2: Valerie Jackson, 4th CA Group, USMC

Welcome to the One CA Podcast. Please welcome Valerie Jackson, Colonel, USMC. 

Valerie is the 4th Civil Affairs Group Commander, US Marine Corps. She discusses her journey in Civil Affairs and how the Marine Corps differs from the Army approach to Civil Affairs. She closes with some helpful tips for junior Marines.

Hosted and edited by John McElligott.

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Transcript

00:00:30    SPEAKER_01
extremely useful to a MAGTAC or any commander. They're like a utility player on a baseball field. They have multiple specialties and really will view the environment with a different perspective that can influence operations that save marine lives, shorten conflicts, help uphold the honor of the Marine Corps and American service members wherever they go.

00:01:16    SPEAKER_02
joined today by Colonel Valerie Jackson. She came through the Marine Corps as a communications officer, transferred to Marine Corps Reserve after a few years active duty, then went through the Marine Corps History Division in 2006. She then transferred over to civil affairs, joined the civil affairs branch of the Marine Corps, helped to develop the first program of instruction for the U .S. Marine Corps Civil Affairs MOS School, and she's currently the commander of the fourth civil affairs group. Ma 'am, welcome to the 1CA podcast.

00:01:48    SPEAKER_01
Thanks. Glad to be here.

00:01:49    SPEAKER_02
I wanted to start by going back into your history of the Marine Corps and then build up to some questions about what the Marine Corps is for civil affairs, what they're doing within the branch, and how that is the same or different from the Army. And then also, if we can, get into examples of what in the tactical operational strategic level the Marine Corps is currently doing in civil affairs.

00:02:13    SPEAKER_01
Okay, great.

00:02:14    SPEAKER_02
Meb, since you joined the Marine Corps back in 1994, what has been your balance of time on active duty and in the Marine Corps Reserve?

00:02:21    SPEAKER_01
It's roughly 10 years active duty, 14 years reserve, and that reserve includes three years of inactive time.

00:02:31    SPEAKER_02
Was that a mix that you had based on where you went to school at the time, a different job that you had on the civilian side?

00:02:38    SPEAKER_01
No, I had five years active duty. I got married. Pregnant with my first and did my husband's active duty as well. And so I didn't want to do the thing where you leave your kids behind. And so I got off active duty, was in the inactive reserve for three years. And then after 9 -11, got back into the operational reserve and was mobilized for about four and a half years. And then I've been a combination of what we call IMA and SMCR since then. Okay. So just sort of, you know, the periodic drilling and that sort of thing for the last seven years.

00:03:15    SPEAKER_02
On the Army side, IMA is an Individual Mobilization Augmentee. And what was the other acronym you talked about?

00:03:21    SPEAKER_01
The SMCR, Select Marine Corps Reserve, and those are our operational units. Our IMA support active duty units. The SMCR units make up the operational arms of the reserve. So, you know, our force headquarters group, our 4th Marine Division, 4th Marine Air Wing. and 4th Marine Logistics Groups all have operational deployable units, whereas an IMA detachment might be in support of a Marine Expositionary Force or a schoolhouse or things like that. They're in direct support of the active forces.

00:03:54    SPEAKER_02
You studied history. I saw that you went to Boston University and went through the Naval ROTC program. How do you think that studying history and then your first job, the Marine Corps as a communications officer, had prepared you for civil affairs?

00:04:09    SPEAKER_01
Well, it's made me that degree and my two master's degrees, which are also liberal arts degrees, really prepared me to look at the world through many different lenses to appreciate a country's culture, history, arts, strategy, human connections, all these things from peace through war. I initially, I loved history and the Marine Corps didn't care what my degree was in. That's why I picked it. But, of course, I loved the study of warfare and specifically wars that America had fought. And I think that point of reference is extraordinarily helpful when we go overseas to know the history of U .S. involvement in that area or European involvement and to connect those dots for people that may think this is the first time that we're here or someone like us is here. and to ensure people really are getting a full picture of our involvement in a certain area.

00:05:10    SPEAKER_02
Right. You talked about two master's degrees. You had a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies, Conflict Management and Resolution from UNC Wilmington, and a Master's in Strategic Studies from the Army War College as a distinguished graduate. What was the order? Was one Strategic Studies before the UNC school?

00:05:23    SPEAKER_01
a distinguished graduate.

00:05:29    SPEAKER_01
No. I mean, I say unfortunately. I was in a master's program for four straight years. I finished my UNC degree in May, graduated, and started that June at the Army War College doing the distance education program. So it was over two years. Wow. Yeah. So I didn't pick up a book for about six months after I finished the War College. I just read comic books and magazines. Wow.

