, and in support of the Culture Support Training course (CST).

Language Department: Provides Basic Language instruction for all the Special Operations Qualification Courses in thirteen core languages (Spanish, French, Indonesian, Thai, Tagalog, Korean, Chinese, Russian, Dari, Pashto, Arabic, Persian-Farsi, and Urdu). This course is 24 weeks long and designed to give the student a basic speaking and listening proficiency level on the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI). The Language Department also offers an Intermediate Level Course of instruction in seven of the core languages which is designed to bring the student to the next level of proficiency on the OPI and the Defense Language Proficiency Test. The Language Department also provides language sustainment and enhancement programs throughout the careers of ARSOF Soldiers.

Special Warfare Medical Group (Airborne)

The Special Warfare Medical Group, in association with the Naval Special Operations Medical Institute (NSOMI), compose the Joint Special Operations Medical Training Center (JSOMTC). The JSOMTC educates and trains the full spectrum of United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Combat Medics through superior teaching and instruction based on educational goals and curriculum development that is synchronized with the requirements of the force. The JSOMTC creates well-educated and professionally trained SOF combat medics with a solid understanding of the knowledge and skills required by the force to provide standard of care medical treatment, regardless of the conditions. This ensures they have a thorough foundation in medicine which fosters a career of life-long learning in order to adapt to ever-changing medical challenges posed by an uncertain operational environment.

Special Forces Warrant Officer Institute

The Special Forces Warrant Officer Institute is an adaptive and collaborative learning institution that provides the most current and relevant professional military education for SF warrant officers at every level of their career in support of operational requirements. The Special Forces Warrant Officer Institute supports all of the lifelong learning requirements of both warrant officer candidates and senior warrant officers in the 180A MOS. The institute educates, mentors, trains and appoints warrant-officer candidates to the grade of WO1 as well as provides education and training to senior warrant officers at key points in their career. The institute produces highly capable combat leaders and innovative planners capable of planning and executing SF missions.

The Special Forces Warrant Officer Technical and Tactical Certification (SF WOTTC) is conducted in three iterations each year. The 16-week class results in the appointment and qualification of selected Special Forces Soldiers as WO1s in MOS 180A. The SFWOTTC, conducted at the JFK Special Warfare Center and School's Warrant Officer Institute, conducts Army BOLC and Special Forces proponent based MEL 7 training and education to provide the force with skilled assistant detachment commanders.

The Special Forces Warrant Officer Advanced Course (SFWOAC) provides proponent-based MEL 6 professional military education to mid-grade SF WOs to prepare them to serve as operational-level planners and operations officers in SF units, component commands, joint task forces and joint staffs as subject-matter experts in unconventional warfare and foreign internal defense.

David K. Thuma Noncommissioned Officer Academy

The NCO Academy serves as the United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School's premier generating force for implementing and assisting with design and development for the Warrior Leader, Advanced and Senior Leader courses, ensuring the highest quality of training, education and professional development for all special-operations NCOs.

The NCOA is taking the lead within USASOC by integrating the Senior Leader Course (ISLC) portion of NCOES for CMF 18, 37 and 38 series Soldiers to enhance battlefield interoperability, and understanding of operational capabilities and limitations. Students will train and learn in a combined classroom environment across the three primary ARSOF CMFs. This integration will enable the ARSOF NCO to operate more effectively at the detachment, company and higher-level staff functions. Cross training in and understanding of the unique capabilities of all three CMFs will enhance the warfighting skills of senior NCOs attending the ISLC.

The NCOA trains all CMF 18, 37 and 38 series Soldiers who have not completed WLC/ALC prior to attending their qualification course. These Soldiers receive leadership, situational and physical-fitness training to prepare them for the rigors and requirements to successfully complete the SFQC. Cadre focus on preparing Soldiers to have the warrior mindset and mentor them to understand their future as an SFODA team member.
The NCOA also trains CMF 37 series Soldiers in Advanced Leader Course requirements. The ALC course prepares these junior NCOs to return to their units to more effectively operate as a member of their detachments and is another foundational block in their NCOES training.

The USAJFKSWCS NCOA is the Army NCOES leader in DL training at the SLC level, and with the new ISLC, it will continue to be a model of excellence for all other NCOAs Armywide. The NCOA produces a more adaptive, flexible and intuitive thinking NCO across the first three NCOES levels in three distinct ARSOF CMFs and will continue to be at the forefront of using appropriate combinations of emerging technologies and traditional classroom instruction to achieve these results.

Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate

The Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate, or CDID, is a relatively new organization at the SWCS. Formed as a result of the 2011 Optimization, the CDID is a hybrid organization that deals with doctrine, personnel proponency and the future training, leadership, and education needs of the Army Special Operations Forces. It is comprised of the former Directorate of Training and Doctrine, Directorate of Special Operations Proponency and the Army Special Operations Capability Integration Center.

Currently, in the CDID there are three Branch proponents, Civil Affairs, Military Information Support and Special Forces and for ARSOF over arching requirements there are three major elements; ARSOCIC, Personnel Policy and Programs (PPP), Training, Leader Development and Education (TLDE).

Branch Proponents (CA, MISO, & SF)

The new Branch Proponent Directorates within the CDID were built using as a base the former DOTD Doctrine divisions and the integration of the branch sections from the former Training Development Division (TDD) and from the Directorate of Personnel Proponency. Each proponent is responsible for its branch's force modernization, which consists of personnel, doctrine and training development.

Civil Affairs Proponent: Develops and designs Civil Affairs doctrine for field manuals, Soldier training publications, mission training plans, combined-arms training strategies, graphic training aids and instructional videos. It develops training and doctrine for the planning and execution of Civil Affairs operations, to include CMO staff officers and sections, the Civil Military Operations Center and CA units and teams. It assesses current doctrine and develops emerging doctrine based on mission requirements and the needs of the force. It undertakes the development of future doctrinal concepts for CA.

Military Information Support Proponent: Provides expert analysis, design and development of new, prioritized and relevant doctrine and unit collective tasks for the ARSOF and conventional Military Information Support force. The division researches, writes and manages doctrine and training-related publications, ensuring that literature products are consistent with joint, interagency, intergovernmental, multinational (JIIM) and Army doctrinal and training literature publications and other products. MIS Division provides the coordinated proponent position and subject-matter expertise to external agencies and functions as the technical review authority for joint MIS doctrine.

Special Forces Proponent: Develops, writes and publishes Special Forces doctrine, with emphasis on core tasks, advanced skills, personnel recovery, TTPs and individual and collective training products. This doctrine is made available to the force through field manuals; Army tactics, techniques, and procedure manuals; Soldier training publications; mission training plans; combined-arms training strategies; graphic training aids; and instructional videos. The division continuously assesses and, if required, updates current doctrine and develops emerging doctrine based on the mission requirements and needs of the force.

Each of the proponents also conducts analysis, design, development and internal evaluation for Civil Affairs (CA), Military Information Support (MIS) and Special Forces (SF) officer and enlisted institutional individual training and education in support of SWCS's proponent responsibilities. It researches, identifies and analyzes operational requirements and matches training systems and resources to ensure that CA, MIS and SF qualification courses and advanced-skills graduates are prepared to execute missions tied to desired operational capabilities and the demands of full-spectrum operations. It designs and develops education and training, incorporating professional development and instructional techniques and strategies for synchronous and asynchronous instruction utilizing adult and active learning, and outcome based methodologies. TDD manages the internal curriculum review boards (CRB) process to verify and/or adjust the curriculum, based on changing mission needs, lessons learned, and/or new equipment. It reviews and provides input to other branch, service or joint courses that refer to or require input concerning ARSOF training and leader development. It ensures that new systems, equipment, simulators, simulations and training devices are introduced as soon as available to improve training effectiveness. It creates, updates and manages the curriculum content for the USAJFKSWCS Learning Managements System.

Critical to the success of our branches is the personnel life cycle functions to develop and implement plans, programs and policies for both active and reserve components to ensure the personnel readiness of our three regiments

Army Special Operations Capabilities Integration Center

The mission of the Army Special Operations Capabilities Integration Center (ARSOCIC) is to conduct future ARSOF requirements and capabilities analysis, concept development, experimentation and war games and Joint/Army Doctrine Integration and development.

The ARSOCIC is composed of three functional divisions: ARSOF Future Capabilities Division, Concept Development and Experimentation Division and Joint/Army Doctrine Integration Division.

ARSOF Future Capabilities Division: Identifies future theater special-operations command (TSCO) capacity and capability requirements as they pertain to ARSOF, and ensures coordination and integration with joint SOF requirements as established by USSOCOM.

Concept Development and Experimentation: Manages the development of the ARSOF concept framework, which includes supporting the development of the capstone concept, the operating concept and any functional concepts deemed necessary. It also manages the integration of ARSOF aspects into all relevant Army and joint concepts and ensure that ARSOF contributions are included to support Department of Defense and whole-of-government efforts to achieve national strategic objectives.

Joint Army Doctrine Integration Division: Joint and Army Doctrine Integration Division develops and designs the ARSOF capstone and two keystone field manuals. It develops and designs supporting ARSOF doctrine. It coordinates and integrates ARSOF doctrine with the joint, combined, multi-service and Army wide doctrinal and training literature publications. It serves as the executive agent for DOTD for foreign internal defense, irregular warfare and the staffing and review of all external (combined, joint, multiservice, and Army) non-proponent doctrine with ARSOF implications. JA collects, analyzes, disseminates and integrates relevant ARSOF observations, insights, and lessons (OIL) into doctrine and training references. It develops the combined-arms training strategies for FID, Rangers and the Sustainment Brigade.

ARSOF Training, Leader Development, and Education

Training, Leader Development, and Education (TLDE): TLDE has three major functions: ARSOF common professional military education (PME) support across the life-long learning model for officers, warrant officers and noncommissioned officers; Training Capabilities Management (TCM), which is focused on distributive learning, computer-based instruction and the virtual mission rehearsal tool suites; and Training Management Office (TMO).

PME researches ARSOF leadership training and education gaps and develops corrective solutions. It conceptualizes, designs and develops adaptive thinking and leadership training and educational materials; and it maintains mutually supportive leadership-development efforts with joint, interagency and inter-governmental personnel. Also, it provides training and education technical assistance to the 160th SOATC Training Battalion for institutional individual training and partners with the Combined Arms Center SOF Element to ensure that ARSOF intermediate-level education objectives meet the needs of the operational force. TCM provides capabilities support to ARSOF collective training and Institutional training, education and leader development in the form of doctrinally correct interactive multimedia instruction and other learning technologies. Develops interactive multimedia instruction (IMI) products, computer-based instruction (CBI), distributive learning products and integrates the material into the institutional training process where appropriate. TCM also collaborates with SOCOM and Army organizations to ensure the learning appropriate technologies are integrated into our courses. TMO provides staff supervision, analysis, coordination and system administration of the Training Requirements Analysis System (TRAS), the Automated Systems Approach to Training (ASAT), automated task management, individual and collective task management, centralized test control, Institutional Training Resource Model (ITRM) and Combined Arms Training Strategy (CATS) for the CDID.

ARSOF Personnel Policies and Programs Center

Personnel Policies and Programs (PPP): Critical to the success of our branches is the personnel life cycle functions to develop and implement plans, programs and policies for both active and reserve components to ensure the personnel readiness of our three regiments. PPP supports ARSOF by providing strategic guidance, direction, recommendations and products involving ARSOF personnel, manpower and other overarching lifelong personnel management programs.

Other sections within the CDID

Media Production Division (MPD): Media Production Division manages the translation of complex training and doctrine concepts into doctrinal products that help Army special-operations forces Soldiers accomplish their missions. The division has two interconnected branches: The Editorial Branch edits Army manuals and supporting training products, coordinating with external Army organizations for programming, authentication, publication and distribution. The Visual Information Branch develops graphics for the manuals and associated training products.

Directorate Management Office (DMO): DMO supports the directorate by providing strategic guidance, direction, recommendations and end products involving the following programs: budget, civilian and military personnel, manpower, information management, taskings, facilities and other overarching programs.

Last update: Feb. 8, 2013

SWCS Facilities

Main Campus
The main SWCS campus is located in the heart of Fort Bragg. Central to the campus are the command headquarters building, Bryant Hall; the NCO Academy and Warrant Officer Institute, located in Kennedy Hall, and the 1st Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne). All these command-element facilities are located on Ardennes Street and have a number of support facilities located adjacent to them and in the surrounding area, including the Joint Special Operations Medical Training Center, which is the home to the Special Warfare Medical Group and all SOF medical training. The current campus is dated, and many of the facilities no longer meet the needs of the command. To that end, SWCS is undertaking a multimillion dollar, phased construction plan that will bring our facilities in line with the degree of professionalism seen in our training. The proposed campus upgrades will ensure that SWCS can harness new and emerging technology to keep its training cutting-edge. The upgrades will also ensure that SWCS can physically accommodate the Soldiers who will return to SWCS for advanced education throughout their career.

Bryant Hall
Bryant Hall houses the headquarters of the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. Located within Bryant Hall is the Directorate of Training and Doctrine, the Directorate of Special Operations Proponency and the command's general staff. The facility is named in honor of Sgt. 1st Class William H. Bryant, a Medal of Honor recipient, who was born February 16, 1933, in Cochran, Ga. Bryant entered service at Detroit, Mich. Bryant's goal was to become airborne and, as time passed, Special Forces. Bryant's family received the Medal of Honor posthumously on Feb. 16, 1971, for an action on March 24, 1968, while assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Bryant, assigned to Company A, distinguished himself while serving as commanding officer of Civilian Irregular Defense Group Company 321, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Mobile Strike Force Command, during combat operations.

