The Foreign Area Officer In-Country Training (ICT) program is a critical phase in the development of our Foreign Area Officers. ICT compliments a graduate school and foreign language training system designed to create regional experts, capable of serving in critical assignments in a variety of environments requiring complex international skills, knowledge, and experience. The FAO may be the only officer on a CINC staff with first-hand knowledge of relatively obscure trouble spots within a given region. Achieving such a high level of broad professional competence is only possible if one takes full advantage of both advanced civil schooling and ICT as they compliment one another. We note however, that too often FAOs are leaving ICT, as "one-country experts", not having had the opportunity to take advantage of the program's regional aspects.
ICT is a selfish time in the professional life of an FAO. It has to be that way. FAOs are not in-country to be part of anyone's engagement plan, but rather to grow professionally, focusing upon the "sacred seven" ICT objectives: language proficiency, knowledge of host-country and regional militaries, geographical, political and economic orientation, and developing interpersonal skills and contact. Only through meeting these objectives can we ensure that the broader goals of the three-phase FAO training program are achieved. If the ICT program is symbiotic with an engagement plan, everyone wins. However, in some countries, we may be "robbing Peter to pay Paul". ICT participants in one year programs who are attending twelve month schools, have virtually no travel opportunities. Should school attendance take precedence over travel?
Attendance of a host-country military school is very important for the FAO. At least four of the "sacred seven" objectives are accomplished through participation. The immersion in an academic environment forces the FAO to sink or swim linguistically. Additionally, one aquires a profound military vocabulary which is only available in such an environment. Schooling also gives the FAO the types of cultural understanding and inter-personal skills which could not be achieved elsewhere. The school environment allows for a very didactic approach to the national security issues of a country and thus provides great insight into the national psyche. Regional concerns may also be discussed in detail.
What is school not? First of all, it is not a place to get an in-depth understanding of a country's military capabilities. As is sometimes the case in our own Army, what happens in the class room and what happens in the unit environment are often distinct. Many foreign militaries maintain a strict "protocol environment" in their schools. The purpose of the school is not to teach, but rather to establish orders of merit which are then critical to assignments and promotion. Whether a school of infantry teaches chemistry or small unit tactics is really immaterial in the sense that either provides a means to evaluate and establish an order of merit. This means that the material that is used to evaluate a student may or may not reflect the host-country military's operational reality. Even if instruction is realistic, most countries in which ICT is conducted use modified modified U.S. doctrine, limiting the FAO from learning much "new" information. What else is host-nation schooling not? It is not intended to be a MEL4 qualifier. School attendance during ICT rarely results in educational credit officially recognized by the U.S. Armed Forces, and those courses which are recognized, are part of an attendance selection process not connected with ICT. Lastly, the importance of building personal relationships in the school environment should not be overestimated. Although the FAO will make contacts, any future benefit outside the development of interpersonal skills, rests upon the assumption that the officer will interact with that same country in a future assignment, which is not common. Furthermore it is of no immediate benefit, since FAOs participating in ICT are, by regulation, prohibited from participating in collection activities.
Travel during ICT is at least as important as military schooling, because it bears upon all seven ICT objectives. It is travel that provides professional confidence for a regional specialist. Perhaps even more important though, it provides context. We all know people who, after traveling outside the United States for the first time, reflect on how they finally "saw" America. For the FAO, the perspective that travel provides is not a luxury, it is essential; domestically and internationally. The generous allocation of funds for FAO travel by our Army's leaders demonstrates their conviction that travel is an essential component of the ICT program. There is no substitution for being on the ground and getting first hand experience. Complimenting the travel experience are the excellent country-team briefings which most US Embassies provide with minimal coordination. These briefings provide a very effective snap shot of current issues.
What then is the appropriate mix of regional travel and schooling? Any solution to this problem must be based upon the notion, previously defended in this journal, that ICT programs are independent, and that program requirements must not be dictated to FAO Coordinators in country. To the best of their ability, FAO Coordinators should seek military courses for the ICT participant that do not monopolize the entire ICT tour. Sometimes, this may mean attending an off-beat course rather than a primary professional development course. Based on the above assessment of what schooling does and does not accomplish for the FAO, the level of study is immaterial. If a course shorter than twelve months cannot be arranged, a "unit exchange" type experience might be appropriate. For example, one recent ICT participant who could not arrange schooling, conducted a series of extended host-country unit visits which were arguably more effective than classroom training. If an FAO Coordinator determines that twelve month courses are the only viable alternative, proponency should consider tour extensions of three to six months to facilitate regional travel. Of course, many 12 month courses offer several week-long breaks and/or periods in which foreign students are not required to attend classes. However, while the frequency and length of these breaks may provide an opportunity to travel domestically, they are normally not adequate for effective international travel. The "whirlwind" multi-country, one week tours attempted by ICT participants under these circumstances may be better than nothing, but they arguably limit the objectives of the travel program.
Every FAO that leaves ICT without regional confidence and context gained from first-hand travel experience, represents a failure for all involved, most critically, the FAO in question. As FAOs, we are all in the business of becoming regional experts; not single-country specialists. Foreign military school attendance plays an important role for each of us, but it must not be allowed to eclipse the broader objectives of a great program.
Captain Bowling is a 48B currently completing ICT in Caracas Venezuela. Captain Bowling will be earning his MA in Latin American Studies at the University of Alabama. As a participant in the ICT program, CPT Bowling traveled frequently and graduated from the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course of The Venezuelan Army.
MAJ Mastrovito currently serves as the Assistant Army Attach‚ in Caracas. MAJ Mastrovito completed ICT in Spain where he attended the Combined Arms Training Course in Zaragoza. Prior to his current assignment he served with ODCSINT as a Western European Desk Officer.