Dear Colleagues,
FAOs are truly great soldiers! Several months ago, I visited Pakistan and Afghanistan where I met with some of our very best politico-military experts. COL Tom Wahlen, USA, was the ARMA in Islamabad and COL Mike Norton, USA was the DATT in Kabul at the time of my trip. Tom is one of those truly invaluable individuals to the U.S. ambassador and the Country Team. He is a graduate of the Pakistani Staff College, served multiple tours in-country, knows the language and culture, and has close friends and contacts at the highest levels in the military. Tom's access, influence, and credibility with the senior military leadership in Pakistan was unmatched in the U.S. Embassy.
Mike is a Southeast Asian FAO who has honed his FAO skills with repetitive attaché postings. When he took over USDAO Kabul, he knew what the U.S. ambassador needed from him and how to get things done in an embassy environment. Mike Norton is the last staff member the ambassador meets with every day and serves as the nexus connecting State Department, DoD, and host-nation security interests.
Both Colonels Wahlen and Norton have made significant contributions to our national security and have measurably improved U.S. military-to-military relations with Pakistan and Afghanistan. These are FAOs to emulate.
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I would like to strongly encourage FAOs, throughout the world, to write articles for the FAO Journal. We were unable to publish a FAO Journal in June 2006, because we had not received any articles. FAOs are our only source of articles and have valuable stories and insights to share with other FAOs. Please contribute to the FAO Journal.
Finally, I would like to thank LTC Bob Olson, USA, Ret. who shared his thoughts about life after active duty for FAOs at our last FAO Policy Luncheon. My thanks also to all of you who attended the luncheon and to the Service representatives who updated us on their FAO initiatives.
Thanks,
Steve Norton