00:05:57    SPEAKER_02
Ma 'am, I'd love for you to describe for the audience the force structure of civil affairs and Marine Corps. You're commander of the fourth group. How many groups are there? The number of Marines, and what is the current mix of active duty and reserve forces for the Marine Corps and civil affairs?

00:06:16    SPEAKER_01
Okay. So currently, the preponderance of our forces are and always have been, except for a brief period of time, in the reserves. We have four civil affairs groups. We have first CAG out in Southern California. Second CAG is in Anacostia, D .C. area. Third CAG is in Great Lakes. And then a fourth CAG is in Hialeah, which is just outside Miami. Each CAG, they don't mirror each other exactly, but they're pretty close. It has about 198 Marines and sailors. 179 of those are reserve Marines and sailors. And then we have about a 19 Marine active duty staff that sits at each CAG that runs everything for us during the month when we're not there, sets up all our training, runs all our admin, holds down the fort while we're not there. And really, they carry a lot of water because they have a lot of additional duties as well while they're there doing funerals. Marine Toys for Tots and that kind of stuff, really the interface with the community where our home training center is. So those are the CAGs. We are in the process of transitioning one of the CAGs to a train -advised assist unit, and that will happen during the coming year. So our overall civil affairs numbers in the reserves will shrink in the coming year. And that's sort of being played out right now, the details being hammered out, but that should happen here within 2018. And then the active component simultaneously is also in the process of reducing their structure. Each Marine Expeditionary Force, we have three, had a 50 Marine detachment as part of their structure. That detachment is going away. There are a few CMO planners that will remain at the Marine Exhibitionary Unit and the regimental level. So just a handful will remain. And so what that means for us in Reserve CAGs is we're reducing our forces, active component reducing their forces, demand signal is going up. So we're going to be busier than we ever have been. And I'm really seeing that play out in 4th CAG because... Our area of operations is Southcom, and we're picking up the responsibility of UCOM and AFRICOM, where the second civil affairs group, that's the group that's transitioning, that's where they're focused right now. So we're starting to pick up some of their operations and exercises and things like that. So we're not forward, and that's a good thing.

00:09:00    SPEAKER_02
Right. Do you think the waxing and waning of the force,

00:09:04    SPEAKER_02
is it? Is it a function of how the demand signal may have been reduced in the past, and then it takes two or three years to get everything signed off and implemented, and now if the demand is higher again, it'll take another few years to ramp back up if you need to?

00:09:21    SPEAKER_01
I think that's part of it. Historically, we only had, for the longest time, up until a few years ago, we just had first and second CAGs. And then no active duty forces. And we went through with OIF and OEF really realized the need for this very critical MOS doing COIN and stability ops. And so ramped up the reserve force and added active structure, made it a primary MOS for enlisted Marines. It's a secondary MOS for officers. And so we, as officers, will need to float back and forth between that and our primary MOS. We can talk about that later if it's better, a different point. But, yeah, I think we've done this historically where we think, okay, well, we just fought that war. Now we're on to something bigger and better. So we're going to reduce those forces that we don't think we need anymore. But the fact of the matter is, I mean, there's a need for civil affairs, Marines, and soldiers all the time in all phases of conflict. And it's just, you know, where is someone going to assume risk? You know, would they rather have more, you know, cyber operators than civil affairs Marines or, you know, train, advise, assist folks in civil affairs? And it's just, you know, it's just a product of, OK,

00:10:45    SPEAKER_00
know,

00:10:47    SPEAKER_01
I'm going to reduce these forces. You know, Congress tells us we can only have X amount of Marines. And so what do I want my force to look like?

00:10:54    SPEAKER_00
Right. And so we're, you know,

00:10:55    SPEAKER_01
And so we're, you know, we're taking some cuts right now. And that's okay because we still have the Marines that we can, you know, reform in a heartbeat pretty much that have been trained and have a lot of operational experience. And so if we need them again, you know, they're there.

00:11:10    SPEAKER_02
Right. Ma 'am, you mentioned the Civil Affairs MOS is secondary for officers for enlisted. Is it secondary or primary?

00:11:16    SPEAKER_01
Is it secondary or primary? It is primary now. I mean, there still are quite a few enlisted Marines that have multiple MOSs. That maybe came to the MOS late, but Houston Marines can get civil affairs as a primary MOS.

