What is a FAO, anyway? Ask the average soldier, sailor or airmen and your likely to get a range of answers: diplomat, gun runner, spy, regional expert, advisor, embassy staffer. The name itself conjures visions of adventures in other lands, hob-nobbing with foreign dignitaries, advising ambassadors and combatant commanders, conversing with the locals and exploring the farthest regions of the globe. OK, maybe those are what we hope they do - sort of a James Bondish über-warrior - skilled, suave and sophisticated.
It seems the definition is even in flux among the services. The Air Force, ever the younger brother seeking to escape the shadow of big brother, decided FAO was just too well known, or too old a name, and needed a new name:
Regional Affairs Strategist. Ohhh! Not just an "officer", but a "strategist", perhaps seeking to invoke a higher level of expertise. Nevermind that most of us Air Force FAOs say "specialist" instead of "strategist", maybe a nod that being a strategist seems a little pretentious.
We can't even agree how to be a FAO. The training isn't the same in length, order or emphasis. The Army single-tracks while the Navy and Air Force are asking its sailors and airmen to dual track. Yeah, that'll work. The Marines? Not sure what they're doing but it likely is somewhere inbetween.
And the scuttlebutt (a nod to the navy brethren) is that once a FAO, people tend to gravitate to the security assistance side (gun runners) or the attaché side (diplomat), and never the twain shall meet (although they work in the same embassy, the two sides are often at odds).
But maybe the FAO should strive to be all these things. A strategic thinker on a regional level, well versed in security assistance functions and how they play into US national interests in that region. A diplomat, skilled at interacting with multiple cultures and peoples. An observer of events and circumstances, able to evaluate the changing political and social evironment and critically assess the impact the changes will have on US policy.
Let's hope the new FAOA Board of Governors can help shape this conversation. Let's hope the FAOs out there are willing to join in as well.