The Army FAO Training Program: Time to Break More Glass
Abstract
The unpredictable and more globalized world of the 21st Century requires U.S. Army officers with more language and cultural capabilities. The Army recognizes this need, and has increased authorizations into the Foreign Area Officer (FAO) career field by almost 30% percent over the past 10 years. At the same time, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the current fiscal crisis made the Army more aware of the cost in time and money to train FAOs. The Army conducted a review of the FAO Program in 2011, and recommended changes to improve the program. However, the changes implemented in response to the review focused primarily on making FAO training more efficient, not producing more effective FAOs. This paper looks at the history of the FAO training program and the role of the FAO in the 21st century. It then uses the current FAO training cycle to review each phase of FAO training, and proposes recommendations designed to ensure the Army efficiently produces the most effective FAOs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA589872
Entities
People
- Timothy D. Mitchell Jr.
Organizations
- United States Army War College