The U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne) (USACAPOC)(Abn), located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, commands the Army’s Reserve Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations units.  It is a subordinate command to the United States Army Reserve Command.  USACAPOC(Abn) soldiers maintain the highest standards of training and combat readiness in order to deploy anywhere in the world.

About 96 percent of the Army's civil affairs and psychological operations capability resides in the Army Reserve; nearly 10,000 soldiers. They are in units which  are located in 27 states.  USACAPOC(Abn) has six major subordinate commands.  These are the 350th, 351st, 352nd, and 353rd Civil Affairs Commands, and the 2nd and 7th Psychological Operations Groups.  Each of these major commands have subordinate units.

There is one active component Psychological Operations unit, the 4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne), with six subordinate battalions.  And one active duty Civil Affairs unit, the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne), with four battalions. Both of these active component units are located at Fort Bragg, N.C. under the command of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. 

Civil Affairs soldiers are the commander's link to the civilian population and authorities in an area of operations.  In addition to their military training, Civil Affairs soldiers possess skills and experience based on their civilian education and employment in fields such as finance, public safety, public health, and public utilities.  With their unique skills they support the commander during combat operations by eliminating burdens or liabilities caused by a local civilian population.  Immediately following hostilities Civil Affairs soldiers reconstitute civil authority, and in the longer term help rebuild a viable civilian infrastructure and economy.  Civil Affairs supports U. S. national objectives by assisting the government of a host or occupied area to meet its peoples’ needs and maintain a stable and democratic civil administration.

Psychological Operations (PSYOP) uses persuasion and public communication to influence perceptions and encourage desired behavior among foreign target audiences. The cornerstone of PSYOP is truth, credibly presented to convince a given audience to cease resistance or take actions favorable to friendly force intentions. During Desert Storm and our recent operations in OIF and OEF, the effective use of PSYOP directly contributed to the surrender of thousands of Iraqi soldiers as well as contributed to counter-insurgency efforts in both Iraq and Afghanistan. PSYOP assists the combatant commander or supported agency to save lives and resources; friend or foe.

PSYOP soldiers are communicators and marketeers who provide the commander with the ability to communicate information to large and small audiences via face-to-face, radio, television, internet, print and/or other forms of media. Their language skills, cultural awareness, regional orientation and knowledge of communications media provide a means to deliver critical information to a target audiences to achieve the desired effect.

USACAPOC (Abn) units provide support to all theater commanders to assist them in meeting their global commitments. USACAPOC (Abn) soldiers contributed significantly to Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom as well as Desert Shield and Desert Storm.  They assisted victims of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and Mississippi, Andrew in Florida, and coordinated refugee operations for Haitians in Cuba.  They were among the first soldiers sent to Panama, Somalia, Haiti, Iraq and Afghanistan. CA and PSYOP specialists have been an integral part of peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Kosovo and are among the most frequently deployed soldiers in the Army today.