It was indeed a great honor to be asked by the FAO Board of Governors to serve as the next president of our association. By way of introduction to those of you who don't know me, I first entered FAO training in 1975 at Ft. Bragg, then on to Turkish language training at The Presidio of Monterey, in-country training in Turkey, and then an advanced degree in International Affairs from The American University.
What followed were a variety of politico-military and intelligence assignments that were extremely interesting and rewarding. In succession, I served as the A/ARMA in Turkey, the JCS J-5 politico-military planner for Greece and Turkey, the DATT/ARMA in Cyprus, Special Assistant for the eastern Mediterranean to the SACEUR, European Division Chief in the then newly formed Defense HUMINT Service, Chief of the Defense and Foreign Liaison Office, and finally as the DATT/ARMA in Greece. Nearly 18 of my 30 years in the Army were overseas.
The variety of commissions that studied the attack on the United States in September 2001 all agreed, in their own unique way, that we lacked foreign expertise in what I call the "human dimension." This includes foreign language skills, human intelligence, cultural awareness, and foreign area expertise. As recently as 19 October 2005, former Speaker Newt Gingrich reported to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that the United States had a " lack of interrogators, tactical HUMINT teams, translators and analytical support teams. We need the Foreign Area Officers and similar programs to be more aggressively funded/supported and integrated into a wider range of activities/missions (e.g., Information Operations, at division level, etc.)."
There is a growing awareness of the importance of FAOs and their relevance in our long ideological war against a religiously motivated enemy. As FAOs, we can help keep policy makers and commanders appraised of what we bring to the fight and to help secure the funds and support that Speaker Gingrich talked about.
Together with the Board of Governors, we have identified a few objectives for the association over the next year and I solicit your support for the following:
- Develop a stronger bond among FAOs in all Services, active, reserve, and retired.
- Promote FAO professional development and keep individual skills at the highest possible level, and
- Advocate more support and resources for the FAO program, both within the Department of Defense and from the Congress.
In keeping with the first two objectives, your association is planning a luncheon at the Fort McNair Officer's Club on Wednesday, 22 February 2006. We will have Vice Admiral James G. Stavridis, Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense as the guest speaker to discuss the future of the FAO program, FAO career development and the professional challenges we as FAOs face. You will be getting more information on this event after the first of the year, but for now please mark the date on your calendars.
Again, I am honored to serve as your president and I solicit your participation and advice to strengthen the FAO community and our association. I can be reached by phone at 202-231-5817 or by e-mail at stephen.norton@dia.mil .
Steve was appointed as the Chief, Defense Human Intelligence Management Office in July 2005 and before that was the Senior National Security Advisor to Senator Saxby Chambliss, (R) Georgia.