Cultural Support Teams (CST) in Afghanistan

USSOCOM is forging ahead with fielding teams comprised of females that will interact with the local population in Afghanistan.  The Marine Corps fielded Female Engagement Teams (FETs) over two years ago with great success.  The U.S. Army is supposedly doing the same although the jury is out on how well they are implementing the program.  USSOCOM is quietly embarked in the same direction as the Marine Corps - calling their female engagement teams Cultural Support Teams (CST). 

Read more in "CST: Afghanistan", The Best Defense Blog, Foreign Policy, February 8, 2011.

http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/08/cst_afghanistan

See the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) website for more information about the CSTs and see the requirements for training, recruiting, and program specifications.

http://www.soc.mil/fet/fet.html