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R 161159Z SEP 05
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1NT/N3/N5//
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INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1NT/N3/N5//
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UNCLAS //N01520//
NAVADMIN 234/05
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1NT/N3/N5/SEP//
SUBJ/NAVY FOREIGN AREA OFFICER PROGRAM FY06 SELECTION BOARD//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1.  NAVY IS CREATING A NEW FOREIGN AREA OFFICER (FAO)
PROGRAM IN FY-06.  THIS SMALL, ELITE CADRE OF OFFICERS WITH
OPERATIONAL EXPERTISE, REGIONAL AND CULTURAL AWARENESS, AND FOREIGN
LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY WILL PROVIDE POLITICAL MILITARY PLANNING
SUPPORT TO MAJOR NAVY AND COMBATANT COMMANDER STAFFS, BUILD PARTNER
NATIONS CAPACITY IN THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM, DEVELOP MARITIME
DOMAIN AWARENESS, AND HELP COMBATANT COMMANDERS SHAPE THE
INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ENVIRONMENT.  SELECTED FROM MID-GRADE
OFFICERS, FAOS WILL FORM A NEW RESTRICTED LINE (RL) COMMUNITY WITH
ITS OWN COMPETITIVE CATEGORY AND PROMOTION OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH
FLAG RANK.
2.  IN DECEMBER 2005, THE FIRST FAO SELECTION BOARD WILL SELECT THE
INITIAL GROUP OF OFFICERS FOR TRAINING THAT WILL BEGIN IN THE SPRING
OF 2006.  FOLLOWING THIS BOARD, THE COMMUNITY WILL ACCESS OFFICERS
VIA THE SEMI-ANNUAL LATERAL TRANSFER/REDESIGNATION BOARDS.  THE NEW
COMMUNITY WILL GROW SLOWLY BUT STEADILY OVER THE NEXT 15 YEARS UNTIL
IT REACHES AN END STRENGTH OF APPROXIMATELY 500 OFFICERS.  NAVY WILL
RETAIN ITS FAO SUBSPECIALTY PROGRAM (ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATION
DESIGNATOR CODES F01 THROUGH F04) AS AN IMPORTANT ADJUNCT TO THE NEW
FAO COMMUNITY.  WHEN CAREER TIMING PERMITS, THOSE OFFICERS WILL BE
DETAILED TO BILLETS THAT CAPITALIZE ON THEIR TRAINING AND SUPPORT
REGIONAL PLANNING EFFORTS ON MAJOR STAFFS.
3.  THE DECEMBER 2005 FAO BOARD WILL SELECT TWO GROUPS OF OFFICERS:
    A.  ENHANCED FOREIGN AREA OFFICERS (E-FAO).  IN AN EFFORT TO
ACCELERATE ONGOING THEATER SECURITY COOPERATION EFFORTS, AND
LEVERAGE PREVIOUS NAVY INVESTMENTS IN THE FAO SUBSPECIALTY PROGRAM,
APPROXIMATELY 100 OFFICERS OVER THE NEXT 4 YEARS WILL BE PROVIDED
TAILORED LANGUAGE TRAINING AND DETAILED TO KEY FLEET BILLETS.  THE
DECEMBER 2005 BOARD WILL SELECT UP TO 25 OFFICERS IN GRADES O4 TO
O6 (YEAR GROUPS 79 TO 94).  A SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE MUST HAVE A
DEMONSTRATED LANGUAGE APTITUDE IN THE AREA OF INTEREST (AS
DOCUMENTED BY A CURRENT DLAB/DLPT SCORE) AND EITHER A GRADUATE
DEGREE IN REGIONAL STUDIES OR THE COMBINATION OF A GRADUATE DEGREE
IN AN APPLICABLE FIELD (GENERAL POL-MIL, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS,
NATIONAL SECURITY, ETC.) AND SIGNIFICANT REGIONAL EXPERIENCE (I.E.
COUNTRY DESK OFFICER ON A MAJOR STAFF, FOREIGN EXCHANGE PROGRAMS
SUCH AS PEP/OLMSTED SCHOLARS, OR HERITAGE OFFICERS WHO HAVE
IMMIGRATED FROM FOREIGN NATIONS).  ALL OFFICERS WHO MEET THE ABOVE
CRITERIA, WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAVE A FAO SUBSPECIALTY CODE, ARE
ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.
