OSD recently approved the Defense Language Transformation Roadmap, which "outlines steps DoD must take to ensure that foreign language capability and accompanying regional area expertise are developed and maintained to be employed as strategic assets in the Global War on Terrorism and in future military operations." The Strategic Planning Guidance for FY 2006-2011 established four goals for language transformation: 1) Create foundational language and cultural expertise in the officer, civilian, and enlisted ranks for both Active and Reserve Components. 2) Create the capacity to surge language and cultural resources beyond these foundational and in-house capabilities. 3) Establish a cadre of language specialists possessing a 3/3/3 level ability (reading/listening/speaking). 4) Establish a process to track the accession, separation and promotion rates of language professionals and Foreign Area Officers. Working groups within the Army Staff have been meeting regularly to determine how the Army can best meet the requirements. You may view the entire document at the following link: https://www.perscomonline.army.mil/OPfamos/Defense%20Language%20Transformation%20Roadmap% 20OSD%2018762-04.pdf.
The FAO Proponent, HRC, and G-1 convened a DA Early Career Field Accessions Board on 15 March 2005 to formally access officers in YGs 97 and 98 into FA 48 and to assign AOCs. A similar board was held last November for YG 95 and 96. These boards guarantee selected officers FAO training and eventual CFD in FA 48. This allows selected officers to make training and career planning without having to worry about subsequent return to basic branch or another functional area at the conventional 10 year time in service CFD point. The select goal was met for YG 97. However, it was not met for YG 98; consequently, another accessions board will convene within the next 9 to 12 months to consider all qualified YG 98 aspirants. The YG 95 and 96 boards also returned to branch several officers who had already begun or were slated to begin FAO training but could not be retained in FA 48. The officers who returned to branch were largely from shortage branches, although a number of officers from high donor branches were also returned. These determinations were driven by the needs of the Army to ensure FA 48 requirements were met as well as the needs of the basic branches and other functional areas. Even though the returned officers may have been disappointed, the board allowed them to continue to progress in their branch and to make appropriate career decisions in a timelier manner than if they had been required to wait for the CFD board at the ten year TIS mark. The leadership in G-1 has assured the Proponent that these boards will continue until such time as the Army implements a formal early CFD process. Results for the 15 MAR board should be formally released in early to mid-April.
As the OPMS 3 review continues, all indications suggest that the Army will likely transition to an early CFD process for most functional areas at the seven year TIS point. (Some FAs may adopt an earlier CFD point.) With the elimination of the Functional Area Designation (FAD) process, FA 48 will now build its database of FAO aspirants through a preference statement available to all Captains through AKO. We will release an Army-wide message to officers in the target YG so that everyone is made aware when the next board will be held and can input their information into the AKO database. Once we create our database of interested officers, we will send out questionnaires to those officers and ask them to return it with the requested information prior to the board. The board will select the number of officers by AOC according to Army requirements. Once selected, officers will receive the FA 48 designation and a specific AOC and will coordinate their training program with HRC.
In the September 2004 FAO Journal we acknowledged the impact Army Transformation will have on the functional area. We briefly discussed how structural changes at the UEy level would result in additional FA 48 billets. This is still the case and the project is moving from its "conceptual" phase to "implementation phase". UEy conversion could begin as early as late FY05, with Third Army (ARCENT) expected to be the first organization to undergo UEy conversion. USARPAC, USAREUR, USARSO, and NORTHCOM will follow suit over the next several years. We continue to consider other options to establish FAO structure at the UEx and, perhaps, down to the UA level, although these remain very preliminary.
I hope you have found this forum to be informative. Please feel free to contact me or any of the Program Managers for any further information on the issues I have discussed here.