CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED// ROUTINE R 261710Z APR 24 MID120001057656U FM CNO WASHINGTON DC TO NAVADMIN INFO SECNAV WASHINGTON DC CNO WASHINGTON DC BT UNCLAS NAVADMIN 085/24 PASS TO OFFICE CODES: FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N3N5/// INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N3N5// SUBJ/NAVY FOREIGN AREA OFFICER (FAO) COMMUNITY CALL FOR APPLICATIONS// REF/A/DOC/CNO WASHINGTON DC/30JUN2016// REF/B/DOC/OPNAV/17JAN19// REF/C/DOC/COMNAVPERSCOM/21JUN22// NARR/REF A IS OPNAVINST 1301.10C, NAVY FOREIGN AREA OFFICER COMMUNITY REF B IS OPNAVINST 1210.5B, LATERAL TRANSFER AND REDESIGNATION OF ACTIVE COMPONENT OFFICERS IN THE NAVY. REF C IS MILPERSMAN 1212-010, LATERAL TRANSFER AND CHANGE OF DESIGNATOR CODES OF REGULAR AND RESERVE OFFICERS. RMKS/1. The Navy Foreign Area Officer (FAO) Community is seeking motivated waterfront leaders to join the Navy's community of strategic operators, who leverage strategic thinking and human connections to deliver outcomes for America's Warfighting Navy and Joint Force. 2. Background. a. Foreign Area Officers are a community of all-domain strategic operators and warfighters who leverage waterfront leadership, strategic thinking, operational acumen, and human connections to deliver integrated deterrence effects, outpace adversaries in foreign theaters, and deliver combined, joint and fleet access to create a geo-strategic posture advantage to promote maritime security, ensure sea control and to project power. b. Keeping the fight forward in today's increasingly complex global security environment requires persistent forward presence, and FAOs provide an indispensable human element of the Navy's global posture. AOs work across all levels of the integrated fleet, the joint force, and the inter-agency as Naval attaches, as the Navy's certified uniformed security cooperation professionals, and as the Navy's community of experts in political-military affairs, strategy, plans, and policy. FAOs focus on delivering strategic and operational outcomes both alongside Allies & Partners and other countries. c. FAOs orient to the five geographic regions that correspond to the Geographic Combatant Command (CENTCOM, INDOPACOM, SOUTHCOM, EUCOM, and AFRICOM) Areas of Responsibility (AOR). The community assigns FAOs to an AOR after selection for lateral transfer, based on the FAO's preferences, career timing, qualifications, and community needs, with approximately 2/3 (or 215) of FAO billets overseas. Typical in-region billets include Embassy Security Cooperation Offices and Defense Attach Offices, and on OCONUS-based Joint and Navy staffs. When not in region, FAOs serve on staff assignments at CONUS-headquartered Geographic Combatant Commands, Navy Component Commands, OPNAV, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Joint Staff, Department of State and other interagency appointments. d. Navy FAOs serve in 82 countries around the world and often conduct missions from remote but strategically important nodes. At times FAOs live and work in non-permissive and oppressive environments where the United States needs a footprint on the ground to watch blind spots, to influence regional or global decisions, and to deepen American understanding of the geo-strategic environment. Multiple overseas postings in such settings require individual and family resilience, high states of readiness, iron-clad ethical behavior, and leadership skills well-suited to lead teams of high- impact interagency and multinational partners. The mission is challenging but highly impactful and personally rewarding. 3. Application and Selection Process. a. Lateral Transfer Board. The FAO Community selects officers applying for lateral transfers semi-annually as part of the regularly scheduled Navy Active Duty Officer Lateral Transfer and Re-designation boards, held in February and August each year. Officers from all designators may apply for lateral transfer into the FAO Community after a minimum of 4 years of commissioned service (YCS). Most applicants enter prior to 12 YCS, with a smaller number of more senior gains filling targeted requirements. Minimum eligibility and application requirements include: (1) Minimum 4 years commissioned service. (2) Current overseas suitability screening for applicant and all dependents, showing world-wide assignability to CENTCOM (NSA Bahrain) standards, documented on NAVPERS 1300/16 'Report of Suitability For Overseas Assignments. (3) Proof of TS/SCI clearance eligibility (letter from SSO). (4) Personal Statement including ranked AOR preferences. (5) Documentation of DLAB score 110 or higher (scores between 95 to 109 will be considered on a case by case basis). (6) Candidates should be within 18 months of PRD to be accepted as a FAO. (7) Officers applying for lateral transfer into the FAO community are required to complete an interview with a designated panel, led by an O6 FAO. b. Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) - FAO Tailored Community Transition (TCT). The SWO-FAO TCT program provides a pathway for SWOs to lateral transfer to the FAO community, following successful completion of their SWO Department Head (DH) tours. Following the annual SWO Department Head Screening Board, PERS-41 will advertise the opportunity to apply for SWO-FAO TCT to all successfully screened officers. Upon selection for SWO-FAO TCT, officers will be assigned to a region in accordance with reference (a), and detailed to complete FAO training requirements in close coordination with the FAO Junior Detailer during the officer's post Division Officer shore tour. Training requirements include an international security affairs master's degree and language training, and will take between 24-36 months depending on the officer's assigned region. Following FAO training, SWO-FAO TCT officers will complete SWO Department Head training requirements and be subsequently detailed to a SWO Department Head billet. SWO-FAO TCT officers will be automatically re-designated to 1710 upon successful completion of their SWO Department Head tours and a favorable record review screening by the FAO OCM. They will be assigned by the FAO Detailer to their next assignment at their normal PRD. 4. FAO Qualifications. Once accepted for lateral transfer, new FAOs' initial orders will typically be to Monterey, CA, Newport, RI, or Washington D.C. to commence training requirements leading to full qualification. Full qualification is conferred through the Additional Qualification Designation (AQD) FA1, FA2, FA3, FA4 or FA5, each of which corresponds to one of the five AORs. Full qualification is based on the following three milestones: a. A Master's degree in International Relations, Strategic Studies, or Regional Studies. b. Score of 2 in at least two of the three modalities (i.e. listening, reading, and speaking) on the Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT) or Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) in a foreign language of the FAO's assigned region. c. One-year experience in a FAO billet in the assigned region. 5. Additional information regarding the FAO community is available at the MyNavyHR FAO Community website at: https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Career- Management/Community-Management/Officer/Active-OCM/Restricted-Line/Foreign- Area-Officer/ and in reference (a). 6. Point of contact is CDR Chris Wallace, FAO Community Manager, (901) 874- 3694 or email christopher.l.wallace30.mil(at)us.navy.mil. 7. Released by VADM E. H. Black, III, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans and Strategy (N3N5).// BT #0001 NNNN CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED//