Cultural Support Prerequisites and Requirements

The Col. Arthur "Bull" Simons statue stands on the John F. Kennedy Plaza on Fort Bragg, N.C., across the street from the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.

Cultural Support volunteer requirements:

· Female volunteers only

· Eligible grades: E-4 to E-8; O-1 to O-3; WO-1 to CW-3

· Enlisted only: Minimum GT score of 100 or better (not waiverable)

· Have a current Army Physical Fitness Test score of at least 240, with at least 80 points in each event (no profiles, no alternate events)

·Active duty Soldiers will submit a Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) Physical exam completed within 12 months   prior to submitting an application packet.

·USAR/ARNG Soldiers must submit an Airborne Physical completed within 12 months prior to submitting an application packet.

· Must meet height and weight requirements outlined in AR 600-9

· Be deployable in accordance with current unit status reporting procedures, covered in AR 220-1

· Pre-screened by current unit of assignment

· Have the ability to carry 35 lbs. for six miles in at least 1 hour and 39 minutes (weight includes ruck, helmet, weapon andwater source)

· MOS is immaterial, however, preferred specialties include: nurse practioner (66P), nurse midwife (66G8D), health care specialist (68W), military police (31B) or military intelligence specialist (35M, 35F, 35P); or service-equivelent.

· Must hold a current secret security clearance, at minimum. Interim secret clearance is acceptable.

· Must not be currently flagged, under criminal investigation or pending adverse administrative or UCMJ action

· Language profiency in Pashtu, Urdu or Dari is desirable, but not required

Volunteers' unit of assignment must:

· Pre-screen volunteers. The volunteers' unit leadership, or equivelent, must provide written certification that their Soldiers meet the pre-screening criteria before volunteers report to Fort Bragg for Cultural Support Assessment and Selection. Soldiers who do not meet the pre-screening criteria will not be accepted into the Cultural Support Program.

· The first O-5 in the Soldier's chain of command will approve or disapprove of the Soldier's release by initialing and signing the volunteer statement.

ABOUT the CS Program

Cultural support teams are comprised of female Soldiers who serve as enablers supporting Army special-operations combat forces in and around secured objective areas.

Their primary task is to engage the female population in an objective area when such contact may be deemed culturally inappropriate if performed by a male servicemember.

CSTs directly support activities ranging from medical civic-action programs, searches and seizures, humanitarian assistance and civil-military operations.

Cultural support training will primarily focus on basic human behavior, Islamic and Afghan cultures, women and their role in Afghanistan, and tribalism. Training is conducted at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Cultural Support Progam members must make, at a minimum, a one-year commitment to the program.

Next iteration Timeline

Packet submissions will be due Feb. 1, 2014. Cultural Support Assessment and Selection will be held April 1 - 10, 2014. The next training course will be held April 11 - May 16, 2014, with deployments beginning in the Fall of 2014 and returning in the spring of 2015.

points of contact

For more information about the program's timeline, or becoming a member of Cultural Support, please call the Special Operations Recruiting Battalion office at (910) 432-9724 or via cell phone at (253) 961-1312, or e-mail usarmy.knox.usarec.list.9sbn-cst-recruiting-team@mail.mil