Army Foreign Area Officers (FAOs) have numerous opportunities to serve in challenging and interesting assignments in which they contribute political-military and regional expertise to national security affairs, in both stateside and overseas assignments. Many officers are unaware of one such opportunity that exists in the Department of State in Washington, D.C., where Army FAOs detailed to the Department actively participate in the inter-agency process and influence policy- level national security decisions on a daily basis. As an Army FAO detailed to the State Department since 2004, I believe it is highly relevant and important that the Army assigns Army FAOs to this environment, particularly in light of the Army's vision to develop multi-skilled "Pentathletes," the Army's leaders of the 21st century. In the 2006 Game Plan, the Army outlines the importance of developing qualities in leaders that will allow them to respond effectively in a constantly evolving environment. These qualities include necessary skills in governance, statesmanship, and diplomacy, activities that are a part of an Army FAO's daily life at the State Department.
The mission of the State Department is to conduct the nation's diplomacy to promote and protect America's interests. It accomplishes this with a relatively small work force. With a personnel strength of 11,000 Foreign Service employees and 8,000 Civil Service employees, the State Department conducts U.S. diplomatic relations with some 190 countries, which are managed by more than 260 diplomatic and consular posts throughout the world. The State Department works with representatives of 27 different U.S. Government agencies in these overseas posts. Over 37,000 Foreign Service Nationals, or local employees, also supplement the staffing of overseas posts. This mission appears particularly challenging when one recognizes that, with only 56,000 people, the State Department is actually smaller than 10 of the 14 U.S. Cabinet Departments.
Many FAOs are already aware of the State Department jobs normally considered within Defense Attach‚ Offices or Offices of Defense Cooperation at U.S. Embassies throughout the world. Those of you who have served in these types of overseas posts have received some exposure to the State Department, but even State colleagues will tell you that life is quite different in Washington. And that is what I want to talk about.
When I arrived in 2004, I was surprised to discover that each of the services details officers to the State Department, a practice that has continued for decades. Detailed officers are all field grade rank, from major to colonel or the service's equivalent. The current October 16, 2002 Memorandum of Understanding between the Departments of State and Defense provides State with 50 military officers from the Department of Defense for a three-year period of assignment. Of this number, the Army provides 18 officers, eight of which are Army FAOs. Officers serve throughout the Department, although most Army FAOs serve in the regional bureaus. These bureaus manage specific geographic regions of the world and are aptly named the Bureaus for African Affairs, East Asian and Pacific Affairs, European and Eurasian Affairs, Near Eastern Affairs, South Asia Affairs, and Western Hemisphere Affairs. Within the regional bureaus, Army FAOs serve as political-military advisers where they put to use several years of regional familiarization, language training, and in-country experience.
In addition to the regional bureaus, the State Department has a number of functional bureaus that manage specific issues which are quite diverse, reflecting the wide range of interests the United States promotes abroad, for example, the Bureau for Educational and Cultural Affairs; Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; and the Bureau for Oceans and International Environmental, and Scientific Affairs. Army FAOs are currently assigned to two functional bureaus: the Bureau for Political-Military Affairs and the Bureau for Verification, Compliance, and Implementation.
Under the "command structure" of the State Department, an Assistant Secretary heads each bureau and reports to one of six Under Secretaries, each of which manages a "family" of several bureaus. The Under Secretaries cover the following general subject areas: Political Affairs; Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs; International Security and Nonproliferation; Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs; Management; and Global Affairs. All of the regional bureaus fall under the Under Secretary for Political Affairs, who is the third-ranking member of the Department after the Secretary of State and Deputy Secretary of State.
There is no military chain-of-command within the State Department for detailed officers they are fully integrated into the Office and Bureau to which they are assigned. Each officer is normally rated by his or her State Department civilian rating chain and receives administrative support from the respective service. The Senior Military Representative in the State Department a senior Air Force colonel serves as the primary liaison for operational matters between the State and Defense Departments. There is no formal relationship between the Senior Military Representative and most detailed officers, although an informal military channel exists, primarily to pass information.
For the past three years, I have served as a political-military and arms control adviser in the Bureau for Verification, Compliance, and Implementation. I am assigned to the Office of Chemical and Conventional Weapons Affairs which, despite its name, is responsible for European arms control and security issues. 1 The office has lead responsibility within the U.S. Government inter-agency national security policy process for negotiations on, and the implementation of, conventional arms control treaties and agreements in Europe. These treaties and agreements, which include the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, Treaty on Open Skies, Vienna Document 1999 Confidence- and Security-Building Measures in Europe, and arms control elements of the Dayton Peace Accords, are important contributors to the European security structure. The nations which participate in these agreements describe them collectively as "the cornerstone of European security." To provide clarity about what my duties entail, let me first provide some background about these agreements and related activities.
European arms control activities take place in Vienna, Austria under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE. The largest regional security organization in the world, the OSCE consists of 56 participating States including every European country, all the countries of the former Soviet Union (including those in Central Asia), the United States, and Canada. The OSCE likes to highlight that fact that its membership ranges from "Vancouver to Vladivostok."
The OSCE's origins are in the 1975 Helsinki Final Act which, among other aspects, was a groundbreaking agreement that led to the creation of the first confidence- building measures in Europe. These measures were intended to reduce the possibility of a surprise attack by providing openness and transparency about conventional military forces stationed in Europe. These measures lessened tensions during the Cold War. The latest version of these measures, which are contained in the present Vienna Document 1999, are still being implemented today and continue to enhance peace and security in Europe.
