Other Duties as Assigned

By LTC Paul S. Gendrolis

The Foreign Area Officer is a force multiplier for the battlefield commander. This was certainly true of FAOs who served in Operations Desert Shield/ Storm, and it is true today for FAOs who serve in Bosnia, Macedonia, and Kosovo. But what about during peacetime operations? Can a FAO be a force multiplier when there is no war? We think of FAOs performing major functional duties such as attache, security assistance officer, and political-military officer. But FAOs are often tasked to perform "other duties as assigned" - missions not found in a standard job description.

The purpose of this article is to discU.S.s two "other duties" where FAOs put their area expertise to the test in accomplishing missions where there was little advanced warning and no formal course of instruction. The first mission was the evacuation of Kurds from northern Iraq in 1996; the second was the rescue and relief operations conducted during Turkey's AugU.S.t 1999 earthquake.

In the fall of 1996 when Saddam HU.S.sein stepped up military ground operations in northern Iraq, a political decision was made by the Clinton Administration to relocate Iraqi opposition groups and Iraqi Kurds who had worked for the United States Government (U.S.G). Over a three-month period, Operation Quick Transit moved over 6700 men, women, and children from northern Iraq, through Turkey, to Guam for eventual resettlement in the U.S.. The U.S. Ambassador to Turkey was tasked to oversee and coordinate this massive effort involving the State Department, U.S. military elements, and non- governmental organizations (NGO). Among the many players were three FAOs, with over 20 years of experience in Turkey between them, the Army Attache, the Political-Military Officer (PMO) for the Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) Turkey, and a retired FAO assigned to the Embassy.

The Ambassador and the Chief, Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) Turkey, a U.S. Air Force Major General, realized the complexity of the task, made it their top priority, and recognized the valuable FAO assets on their respective staffs, immediately setting them to work in the planning and execution of the relocation mission. The Army Attache was appointed the Ambassador's team chief and dispatched to southeastern Turkey to the Iraqi-Turkish border crossing at Habur Gate to implement U.S.G policy.

Quick Transit took place at a time when the GOT was simultaneously conducting military operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Marxist terrorist organization, and politically engaging the leaders of the Iraqi Kurdish opposition groups. This put the FAO at the border in the middle of an extremely volatile situation. As the senior representative of the U.S.G, he was required to cross the border into northern Iraq to meet Iraqi opposition leaders and NGO representatives to coordinate personnel evacuee lists, security requirements, and border crossing procedures. This required extremely close coordination with the regional "super-governor" and the Jandarma and Army commanders. Since Habur Gate is located in an area under martial law, the GOT appointed as its representative an official with broad powers and responsibilities to oversee the political-military operations in areas encompassing more than one province, hence the super- governor. He worked closely with the military commanders, especially the Jandarma, in executing his mission. The Jandarma is a para-military organization under the control of the Ministry of the Interior, except in times of war and national emergency when it comes under the operational control of the Turkish General Staff, as is the case in southeastern Turkey. In every sense of the word, the Army Attache was a strategic scout at the tip of the spear.

ODC Turkey's PMO worked closely with the Embassy's Political-Military Affairs Counselor to establish, man, and operate the Emergency Action Center (EOC), the embassy's communications link with the Army Attache and other downrange personnel, and with the National Security Council, State Department, Joint Staff, U.S. European Command (EUCOM), UN agencies, Turkish General Staff (TGS), and Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The retired FAO, who had also served in Turkey as the Army Attache, was invaluable in coordinating actions with TGS and MFA concerning air transport, personnel/equipment access clearances, and high level GOT decisions affecting mission accomplishment. It was the responsibility of the Ankara team to ensure that all U.S. higher headquarters, as well as TGS and MFA, were aware of current operations. A major challenge came in the form of aircraft size and runway capabilities, requiring a total change in the evacuation plan. Unless a FAO is a pilot, he/she usually knows little (and cares less) about runway requirements for 747s and the amount of runway damage caused in landings and takeoffs. FAOs in Turkey learned more than they ever cared to in the proper construction and placement of back-blast barriers!

The success of the mission was attributable to the hard work and dedication of hundreds of men and women, military and civilian. FAOs played a critical role in the daily successes of the operation, from coordinating border crossings to cross- checking flight manifests, from compiling daily activity reports to ensuring adequate baby formula and diapers were on-hand, from coordinating medical requirements for ill and pregnant passengers to ensuring the military units in Guam were ready to receive the Iraqi Kurds.

Let us now fast forward to 17 August 1999 when Turkey suffered its most devastating natural disaster in modern times. An earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale struck near the Sea of Marmara, destroying one of the most heavily industrialized and populated parts of Turkey. To date, the official death toll exceeds 15,000, with an unofficial count closer to 40,000.

