The Challenges for the Foreign Area Officer in Army XXI

Foreign Area Officer Association

By: Major General Alfred Valenzuela, US Army
Deputy Commander in Chief
United States Southern Command

On December 16, 1999, the Department of the Army released the Army Competitive Category promotion list to Colonel. Some 29 outstanding men and women Foreign Area Officers (FAO) were selected for promotion. As a member of that Board, I can attest to the difficulty in selecting tomorrow's senior FAO leadership. It was a tough experience, compounded by the fact that the files of all foreign area officers eligible were strong and merited promotion.


This Board was the 14th selection board that I have had the privilege to serve on. That having been said, I wish to share with my fellow FAOs some observations on FAO professional development and the future of our community.


The establishment of Army XXI positions us for success in the coming century, but it also poses some serious challenges to the foreign area officer. For the first time, single tracking as a FAO will be officially permitted. While many FAOs believe that this is just an affirmation of what has been going on for years in a "de facto" form, single-tracking presents future challenges that individual officers must be aware of. As a result, promotion boards will be especially sensitive for discriminators among FAOs that will set them apart from their contemporaries. In particular it is important for FAOs to:


Manage Your Training: The FAO program offers one of the best training and educational programs in the Army. Overwhelmingly, more officers apply for Functional Area 48 than there are positions. The language training, advanced civil schooling and in-country training experience gives the Army a huge competitive advantage over the other Services. That having been said, don't push the system. If possible, try to shorten your training period wherever applicable so as to increase utilization tours and save program costs. For example, if you were assigned to the US Army South, either in Panama or Puerto Rico, and are designated a Latin American FAO, don't ask for further in-country training. If you already speak French because you were raised in Belgium where your father was an international businessman, don't request additional language training. If you already have a FAO- related graduate degree that you acquired on your own, don't request Advanced Civil Schooling. Like the rest of the Army, we need to do more with less.


Remember, the less time you spend in training, the more time you can spend in challenging assignments thus proving your worth to our Army and Nation. I know of no one who got promoted because of a stellar Academic Evaluation Report or FAO In- Country Training OER.


Manage Your OERs: FAOs must be careful to insure that their manner of performance is appropriately reflected in their OERs. I have seen too many OERs attempt to say something positive about the rated officer but instead having the opposite effect. If you merit distinguishing praise, insure that your rater and senior rater say so. Poor English should not be the reason that you are denied promotion, command, assignments or professional educational opportunities. Along with this, the narrative needs to match the box chosen. Words like "my best officer" or "the best captain in the brigade" and "the finest officer in my Directorate", without the accompanying box being checked, sends confusing signals to the Board.
Educate Your Rating Chain: You need to educate your raters and senior raters, military and civilian alike. The fact that a GS-15 thinks that you have unlimited potential is important but his or her evaluation of your performance must resonate with a military promotion board. Raters and senior raters from other services also need to be sensitized to the important FAO work that you do. Perspectives by non-Army superiors in your rating chain with limited exposure to the Army FAO program may lead to incomplete or distorted descriptions of your performance. Remember that you are a missionary for the FAO community. Your future and that of our Functional Area depend greatly on your projecting a positive image, leaving a positive perception and while performing to the highest standards.


Manage Your Assignments: Now that Army XXI allows FAOs to single- track, a natural reaction on the part of many officers will be to seek repetitive assignments overseas within Defense Attaché Offices, US Military Assistance Groups or Military Liaison Offices. Under the new system, this can be very damaging to your career. Boards will now look more closely at the breadth and depth of FAO assignments. Moving from the Army Section Chief position within the US Military Assistance Group in Venezuela, for example, to the same position in Bolivia is tantamount to professional suicide. Vary your assignments as much as possible and remember that your promotion potential rests on how successful you are in a variety of assignments.


Equally career-ending are consecutive Washington DC or CONUS-based FAO assignments. To a Promotion Board, this suggests an aversion to the region you were so well trained to operate in. Stagger your CONUS and OCONUS assignments so as to demonstrate a variety of talents within different organizations. An non-scientific rule of thumb is to try, at a minimum, to serve in at least one assignment "down range" in your respective AOR, one assignment on a CINC staff and one assignment at the Army or Joint Staff level before you compete for promotion to Colonel. This will demonstrate that you not only know your particular AOR well, but that you can perform in a variety of assignments, which compliment your regional expertise.


If at all possible and if time allows, try to seek an Army assignment in between FAO assignments to maintain currency in your service. Good FAO assignments can be found within the US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), the Army Staff, and Major Army Commands (MACOMs), to name a few. These Army-specific FAO assignments allow for a vital "re-greening" process to maintain credibility within the Army and currency with Army issues.


An unfortunate reality of our system is that not all officers will be promoted. But our Functional Area more than compensates officers who are not selected for promotion with equally challenging assignments at their grade. But having said that, FAO assignment officers will also be on the lookout for officers holding up the line for other FAOs. At the moment, promotion to Colonel is running at or above the Army average. To support this positive trend, Assignment Officers will monitor assignments to insure that competitive officers are offered equally competitive positions. If you are a non- select for promotion to lieutenant colonel or colonel, your Assignment Officer will work with you to find you a rewarding assignment. But as we "grow" our future FAO leadership, Assignment Officers will also be looking for key assignments for officers with increased promotion potential.


Senior FAOs must also do a better job of guiding, mentoring and coaching our junior officers. What was good for us as we came through the ranks is not applicable today. While officers should continuously undertake rational self-assessments regarding their promotion potential, we senior FAOs must stay abreast of the latest trends and provide our subordinates with accurate and objective information and career development.


Also, wherever possible, we must look out for the greater interests of our community and positively "sell" and promote the benefits of a strong and vibrant FAO program to the Army at large. Good FAOs positively reflect the entire community while substandard performers should be identified early and removed from the program. We cannot afford even one bad officer within our ranks at a time when the Army is giving us the opportunity to grow as a single-track Functional Area. In overseas assignments, we are recognized and highly prized as the professional soldier-statesmen that we are. Now we must become ambassadors for our community within the Army as well.


Overall, I believe that the Army FAO program is healthy and I am proud to serve within it's ranks. That having been said, Army XXI will offer us many challenges as we embark into uncharted waters. Rest assured that there will be bumps along the way. I am working with the senior Army leadership to make the transition to Army XXI as smooth as possible. Work with your assignment officers and listen to their advice. There is no such thing as a bad FAO assignment. While none of us have the right answers all of the time, Assignment Officers will give you the benefit of their experience as FAOs along with their exposure within the inner workings of the FAO community. Nevertheless, remember that YOU are your best assignment officer. Continue to seek the difficult assignments, do well in them, and enjoy what I am sure will be a tremendously satisfying career.



Major General Alfred A. Valenzuela is the senior Foreign Area Officer currently on active duty. A Field Artillery officer and Latin American FAO, he has served in numerous command and staff positions. As a Field Artilleryman, he has commanded from Battery to Division Artillery. As a FAO, he has served in El Salvador, Grenada, Colombia, Panama and Peru where he served as the MilGp Commander. In addition, he has deployed to Somalia and Haiti. Prior to his assignment at the US Southern Command, Major General Valenzuela served as Assistant Division Commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia. Major General Valenzuela holds BA and MA degrees from St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas and is a graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College, the Armed Forces Staff College, the Air War College and the Inter American Defense College.
http://www.faoa.org/journal/armyxxi.html