00:11:30    SPEAKER_01
Marines can get civil affairs as a primary MOS.

00:11:35    SPEAKER_02
Does that mean that you have promoted within the Marine Corps as a communications officer and not civil affairs?

00:11:42    SPEAKER_01
Right. Actually, in the Marine Corps, the path to success for promotions, past major, is command and street cred in your primary MOS. And so a CAG or time in a CAG is nice to have, but there's no opportunity for 05 level command. And so if you want to command in the reserves, you have to do it in your primary MOS at the lieutenant colonel level. And then there's only four for the time being, getting ready to be three CAGs that are 06 level commands. You know, all of us or most of us have had 05 level command leading up to this in our primary MLSs. So it's not always career enhancing. And I have to tell my officers, hey, you have to give back. As much as you love civil affairs, you have to give back to your primary MOS if you want to continue to advance in the reserves. So some of them don't, and they're very happy where they are. But for the ones that do, you know, that want to be CAD commanders someday, you know, sadly I have to let them go.

00:12:54    SPEAKER_02
Ma 'am, I had read that the Marine Corps and the Army share the same five core tasks for civil affairs. So when it comes to the Marine Corps' approach to CA, how do you see the two services as being the same, and how do you think that they're different?

00:13:08    SPEAKER_01
Okay, so for the Marine Corps, we always deploy and support a MAGTAP. So Marines are always, whatever type civil affairs section you have, whether it's a two -person team or a full team or a detachment or an entire CAG, we will always be in direct support of a ground commander. Sometimes a ground commander might be a logistics element, but more often than not, it's an infantry commander or a JTF or something like that, but a MAGTAF. The Army operates independently, so you can have your teams and your... platoons and companies out there conducting civil affairs operations independent, if you will, of a ground commander. And the Marine Corps does not operate that way. We have our same core task, but the difference is, and I don't believe the Army does this, is that we say facilitate in front of each task. As, you know, CA Marines aren't necessarily always the duty expert in that core task. For example, When we're in support of Department of State in an HADR scenario, we're not always executing for humanitarian assistance, but we're facilitating the execution of it. We're not always executing populist and resources control, but we're facilitating it for the infantry that we're supporting. Does that make sense?

00:14:33    SPEAKER_02
It does. So facilitating through other assets in the area, other NGOs or the host government or whoever they are.

00:14:39    SPEAKER_01
Yeah, sometimes it is us, but because it's not a primary MOS for us, we're CA generalists. And I know the Army has CA generalists as well, but you have more specialists than we do. And the only specialists that we have in the Marine Corps are our lawyers and our Navy doctors. So we'll say that they are... Definitely executing when they're, you know, advising on rule of law matters or carrying out, you know, public health missions or that kind of thing. But since it's secondary MOS and we're generalists, we're not always the one executing. Many times we are or we're planning for it, but it's not it's not always us. So it's just, you know, to some it might seem like semantics. But, you know, more often than not, if, you know, you have an infantry. platoon that's executing a checkpoint to control population flow, you know, over a border. Those aren't civil affairs Marines that are controlling that checkpoint. They might be advising.

00:15:15    SPEAKER_00
Many times

00:15:40    SPEAKER_01
There's probably only two of them there to start with. You know, they might be advising on how it's conducted and maybe interfacing with the locals in the area, that kind of thing. But it's not, you know, it's not a civil affairs platoon. It's an infantry platoon. See what I'm saying? I do,

00:15:53    SPEAKER_02
do, ma 'am. Yeah, so you don't have a lot of people to go around and you have to. Use them sparingly and be more of a force multiplier. Right.

00:15:55    SPEAKER_01
of people

00:16:01    SPEAKER_02
Ma 'am, your bio described how you assisted in the development of the program of instruction, the POI, for the first Marine Corps CA MOS school. When did that school launch, and how has it evolved since then?

00:16:14    SPEAKER_01
We officially launched in 2009. We really saw the need to have a Marine Corps -centric civil affairs focus, and that's not a deal. big on the Army or the Navy because we had some Marines that were teaching at the Navy school when it existed. But what we found was that when we sent Civil Affairs Marines downrange in the early days of OIF, they weren't as in tune with the concept of the MAGTAP and their role inside of the operations and what their role was with the commander.