The U.S. Embassy and ODC Turkey rushed personnel to the scene to coordinate U.S.G search and rescue, and relief efforts. And once again, among the teams sent forward were FAOs, the Army Attache and the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command's Liaison Officer (TRADOC LNO) to the Turkish Land Forces Command, who lent their language skills and area expertise in the disaster relief efforts.

As a member of one of the first teams sent to Istanbul by the U.S. Ambassador, the Army Attache assisted in the initial damage assessment and in coordinating the rescue efforts by the U.S. military and civilian agencies sent to the stricken areas. He coordinated actions with the GOT to facilitate the work of the U.S. Air Force humanitarian assistance assessment team, the Fairfax County Virginia search and rescue teams with their Turkish counterparts, and the immediate request for humanitarian supplies.

The TRADOC LNO was tasked with coordinating relief efforts and equipment deliveries with local GOT officials, U.S. Marine Corps units from the U.S.S Kearsarge naval task force, EUCOM, and Turkish contractors. In order to house the nearly half million homeless, the call went out for tents - preferably lined tents. Working closely with EUCOM and a local Turkish freight forwarder, the TRADOC LNO helped coordinate the delivery of 677 lined GP medium tents with fly-tents to the GOT officials of the worst-hit towns.

The immediate need for the tents was evident when the weather cooled and the rains came. Prior to the arrival of the tents, some people had chosen to remain in their damaged buildings rather than face the elements. In one six-story apartment building, the bottom floor contained a small "mom and pop" grocery store. Despite the fact that the building was visibly damaged and condemned, the owners of the store had jerry-rigged electricity and were back open for business. One can only hope that one of the many aftershocks which continued to hit the area did not bring the building down on their heads and that they soon relocated to one of the U.S.-provided tents put up by the U.S. Marines in numerous tent cities. The power of this earthquake was sobering and the degree of devastation witnessed was numbing when one realized that beneath the piles of concrete and rebar rubble were countless victims who could not be saved. At Topel Naval Air Base, outside the hard-hit towns of Izmit and Yalova, the U.S.MC established a tent distribution point. For days and nights after rescue efforts ceased and relief efforts intensified, there was constant movement on the two-lane road passing by Topel. The traffic consisted primarily of convoys of dump trucks taking the rubble away from the towns to sites that covered areas exceeding one square mile and were rapidly growing.

Occasionally a truck turned into Topel on its return trip to pick up a load of tents for the homeless in the driver's town. It lined up with all manner of vehicles waiting for tents - from small Tofas (late model Fiat equivalents) to flatbed trucks to pick-up trucks with trailers. On several occasions, the FAO was asked to mediate between the Marines, the truck drivers, and the Turkish families to help resolve the paperwork issues in getting their tents. The gratitude expressed by people who had lost family members and their whole world, but were still strong enough to carry on, cannot be described.

Credit for the success of this mission goes to the hundreds of people involved in both the search and rescue efforts and the follow-on relief operations. The FAOs involved were team players lendingt their expertise and specialized knowledge wherever needed. Whether providing a sitrep to higher headquarters or translating a shipping document or explaining a requirement to a Turkish counterpart, they used their FAO skills daily to get the job done.

Are either of these actions what you can expect to see on your FAO job description? No. Can you expect to be involved in these types of activities as a FAO? Count on it! What should you do? To quote the Scout motto, "Be Prepared."

First of all, favorably impress your commander, civilian or military, that you are up to the task and can meet any challenge. Ensure your commander knows you are a FAO with unique skills he/she must use to the maximum extent possible. Second, be ready for immediate deployment. You may not be trained in large-scale civilian evacuations or in disaster search and rescue methods, but you will have language skills, extensive travel experience in your country, official contacts at the highest levels, and know how to deal with people at every level. Finally, be knowledgeable. Always know what you are talking about. Gain the trust and confidence of your seniors by providing sound, logical, and intelligent advice.

By keeping this very short list in mind, you can always be in a position to be your commander's force multiplier regardless of the situation. There is no doubt that the FAOs involved in these two humanitarian missions were force multipliers for the U.S. Ambassador. FAOs are always force multipliers - in war or peace. And if so inclined, next time you review your FAO job description or write your OER support form, add a line, "Other Duties as Assigned: Humanitarian Missions." You never can tell!

LTC Gendrolis is a 48G, Turkish FAO, serving his fourth tour in Turkey. As a FAO, he has also served in Saudi Arabia, taught at DISAM, and mentored at DLIFLC.

1999, Foreign Area Officer Association
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