Bank Hall
Col. Aaron Bank Hall is the main academic facility for the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. Located on Ardennes Street, the four-story academic facility has more than 180,000 square feet and contains 91 classrooms and 62 offices. Bank Hall is named in memory of Col. Aaron Bank, who is known as "the father of Special Forces." In 1952, Bank was named the commander of the Army's first special-warfare unit, the Fort Bragg-based 10th Special Forces Group, which he helped to create. Bank has been called a pioneer of special operations for his belief that special operators were a brotherhood of men who were risk-takers that had confidence in themselves and their chain of command. Built over a three-year period – from 1989 to 1992 – at a cost of $19.5 million, it is the largest instructional facility on Fort Bragg, hosting classes six days per week, often 16 hours per day.

Marquat Memorial Library
The Marquat Memorial Library, a 10,000 square-foot facility, is also housed in Bank Hall. The library maintains a diverse collection of library resources and services to support education, training, doctrine development and operational research requirements. Maj. Gen. William Frederic Marquat was born in St. Louis, Mo., on March 17, 1894, to William and Sara (Layden) Marquat. Before joining the military, he reported local features for the Seattle Times. Marquat served in World War I with the Coast Artillery Office. By the time World War II broke out, Marquat had ascended to the rank of major general. He served as a staff officer to Gen. Douglas MacArthur and the commander of the 14th Anti-Aircraft Command in the Philippines, seeing action in the Manila-Bataan campaign. His skills as a diplomat and a staff officer served him well after World War II, when he was hand-picked to organize and chair the Allied council for Japan, serving as the United States representative in determining occupation policies. Simultaneous to this chairmanship, he headed the Economics and Science Section General Headquarters for the Supreme Command Allied Powers in Tokyo from 1945–1952. Most of the post-war economic success of Japan can be directly attributed to policies drafted by this section. Maj. Gen. Marquat left Japan in 1952 as the first Chief of Civil Affairs and Military Government, Department of the Army. He served in this post until he retired in 1955. He passed away on May 30, 1968. The Marquat Library was first memorialized in 1969 at Fort Gordon, Ga., as part of the U.S. Army Civil Affairs School. The memorialization was moved in 1973 when the Civil Affairs School moved to Fort Bragg.

Joint Special Operations Medical Training Facility
The Joint Special Operations Medical Training Center (JSOMTC) is a 75,000 square-foot tri-service facility and home to the Special Warfare Medical Group; the Naval Special Operations Medical Institute; and Operating Location E, 16th Special Operations Wing. The staff and cadre train more than 1,400 students annually from the United States Army Special Operations Command, the Navy Special Warfare Command, the Marine Special Operations Command and the Air Force Special Operations Command. The JSOMTC produces U.S. Army Special Forces medical sergeants for the United States Army Special Forces Command during a 50-week course. They produce Special Operations Combat Medics for the United States Special Operations Command during a 26-week course. Special Operations Independent Duty Corpsman are developed for the U.S. Navy during the 24-week course. Civil Affairs medical sergeants are trained in both the SOCM course and the 7-week CAMS course. Annually, all of the graduates of the above four courses return to the JSOMTC to attend the 2-week Special Operations Combat Medical Skills Sustainment Course. This course refreshes Special Operations Medics in their critical tasks and recertifies them for deployment with their SOF units.

NCO Academy
The U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School's David K. Thuma NCO Academy is located adjacent to the SWCS headquarters' campus. The academy offers advanced professional development for Special Forces, Civil Affairs and Military Information Support Operations NCOs. The NCO Academy serves as SWCS' premier generating force for implementing and assisting with design and development of the Warrior, Senior and Advanced NCO Courses, ensuring the highest quality of training, education and professional development for all special-operations NCOs. The NCO Academy is a graduate-level learning organization that provides asynchronous learning that is known worldwide as a generating force "center of excellence" by developing adaptive, innovative, warrior-focused NCOs who have the right mix of training and education and whose graduates consistently exceed the leadership requirements for the current and future operating forces. The facility is named in honor of David K. Thuma who died in Kenya June 18, 1998, while establishing the working relationship required to establish a joint peacekeeping force composed of Tanzanian, Kenyan and U.S. Special Forces.