    B.  NEW BUILD FOREIGN AREA OFFICERS.  APPROXIMATELY 25 OFFICERS
IN GRADES O3 AND O4 (YEAR GROUPS 92 TO 97) WILL BE SELECTED FOR THE
NEW FAO TRAINING PIPELINE.  THESE OFFICERS WILL UNDERGO 18 MONTHS OF
GRADUATE EDUCATION AT THE NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL (NPS) AND UP TO
15 MONTHS OF LANGUAGE TRAINING AT THE DEFENSE LANGUAGE INSTITUTE
(DLI), BOTH IN MONTEREY, CA.  THIS TRAINING WILL BE FOLLOWED BY 3-6
MONTHS OF IN-COUNTRY IMMERSION TO ENHANCE LANGUAGE SKILLS AND BUILD
CULTURAL AWARENESS.  UPON COMPLETION OF TRAINING THESE OFFICERS WILL
BE DETAILED TO SPECIFIED STAFFS AND OPERATIONAL FAO BILLETS.  A LIST
OF SPECIFIC CANDIDATE PREREQUISITES IS PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 7 BELOW.
4.  FAOS WILL SPECIALIZE IN 1 OF 11 GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS AND BE
DETAILED FOR MOST OF THEIR FAO CAREER IN ONE OF FOUR CAREER TRACKS,
WHICH ALIGN WITH THE GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES OF THE FOUR OCONUS
COMBATANT COMMANDERS.  FOR EXAMPLE, A FAO SPECIALIZING IN MIDDLE
EAST/PERSIAN GULF COULD EXPECT TO SERVE IN AN EMBASSY IN THE GULF
REGION, ON THE JOINT AND OPNAV STAFFS IN THE PENTAGON, ON THE FIFTH
FLEET STAFF IN BAHRAIN, AND AT CENTAL COMMAND HEADQUARTERS IN TAMPA,
FL. REGIONS AND DISCIPLINES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
    A.  EUCOM/NAVEUR/SIXTHFLT CAREER TRACK
        (1) NORTH AFRICA
        (2) WEST AFRICA
        (3) EUROPE
        (4) RUSSIA AND EURASIA
    B.  CENTCOM/NAVCENT/FIFTHFLT CAREER TRACK
        (1) MIDDLE EAST AND SOUTH ASIA
        (2) EAST AFRICA
    C.  PACOM/PACFLT/SEVENTHFLT CAREER TRACK
        (1) INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA
        (2) CHINA
        (3) NORTHEAST ASIA
        (4) SOUTHEAST ASIA
    D.  SOUTHCOM/NAVSOUTH/SECOND AND THIRD FLEETS CAREER TRACK
        (1) LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
5.  OFFICERS SELECTED BY THE DECEMBER 2005 FAO SELECTION BOARD WILL
REMAIN IN THEIR PARENT COMPETITIVE CATEGORY FOR PROMOTION SELECTION
BOARDS HELD IN FISCAL YEAR 2006.  ALL DECEMBER 2005 BOARD SELECTED
OFFICERS AND FUTURE LATERAL TRANSFER/REDESIGNATION BOARD SELECTIONS
WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY REDESIGNATED IN THE NEW FAO RESTRICTED LINE
COMPETITIVE CATEGORY IN THE SUMMER OF 2006.  THE FISCAL YEAR 2008
PROMOTION PLAN (PROMOTION BOARDS HELD IN FISCAL YEAR 2007) WILL BE
THE FIRST TO HAVE SEPARATE PROMOTION BOARDS FOR THE NEW FAO
COMPETITIVE CATEGORY.
6.  PER DOD DIRECTIVE 1315.17, INTERESTED OFFICERS MUST HAVE THE
FOLLOWING MINIMUM PREREQUISITES TO APPLY:
    A.  A DOCUMENTED DEFENSE LANGUAGE APTITUDE BATTERY (DLAB) SCORE
OF 85 OR HIGHER OR ATTAINED A MINIMUM OF 1/1 IN A LANGUAGE ON THE
DEFENSE LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TEST (DLPT).  DATE OF TEST MUST BE
WITHIN FIVE YEARS.
