MONTEREY, Calif. – U.S. Marines attended the Joint Foreign Area Officer Course (JFAOC), Phase I, at the Naval Postgraduate School and U.S. Army Garrison Presidio of Monterey, California, June 24-28, 2024.

Selected Marines from across the Fleet, along with their spouses, took part in the five-day course that provides newly assigned foreign area officers (FAO), regional affairs officers, and foreign area staff noncommissioned officers from all military branches with an orientation to the FAO career field.

Attendees for this iteration received guidance from U.S. Army Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli, Commander, U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe. Cavoli, a foreign area officer with a concentration in Eurasia, is the most senior FAO in the U.S. Military.

“Being a good FAO starts with being a good American, but you must also know your job, your individual branch of service, and the other services in the joint force, be smart and adaptable, know the host nation partner government, military, language, culture, and society, stay physically fit, be confident, and communicate, speak, and write clearly,” said Cavoli. “There is no ‘how-to’ guide to being FAO but knowing how to bring value to the U.S. Military, the Embassy Country Team, and the host nation partners is a good start.”

The course includes briefings from senior FAOs and other experts on many career-relevant topics including what to expect in different positions around the world and how to best integrate with the host country you are living in.

Marines and their spouses met counterparts from other branches, building invaluable relationships and enhancing their professional networks for future collaboration. The FAO community is inherently joint in nature, and the relationships built during JFAOC, Phase I, are undoubtedly beneficial as they serve in their roles to further the U.S. Government’s security objectives.

“My wife, Natalye, and I attended the JFAOC in preparation for our future assignment to Rio de Janeiro as a FAO,” said U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Tomas Aguilar, a ground supply officer and regional security studies master’s student. “My wife is completely new to military life and was feeling uneasy about future overseas assignments and being away from her family, but after the presentations and meeting so many other spouses going through the same experience, she is now very excited and enthusiastic about our future assignments overseas.”

The Marines in JFAOC, comprised of field grade officers, company grade officers, and staff noncommissioned officers, were competitively selected from various occupational specialties to serve as international representatives assigned to critical positions at geographic combatant commands and U.S. Embassies around the world.

The next JFAOC course is scheduled for February 2025. For more information about the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, please visit https://www.dliflc.edu/

For more information on becoming a Marine FAO, RAO, or FAS, please visit https://www.ppo.marines.mil/Units/Strategy-and-Plans-Division/International-Affairs-Branch/International-Affairs-Program/