Foreign Area Officer Students Work
With Russian Army
By Paul Riley
Garmisch, Germany -- Ten years ago, a U.S Army Foreign Area Officer (FAO) would
never have dreamed of working on the staff of a Soviet Army brigade, but now senior fellows
studying at the George C. Marshall Center for European Security Studies are living that dream.
For the last three years, the Marshall Center located in Garmisch, Germany, has been
sending Russian speaking captains and majors to Bosnia-Herzegovina to serve as liaison officers
(LNOs). The LNOs act as a conduit of information between the Multinational Division (North)
headquarters and the Russian Separate Airborne Brigade (RSAB). Working together as part of
the Stabilization Force (SFOR) they have kept the peace in Bosnia, where a civil war raged for
four years.
At the Marshall Center, officers may choose from many professionally developing
internships in the Eurasian region. Most often these are three-month positions at U.S.
Embassies; but the four-month internship with the Russian brigade in Bosnia is unique because
of the constant military to military contact and intensive Russian language usage.
"This job definitely requires the mix of language experience and a military frame of
reference," says Captain Joe Bayerl, a Marshall Center Foreign Area Officer student presently
assigned in the region.
Bosnia, with the exception of the emerging cooperation in Kosovo, is the only place in the
world where U.S. and Russian soldiers serve shoulder to shoulder working, on a daily basis, to
accomplish a common mission, Bayerl explained.
"For a Russian FAO, the once in a lifetime experience with the Russian military cannot be
beat," said Captain Renea Yates another Marshall Center Foreign Area Officer student assigned
there.
"I think this internship is the opportunity of a lifetime for a Russian FAO," said Yates.
"The insight and opportunity to experience the Russian military way of life goes without bounds.
I never, in my life, imagined I would stand in a Russian military formation or ride in the hatch of
a BTR (armored personnel carrier)."
"The American liaison officers are the one and only conduit of information between the
Multinational Division (North) Commander and staff and the RSAB. The staff work and
Russian language practice is intensive. Daily we use our language skills to convey the division
commander's intent," Yates explains.
The LNOs take all Russian staff reports, translate them and report to the division daily.
They also facilitate and interpret all Russian staff coordination with the American staff.
"This is the hour-by-hour experience in Ugljevik, both on and off duty," says Bayerl. The
Marshall Center officers also spend all of their free time with their Russian comrades-in-arms,
watching movies, doing physical training, playing soccer, dining in any of the on-base cafes, or
going to the banya (the sauna, a basic ritual of Russian culture). All of this contact results in
trust that translates into mission accomplishment for the brigade and the division.
"The work of the LNOs is important here, but not the most important. In that position I
would place the work of commanders who are committed to building mutual trust and
understanding. However, they can't accomplish this without the liaison work that is being done
in Ugljevik and Tuzla," said Bayerl.
"I believe the LNO mission in Bosnia, especially during the tense period of NATO
Bombing and the deployment of peacekeepers to Kosovo, was of the utmost importance, as it
was more than peacekeeping, more than combined operations; it was the very foundation of the
US-Russian political-military relations," explains Yates.
The building and sustaining of good relations between commanders and armies really takes
place during combined US--Russian operations and training.
"During the bombing of Yugoslavia, we weren't able to do too much of that, for political
reasons, but soon we should be able to start it up again," explains Captain Paul Riley. It is
during these combined operations, that the LNOs really earn their pay. They facilitate the
combined planning and execution of the missions, using their language skills and knowledge of
doctrine and capabilities of both armies.
Usually the US brigade and the Russian brigade conduct combined patrols through their
respective areas of responsibility or conduct combined weapons training. Russians shoot
American weapons and US soldiers shoot the Russian weapons, but during the NATO bombing
of Yugoslavia, Russia banned all combined training. Despite this ban, mission essential
operations and low-level cooperation continued. The relationship between the RSAB
reconnaissance group and the MND(N)'s 312 Military Intelligence Battalion is a mutually
beneficial one, and cooperation has continued in the form of sharing of information and
combined firing ranges. This low-level cooperation has been a great opportunity for the LNOs
to facilitate understanding between the two units.
"That was a great experience for me because I was able to get soldiers from two different
countries to talk to each other and learn from each other," explains Yates.
Recently, the Russian engineers teamed up with the U.S. 91st Engineer
Battalion to remove two military bridges on a major road in the Russian sector. The LNOs
facilitated the work and the exchange of ideas between the commanders.
"That was a great mission for us. I got to use my Russian all day helping commanders and
soldiers talk to each other. It was really rewarding," says Riley.
The Russian foreign area officers from the Marshall Center, are getting experience that
previous generations of FAOs would never have imagined. They are sharpening their Russian
language skills while learning the ways of our partner army, and establishing a base of
understanding for the future.
2000, Foreign Area Officer Association
Springfield,
Virginia
Maintained by LTC Steve
Gotowicki.
http://www.faoa.org