NEWS FROM THE ARMY FAO PROPONENT OFFICE
As usual, there are lots of things going on here in the Proponent Office. We
continue to work closely with our brethren in PERSCOM FAO Assignments Branch and
Colonels' Division to ensure we're all pulling in the same direction. Here's just a sample
of what's been going on.
(1) For the third year in a row, I'm happy to report that Army FAOs were well
represented on the Colonels' promotion list. This was the last O6 board held under old
OPMS 2 rules and, thus, had a mix of both single track (OPMS XXI) and dual track
(OPMS 2) officers. In both categories, FAOs did extremely well. Promotion
percentages for "In the Zone" officers averaged 80% against a 52% Army average.
Additionally, we had a very large number of FAOs picked up in the "Above the Zone"
category. We in the Proponent offer each of you who were selected our most heartfelt
congratulations!
(2) A proposal is being finalized to revise the FAO Career Field Designation
(CFD) Process. Unexpected/unprogrammed losses at CFD impact our population of
officers in several ways. Having invested significant personal time and effort in FAO
training, some officers find themselves unexpectedly returned to their basic branch. As
a result of their time away from branch assignments while in training, they then find
themselves behind their basic branch contemporaries who have continued on in
"normal" Operations Career Field assignments. Families also feel the pinch as they
have made significant commitments to support spouses undergoing FAO training.
Finally, scarce resources invested in training are ultimately lost, as many of these
officers will never serve a FAO assignment. The resource issue is then compounded by
the fact that a new crop of FAOs which has had no training gets designated by the CFD.
The Proponent is forced, in effect, to pay twice for one officer.
Under the proposal we're forwarding, FAOs would be career field
designated in a similar fashion to Army Acquisition Corps (AAC) officers. Once an
officer commits to start training, CFD into Operations Support/FA48 occurs. That will
serve to protect the officer's commitment to the program, keep our officers on an even
footing with the AAC functional area when it comes to promotion consideration, and will
protect the investment of training dollars.
Now in a final draft form, the proposal has received a great amount of
support. I anticipate it will be one of several issues discussed during the upcoming Army
Development System Update (ADSU) to be presented to the CSA sometime in July.
That's just a sample of what's been going on. June will find us out in
Monterey for the semi-annual FAO Course. COL Manny Fuentes continues to do
yeoman's work out there in providing on the scene mentoring for FAOs in the course.
Additionally, his focus on professional development activities for both the FAOs and
spouses has been a fantastic addition to our program.
Finally, in keeping with our desire to expand knowledge in the field on our
ICT program, MAJ Warren Hoy provides the next installment -- focused on Brazil.
Again, congratulations to all of those great FAOs selected for promotion to O6. Keep in
touch with us and provide feedback on what we can do to improve the program.
COL Mark Volk
2001, Foreign Area Officer
Association
Springfield, Virginia
Maintained by LTC Steve
Gotowicki.
http://www.faoa.org