00:16:39    SPEAKER_01
in tune with the concept of the MAGTAP and their role inside of the operations and what their role was with the commander. They were more independent thinking, as if they were inside the Army model than inside the Marine Corps model. And so what we really needed to do was sort of rein that back in and teach it with a Marine Corps flavor. And so we launched the school, and at its height, we were doing probably six, seven courses a year. We trained active duty. We trained reservists. We trained soldiers. We've had some foreign military come through. And back in the early days, it was staffed primarily by a mobilized reservist. And then we had a few contractors and then a couple of active duty Marines. But now it's flipped. A lot of those mobilized reservists became contractors as the money dried up. And then we have slightly more active duty or active component Marines and then some contractors as well. But the program of instruction has also become a lot more sophisticated. And it's always under constant review to make sure we're... are teaching the latest and greatest and making sure that we're supporting that MAGTAF commander in the most effective way possible. And they've also added some courses to include a CMO planners course and a G9 course.

00:18:01    SPEAKER_00
they've also

00:18:04    SPEAKER_01
a G9 course. So with our latest edition of the MOS manual, we've added the MOS of CMO planner. And so all gunnery sergeants and above need to attend that course to hold a line number. in that rank and inside a CAG or some of the few active duty line numbers as well.

00:18:20    SPEAKER_00
that rank

00:18:27    SPEAKER_01
So we're definitely professionalizing the force. We've made it a lot more Marine Corps -centric and a lot more applicable to some of the operations we might find ourselves in.

00:18:27    SPEAKER_00
So we're

00:18:38    SPEAKER_02
Is that school at Quantico? Yes. Is there cross -communication? Do you talk with the Army, the Special Warfare Center, and school at Fort Bragg and share lessons learned?

00:18:49    SPEAKER_01
You know, I left there in 2011. I still do some contract work with them periodically, so I don't really have a good picture as to the interaction. We did some with the Army when I was there in relation to the female engagement team training. As a matter of fact, I got a certificate of commendation from the Army for that. I did, I think, a teleconference with them a couple times just talking about how we were doing it. We were training because we had all our female engagement teams come through the civil affairs schoolhouse because much of what they were doing was CMO -based. And so it made sense for them to do that. And we were in the process of developing, at that time, a program of instruction for female engagement. And now that seems to have come back around and we're actually going to have a female engagement officer and enlisted secondary specialty.

00:19:46    SPEAKER_01
So that's in the works for down the road a couple of years from now, I think.

00:19:51    SPEAKER_02
That's wonderful.

00:19:51    SPEAKER_01
wonderful. Yeah.

00:19:53    SPEAKER_02
Colonel Jackson, I wanted to ask you about building off of the schoolhouse updates. What's currently happening? So when you have within your CAG, for example, described at the tactical and operational levels, How does normal training work on a monthly or yearly basis? Do you have combat training center rotations going through 29 Palms? What happens at the home station? What type of training do you have?

00:20:20    SPEAKER_01
Okay, so joining an HCAG is slightly different in the way they do things, but, of course, in order to hold the line number, you can show up without the MOS, but our understanding for our Marines is you get there as soon as possible. and get to the schoolhouse and get MOS qualified. And so at that point, we try to launch our Marines downrange as quickly as possible to get them on an exercise or to get them to additional training somewhere, get them involved with something that may be going on, a conference or a planning conference, something like that, to really get immersion training after going through the schoolhouse. The Peace Out of 29 Palms, I'm going to say first civil affairs group and third is really starting to support some of those evolutions out there with the infantry. But a lot of our struggle has been, hey, you know, telling these ground units, if you're training and you think civilians are going to be there, which, you know, they mostly are, you need to have civil affairs forces there. And there's been a little bit of back and forth with trying to get us involved in that. But it looks like that is happening this year. So those CAGs are primarily focused on that. We have our hands full with what we're doing in support of Marfor South and Southcom, and now picking up some of the requirements with 2MF at Camp Lejeune over in Europe and in Africa. So primarily, our guys in 4CAP historically have done a lot of tactical -level operations. We are now definitely broaching into the operational level. You know, sending planners abroad. We have planners that are mobilized with OIR, planners that will be in heavy support of 2MAT. But our guys have quite a bit of tactical experience from all the things they do down at South Com anymore.

00:22:16    SPEAKER_02
Right. So the demand signal that you're seeing, you say, shifting toward Europe and Africa, mirrors, I think, what's happening within the Army and civil affairs and the military at large as potential. conflicts are on the horizon or adversaries for which we want to be prepared. The Army has regional accords in Africa, a lot of exercises in Europe, so it sounds like you're getting deeper, more deeply involved with those.

