DCSU definition
Examples of DCSU in a sentence
Thus, the cultural specialists were to be recruited from military personnel with additional linguistic and cultural training, rather than militarized anthropologists.1444 The idea was embraced within the British Army and supported by the Afghan COIN Centre (Martin was nominally provided with a billet there) and more senior officers.1445 In 2010, this led to the establishment of the DCSU.
Not only would the cultural specialists advise commanders in-theater, but they would also play a pivotal role in the cultural training of their rotations.1446 The cultural advisers (CULADs) were attached to the headquarters of TFH and the battle groups.1447 As such, the contribution of the CULADs was highly valued by commanders as they helped enhance their understanding of the environment and gave them more options to influence it.1448 Still, the CULADs and the DCSU were limited by a few constraints.
As such, the DCSU was not an intelligence asset by design, but it was indicative for a shift towards a more comprehensive understanding of the environment.
First, the introduction of a flurry of new acronyms reflects that the BGISDs, COISTs, the LIFC(A), the DCSU and the wider shift in emphasis to understanding the environment took approximately four years to manifest and even longer to pay off.
By 2012, DCSU had become responsible for the training of new FET-members, which made sense due to the linguistic and cultural training requirements.1477 Although in the end the FETs were largely unable to engage with women in rural Helmand, the British Army considered this capability successful in engaging with children.