But the Cold War is over and we are facing different threats today. One venue the OSCE uses to address today's threats to security in Europe is the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation. This body meets weekly in Vienna to provide a formal opportunity for dialogue in which current challenges are addressed and the implementation of Vienna Document 1999 and other agreed measures are discussed by delegations of all 56 participating States. Activities under the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) and Treaty on Open Skies are also discussed in Vienna in separate international implementing organizations for these treaties. The CFE Treaty is discussed in the Joint Consultative Group and the Open Skies Treaty is discussed in the Open Skies Consultative Commission. The U.S. Arms Control Delegation in the U.S. Mission to the OSCE represents the U.S. Government in all of these meetings.
So, how is an Army FAO involved in all this? In Washington, I participate in meetings of the interagency "backstopping" groups that manage U.S. involvement in conventional arms control and European security activities, formulate policy, and provide guidance for the U.S. Delegation. I work on a daily basis with representatives from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the intelligence community, and frequently with the National Security Council. As a political-military and arms control adviser, I draw on experience from previous arms control assignments as well as my regional familiarity as a FAO, to help shape the discussions that develop the U.S. Government policies for these issues. In doing so, a contribution I bring to the process is the ability to interweave an operational focus into the discussions, as theater commanders and operational units in Europe and Central Asia will have to implement the policies and agreements that are developed and agreed.
From day to day, I have similar responsibilities and function just like my State Department civilian colleagues, to include having shed my Army Combat Uniform for a civilian coat and tie. While I am responsible for managing several issues within my assigned portfolio, I quickly discovered that no one issue is ever completely "owned" by one office, bureau, or even Department or agency. Most of the issues I deal with on a daily basis touch on or cross over into equities belonging to others, so simply ensuring coordination both within the State Department and in the inter-agency community takes up a large part of the work week. But I'm still working in the U.S. Government and, as in the military, a lot of time is spent drafting papers to provide talking points and information memoranda for the senior leadership of the State Department: I provide written products for the Deputy Assistant Secretary, Assistant Secretary, and Under Secretary on a weekly basis.
I quickly learned that the State Department culture is very different from the one we have in the military. Arriving at State after a one-year tour on the Army Staff in the Pentagon, I was surprised to discover an amazing level of familiarity among personnel: within the Department, only the Secretary of State is referred to by title; everyone else is addressed on a first-name basis. The biggest challenge I had to contend with, however, was representing the State Department at inter- agency meetings, where occasionally I will have to represent a position that runs counter to the Pentagon's position. Thankfully, this has not presented a problem, as everyone understands the importance of using the inter-agency process to work out differences and final a solution all agencies can agree with.
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As if all that were not enough, there is another aspect to my assignment that makes it unique: in addition to working in Washington, I routinely participate in international negotiations in Vienna as a member of the U.S. Arms Control Delegation. The negotiations are dynamic and on-going, so the travel is frequent and I spend almost half of the year in Vienna. As an Army FAO member of the delegation, my previous arms control experience, familiarity with the region, and language skills have been very useful in the conduct of negotiations and discussions in Vienna. On a daily basis, I interact with senior military and diplomatic counterparts from 55 countries and provide advice to the U.S. Ambassador and the Chief U.S. Arms Control Delegate. I also interact with the Russian Delegation frequently and, as a Eurasian FAO, I am able to provide informal translations of documents we receive from the Russian Delegation before they are sent back to Washington for a policy recommendation. As in other FAO assignments, my operational background provide the U.S. Delegation with important "in-house" military experience and knowledge of our partners; thus complementing the negotiations and strengthening activities related to the arms control agreements. This is one of the many "value-added" contributions an Army FAO can make on a daily basis.
My State Department assignment has provided an opportunity not only to witness governance, statesmanship, and diplomacy first-hand, but even to participate in these activities - where I have been able to make a real contribution. In Vienna, I was given the responsibility to negotiate agreement on the parameters of an international workshop to promote awareness of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540, which supports U.S. efforts to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. The resulting highly- publicized event included the participation of all 56 OSCE participating States and several important international organizations. This event laid the groundwork for agreement by the Foreign Ministers of all 56 countries to highlight the importance of implementing the resolution and submitting national implementation plans.
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Through practical, hands-on experience, my assignment with the State Department has provided a much better understanding of joint, inter-agency, multi-governmental, and multinational activities. And I am confident that my participation has enabled my State Department colleagues to have a better understanding of military issues. The new strategic environment calls for Army leaders who are fluent not only in "Army speak," but "State speak" and "Inter-agency speak" as well. I believe the Army greatly benefits from giving officers this "out of the box" experience, as it fully supports the Army's vision to develop Army "Pentathletes." I urge you to look for this type of assignment not only to "use" your Army FAO skills and expertise, but also to expand your capabilities for the future.
LTC Gary Espinas has been assigned to the State Department as a political-military and arms control adviser since December 2004. A Eurasian FAO, LTC Espinas previously served as an Executive Officer on the Army Staff, Pentagon; Political-Military Officer in U.S. Embassy Moscow; and Deputy Team Chief with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency in Frankfurt, Germany. LTC Espinas has a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, an MA from Harvard University, and is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. LTC Espinas completes his tour with the State Department summer 07 to attend Senior Service College.
1. I was assigned to the Office of Conventional Arms Control in the Bureau for Arms Control when I arrived at the State Department in 2004. After a 2006 re-organization of the State Department, the office was merged with another office and re-named the Office of Chemical and Conventional Weapons Affairs, although we continue to execute the same responsibilities. The office was also moved to the Bureau for Verification, Compliance, and Implementation when the Bureau for Arms Control was eliminated and replaced with the Bureau for International Security and Nonproliferation.BACK