    B.  A SUSTAINED OUTSTANDING OPERATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL
PERFORMANCE RECORD.
    C.  BE ELIGIBLE FOR OVERSEAS ASSIGNMENT PER OPNAVINST 1300.14C
(VERIFICATION TO BE MADE BY COMMANDING OFFICER AS PART OF
ENDORSEMENT LETTER).
    D.  TS/SCI SECURITY CLEARANCE ELIGIBILITY.
    E.  OTHER FACTORS THAT DEMONSTRATE A LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE OR
EXPERTISE IN A REGION, INCLUDING RELEVANT TRANSCRIPTS.
7.  THE DEPUTY CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS (INFORMATION, PLANS, AND
STRATEGY) (N3/N5) WILL SERVE AS FAO PROGRAM FLAG OFFICER AND WILL
OVERSEE THE OFFICER COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT.
8.  THE SELECTION BOARD WILL CONSIDER INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCE AND
DESIRES WHEN ASSIGNING OFFICERS TO A FAO CAREER TRACK.  ONCE FAO
DESIGNATION AND TRAINING ARE ACCEPTED, ALL CANDIDATES WILL INCUR A
THREE-YEAR COMMITMENT (I.E. ONE OVERSEAS TOUR) UPON COMPLETION OF
TRAINING TO BE SERVED CONCURRENTLY WITH ANY OTHER OBLIGATION.
9.  OFFICERS IN PAYGRADES O-4 TO O-6 WHO ARE FULLY QUALIFIED FAOS
WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY PAY (FLPP) PER
OPNAVINST 7220.7E.  SOME LOCATIONS MAY ALSO BE ELIGIBLE FOR HARDSHIP
OR HAZARDOUS DUTY PAY.  THE STATUS OF EXISTING INCENTIVE PAY IS
UNDER REVIEW BY THE DOD LANGUAGE OFFICE TO PROVIDE GREATER
INCENTIVES TO MAINTAIN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY.
10.  INTERESTED OFFICERS CAN APPLY PER ENCL 1 OF OPNAVINST 1301.10A,
WHICH CAN BE ACCESSED AT WWW.NPC.NAVY.MIL/OFFICER/
MAJORSTAFFPLACEMENT/FAO+INFORMATION.HTM.  APPLICATION DEADLINE TO
N3/N5 IS 14 NOVEMBER 2005.  APPLICANTS MUST SUBMIT APPLICATIONS WITH
A POSITIVE ENDORSEMENT FROM THEIR COMMANDING OFFICER TO THE DEPUTY
CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS (N5SP) WITH A COPY TO THE COGNIZANT
DETAILER IAW THE FORMAT IN OPNAVINST 1301.10A.  APPLICANTS MUST HAVE
TAKEN THE DLAB/DLPT WITHIN THE PRECEDING FIVE YEARS AND HAVE SCORES
RECORDED IN THEIR OSR AND SUBMIT COPY WITH THEIR APPLICATION.  TO
ORDER THE DLAB OR DLPT, HAVE UNIT EDUCATION SERVICE OFFICER OR
PERSONNEL OFFICER SEND SPECIFIC LANGUAGE REQUEST TO:  NETPDTC CODE
321, ATTN:  MR. DARRIN WILLIAMS, BLDG 2435, RM 1139, PENSACOLA, FL
32509-5126.  EXPECT A MINIMUM OF FIFTEEN BUSINESS DAYS FROM REQUEST
TO RECEIPT AND UP TO THIRTY BUSINESS DAYS FOR GRADED RESULTS TO BE
RETURNED.  TELEPHONE NUMBERS:  VOICE DSN/922-1364/5, COMM (850)
452-1364; FAX DSN/922-1694, COMM
(850) 452-1694 OR EMAIL AT darrin.williams@smtp.cnet.navy.mil.
11.  FOREIGN AREA OFFICER COMMUNITY MANAGER/OPNAV POC:  CDR GREGORY
H. MOLINARI (703) 697-8761, OR EMAIL AT gregory.molinari@navy.mil.
12.  RELEASED BY VADM G. L. HOEWING, N1/NT AND VADM J. G. MORGAN,
JR., N3/N5.//
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