Letter from the President of the Foreign Area Officer Association Steve Norton
Dear Colleagues,
As I mentioned in my first letter as President, the Board of Governors have identified three objectives for the Association over the next year:
• 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 support of the 1st two objectives, we will have a FAO Association luncheon at Ft. McNair Officers' Club on Wednesday, 15 March 2006 at 1200hrs. LTG James Williams, USA, Ret. will be our featured speaker. LTG Williams is a former Director of Defense Intelligence Agency, a former military attaché in Venezuela, and a strong proponent for the FAO program. You will also hear from the Service FAO Proponent Chiefs. Your time and effort in attending our 15 March event will be well rewarded. We will also use the opportunity to discuss what other events our Association should sponsor over the next 12 months.
As for the 3rd objective, I'm very pleased to tell you that FAOs, language, cultural skills and HUMINT were recently highlighted in the Quadrennial Defense Review Report (QDR) released by Secretary Rumsfeld on 6 February 2006. For example, this is a quote from page 78 of the QDR:
"Current and emerging challenges highlight the increasing importance of Foreign Area Officers, who provide Combatant Commanders with political-military analysis, critical language skills and cultural adeptness. The Military Departments will increase the number of commissioned and non-commissioned offices seconded to foreign military services, in part by expanding their Foreign Area Programs. This action will foster professional relationships with foreign militaries, develop in- depth regional expertise, and increase unity of effort among the United States, its allies and partners."
There is a lot more in the QDR that affects the human dimension in which FAOs work. Any doubts you might have had about how the senior leadership of DoD views FAOs will be dispelled after you read the 2006 QDR.
I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible at the 15 March luncheon and solicit your help and participation to make our Association both meaningful and fun.
Thanks.
Steve