00:22:43    SPEAKER_01
We are, and that's just because of where we're geographically located. Now, the two Midwest and the West Coast CAGs are definitely focused on the Korean Peninsula. And what's going on in the Pacific, that's not to say that we couldn't all drop what we're doing and head over there if need be. In fact, we are working some of those scenarios into our training as we speak. But we have a general area that we focus on so that we can be most ready for the commander that we're most likely to support on a sort of day -to -day basis.

00:23:19    SPEAKER_02
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00:24:28    SPEAKER_02
Hi, and welcome back to the 1CA Podcast. Are there any current joint training operations between Marine Corps and Army Civil Affairs Forces, or anything being planned that you can talk about?

00:24:39    SPEAKER_01
Well, right now, we're doing New Horizons down in Panama, and that's definitely joint. And we also have an enduring mission down in Belize, which is one of the exceptions to... Marines being in support of a MAGTAF because really we're in support of the SCO in the embassy in Belize. And has our three Marine team out in the hinterland of Belize executing civil military operations. They are working side by side with Army out there in the countryside. So that's an enduring mission for us right now. Again, it's not doctrinal for the Marine Corps. I like it because it gives our guys a lot of experience, but that is probably something that will transition, what that looks like will likely transition in the next year or so with our special MAGTAP that we have afloat there based out of Honduras. But New Horizons is a massive Southcom exercise, theater security cooperation, and that's definitely joint. And, again, our Marines are getting a lot of experience in that realm and are quite actually independent. So I'm really proud because, again, it's a new MOS. These are usually mostly young captains that have just joined the reserves with a brand -new MOS, and we get them school -trained and we kick them out the door, and they do great things.

00:26:12    SPEAKER_02
Yeah, try by fire. Yep. That's wonderful. Do you try to? A lot of those countries speak Spanish. Do the Marines get language training, or are they encouraged to get language training?

00:26:26    SPEAKER_01
We have, just because of where we're located, we have a tremendous amount of Spanish speakers already on staff. So what we'll do if, you know, Belize is not an issue, but most of the other places yet, it is Spanish. So we'll try to get one of our Spanish -speaking Marines either on the deployment or even sometimes we've sent, you know, a motor team Marine or an admin Marine who's not civil affairs and his or her sole responsibility is to be an interpreter. So it gets them downrange doing fun stuff, you know, outside of the home training center. But, yeah, a lot of them already have it or what they're involved in is, you know, there are interpreters on staff, that kind of thing. But to my knowledge, it's not been an issue if our folks aren't speaking Spanish. But we usually do have, especially the NCOs and staff NCOs, quite a few of them are Spanish speakers.

00:27:07    SPEAKER_00
know, there are

00:27:15    SPEAKER_00
usually do have,

00:27:21    SPEAKER_02
I'm sure it helps. But even if you speak the language fluently, it's nice to have an interpreter so you have a lag time if you're engaging with people so you can. Think about it a little bit more, but then also try to cut through with the translation if you really know what they're talking about.

00:27:36    SPEAKER_01
Right.

00:27:37    SPEAKER_02
Ma 'am, could you describe some of the recent deployments for Marine Corps Civil Affairs units or teams that are sent abroad? What were their missions and how did it go?

00:27:46    SPEAKER_01
I don't have complete visibility in what all Marine Corps civil affairs teams are doing throughout the globe, but I can tell you what four civil affairs group Marines are doing. I think I mentioned that we have a three Marine team right now in Belize in direct support of the security cooperation officer there, working closely with Army CA. Again, not doctrinal for us, but it's a great experience for them. We have a team in support of New Horizons, which is about to start in Panama. It's going to go through the month of June, which is South Com's major theater security cooperation exercise. And then during the course of the next several months, I'm going to rotate about 46 Marines and sailors through that exercise to give them their annual training. So it's quite an experience. I have a durational officer there, a bright young captain, again, newly school trained, and she is going to be the one responsible for direct liaison with the exercise planners. But I'll have Marines, officers, and staff and COs rotate through on a two -week basis between now and June. And basically they're conducting civil military operations throughout the area. and security cooperation training as well. I also have a team that's on the special MAGTAC that's based out of Honduras. They do extensive security cooperation training and civil military operations throughout Central and South America, and they're also our first responders in the event of a HADR scenario. All these exercises and New Horizons went in the Dominican Republic last year, and now it's this year in Panama, but these similar exercises went last year. Marines did great. The Army and the Air Force love them. They came home with multiple awards and accolades and, you know, really accorded themselves very well, not only as Marines, but as U .S. service members downrange, and I was just really proud of them. Congratulations.

00:29:46    SPEAKER_01
Thank you. We've not had any issues. And I feel like the training that they've gotten there, you know, I could send them anywhere, and they would do great things.

00:29:55    SPEAKER_02
Yeah, it says a lot for how they were prepared and the trust in which you and other commanders are placing them. That's wonderful.

00:30:02    SPEAKER_01
The other services really are very quick with their praise, which I personally appreciate. You know, our Marines are essentially fire and forget weapons. And if they have a question, they'll come back and ask. But other than that, you know, they're off doing their thing.

00:30:19    SPEAKER_02
Colonel Jackson, I wanted to ask you, if you came across a young Marine, what would be your elevator pitch for the young Marine to consider joining the Civil Affairs branch?

00:30:29    SPEAKER_01
I would ask them, you know, do they want to broaden their skill sets and give themselves more flexibility in the reserves with an additional MOS? I'll tell them that Civil Affairs Marines are extremely useful to a MAGTAF or any commander. They're like a utility player on a baseball field. They have multiple specialties. and really view the environment with a different perspective that can influence operations that save marine lives, shorten conflicts, help uphold the honor of the Marine Corps and American service members wherever they go. And I'll say, hey, do you want to be a part of that? And most of the time they say, yes, I do.

00:31:06    SPEAKER_02
Yeah, it tells itself. It seems to me, since I've been in the branch for the Army Reserve, it's fascinating to see current events. and how they may apply to civil affairs. And it's almost everything. When you look at a country study or an area study for a place, how the economy and the history and your background, how all that ties together with the industry and the politics. It's a great way to analyze what's happening in the world.

00:31:32    SPEAKER_01
It really is. And I think, you know, what I love, again, about the Marines in my CAG, and I'm sure the other CAGs are similar, is that they bring so much to the fight. They bring their civil affairs expertise. They bring their primary MOS expertise. They bring their civilian skill set. And these Marines, we really train to think, to analyze the civil dimension, to look at it the way no one else is looking at it, and then to make impactful statements and contributions to an operations plan. I just couldn't be any prouder to be a commander of a unit like that.

00:32:16    SPEAKER_02
Ma 'am, I want to conclude with a final question for you about tips for young or sort of mid -career Marines. So if some of your Marines from your group, from 4th CAG, are listening to this, what would you have to share with them about tips for 2018 and how to prepare for 2019?

00:32:39    SPEAKER_01
I'd say they have to be ready for anything. You know, I've done a lot of talking the last 12 months about, you know, how a lot of what we do in Central and South America is phase zero, phase one type stuff. But they've got to be ready for, you know, phase three operations. And, you know, next drill, we're actually going to practice some of that stuff.

00:32:58    SPEAKER_00
know, next

00:33:01    SPEAKER_01
I have a handful of former grunts, infantry in my unit, and they're really excited about that. But, I mean, the fact is they have to be ready for anything. They have to pay attention to what's going on in the world. They have to broaden their scope outside of South Com and say, hey, am I ready to go? You know, our commander, Lieutenant General McMillan, likes to say you have to be ready to fight tonight. So are you ready to fight tonight? You know, do you have, you know, all your boxes checked? Is your training done?

00:33:28    SPEAKER_00
you have,

00:33:34    SPEAKER_01
Are your affairs in order? Are you ready to go? And if you're not ready to go, then this is not the place for you. So it's, you know, it's very much a do or die type scenario for these young Marines. But, you know, Marines don't join the Corps to sit at a home training center in Hialeah, Florida, you know, to show up once a month and do computer -based training. That's not why they join. And so if they want to go somewhere, they want to do something meaningful that they can brag about to their friends back home and their families for the rest of their lives. Hey, be a part of a unit that actually does something to help either the Marines or a joint task force or civilians. You name it, we can do it all. Hey, just be ready.

00:34:19    SPEAKER_02
Yes, ma 'am. You sold me. Well, it sounds great, but I think I'll stay in the Army for right now.

00:34:22    SPEAKER_01
great,

00:34:25    SPEAKER_01
All right. Let me know if you change your mind.

00:34:27    SPEAKER_02
Yes, ma 'am. Colonel Valerie Jackson, Commanding Officer of the 4th Civil Affairs Group for the U .S. Marine Corps. Thank you very much for your time.

00:34:35    SPEAKER_01
it's been my pleasure thank you thank you for spending some time with us

00:35:00    SPEAKER_02
spending some time with us Please subscribe and come back for another installment of 1CA. Until then, be safe and secure the victory.