International Affairs Specialist (IAS) Program in Second Year of Implementation
The Air Force recently selected 87 officers from a field of more than 400 volunteers to become the inaugural class of International Affairs Specialists. They will enter training this summer to become either Political-Military Affairs Strategists (PAS) or Regional Affairs Strategists (RAS).
The International Affairs Specialist (IAS) Program, the Air Force component of the DoD Foreign Area Officer Program, was established to produce a cadre of globally skilled airmen needed to achieve success in the Global War on Terrorism and today's expeditionary environment. The vital need for these global skills is reflected in the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review, the Defense Language Transformation Roadmap, and the 2006 Air Force Posture Statement
PAS candidates complete a political-military affairs oriented IDE program, such as Air Command and Staff College with the PAS specialized study track or the USAF Political Advisor (POLAD) internship, while RAS candidates earn a regionally focused masters degree at the Naval Postgraduate School and learn a foreign language at the Defense Language Institute. They then serve in key international positions at regional Major Commands, Combatant Commands, and U.S. Embassies where they can integrate their unique combination of knowledge and skills into plans and operations and build effective relationships with our global partners; relationships that are critical enablers for today's Expeditionary Air and Space Force.
While this select group of officers will become international affairs experts, they will remain skilled and competitive in their primary Air Force specialty. The IAS Program is designed to complement an officer's overall career development through carefully managed career broadening assignments in international affairs.
117 mid-career line officers are targeted for deliberate development in the second year of competitive selection; 42 officers with 7-10 years of commissioned service for the RAS track and 75 officers with 10-12 years of commissioned service for the PAS track. Selection targets are distributed across most line career fields. (Officers in the medical, chaplain and judge advocate career fields are currently not eligible to apply.)
More information about the IAS Program and implementation dates may be found on the IAS website through the Air Force Portal at:
And on the Air Force Personnel Center website at:
For direct assistance, please contact Maj JJ Casey at (703) 588-8321 or john.casey@pentagon.af.mil