The Army Special Operations Digital Training Center
The Army Special Operations Digital Training Center, or ARSODTC, is a state-of-the-art training center designed to train and educate U.S. Army Special Forces, Civil Affairs and Military Information Support Operations Soldiers, provide training on Digital Battle Command Systems, fielded digital simulations and digital simulators to enhance Soldiers' capability to successfully operate in service, joint and USSOCOM digitized environments when deployed and during training. The Army Special Operations Digital Training Center is made up of two service members, three government service employees and 46 contractors, who have more than 400 years combined experience in SOF training, simulations and digital systems. Over the years, the ARSODTC has trained thousands of ARSOF Soldiers and students, and as a part of SWCS, continues to be an integral part of "the world's best SOF training center and institution." As part of its mission, the center manages and executes the ARSOF Battle Command Program linking commanders to current battle command tactics, techniques and procedures. The staff also identifies user requirements for TEMO simulations and simulator support, and develops, coordinates, schedules and executes digital Battle Command Systems, training exercises and military-operations simulations and simulator support, new equipment training and other support to the school and USASOC operational units at Fort Bragg and other locations within CONUS and at deployed locations.

SWCS Weapons Training Facility
The Joint Armament Facility (JAF) is a 16-acre complex that includes the 18B training area, a weapons-storage vault, depot-level maintenance and testing and manages the USSOCOM Nonstandard Weapons, Materiel and Munitions Program responsible for maintaining, testing and certifying all foreign weapons for SOCOM components and designated non-SOCOM customers. The JAF is recognized by the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) as the subject-matter expert on nonstandard weapons and routinely provides training in foreign weapons maintenance and sustainment for SOCOM components' armament specialists. Along with numerous supported training events, Company B also hosts the annual SWCS Truck Rodeo challenging the on-road and rough terrain driving skills of all SOCOM and DoD participants.

Range 37
Range 37 is a high-risk live-fire training complex where special-operations Soldiers are taught the Special Forces Advanced Reconnaissance Target Analysis and Exploitation Course (SFARTAETC) and the Special Forces Sniper Course (SFSC). Soldiers are trained in close quarters battle, explosive breaching and special-operations sniper techniques in support of regional combatant commanders, USASOC, USSOCOM and other services' requirements. The Range 37 Miller Training Complex is a 133-acre site comprising of eight live-fire shoot houses, three flat ranges, one sniper range with a four-story tower, and 20 other training buildings and apparatuses. Fort Bragg rededicated Range 37 in memory of retired Command Sgt. Maj. Franklin D. Miller, who died in July 2000 at age 55. The ceremony took place on the 32nd anniversary of the event for which he received the Medal of Honor. He was decorated for valor for his actions on Jan. 5, 1970, during a special-operations patrol behind enemy lines in Laos, just across the border from Ben Het, South Vietnam. During the 2010 fiscal year, Range 37 was the host to more than 75 events that included congressional delegations, foreign military dignitaries, USSOCOM organizations, local community leaders and athletes. Demonstrations included the use of aviation assets, ground mobility vehicles, airborne infiltration, weapons familiarization and a close-up view of a live-fire assault into a training structure.

Central North Carolina
We like to say the state of North Carolina is also part of our satellite campus. Our Special Forces unconventional-warfare exercise, Robin Sage, as well as portions of Certain Trust, the culminating exercise for Civil Affairs and Military Information Support Operations, are run throughout 16 rural counties of North Carolina, encompassing more than 8,500 square miles, and are successful due to the volunteer support of the local citizens.

Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
The SOF cell located at the Combined Arms Center in Ft. Leavenworth, Kan. has oversight on the ARSOF instruction in ILE and the newly founded Interagency Master's Program at Kansas University.

Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz.
The U.S. Military Free-fall School trains selected special-operations forces, Department of Defense and foreign personnel in military free-fall (MFF) operations, including the MFF Parachutist Course, MFF Jumpmaster Course, MFF Instructor Course and the Advanced Tactical Infiltration Course.

Key West, Fla.
The Special Forces Underwater Operations School trains selected special-operations forces personnel as open-circuit combat divers through the Special Forces Combat Diver Qualification Course, Combat Diving Supervisor Course and Diving Medical Technician Course.

Fort Carson, Colo.
The U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School Mountaineering Pro- gram is conducted at Fort Carson, Colo., under the auspices of A Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group (A).

Fort Lewis, Wash.
Additional advanced skills are taught at Ft. Lewis.

Richmond, Va. and Tampa and St. Petersburg, Fla.
After completing 21 weeks of didactic and hands-on medical training at the JSOMTC, SOCM students perform a 4-week clinical internship in civilian trauma centers working alongside hospital and emergency medical services providers. Internship training enhances the SOCM student's patient-assessment and management skills on a wide variety of emergent medical and traumatic conditions.

Last update: Feb. 8, 2013