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Stephen Franke's avatar

Continuation of Observations follows:

The second SC-focused entity whose organization includes assigned FAOs is the US Marine Corps Security Cooperation Group (MCSCG), based in the Tidewater area of VA.

** MCSCG includes assigned, and on-call, FAOs with region concentrations (the CENTCOM AOR, in my case) to support its several SC-related training programs (i.e. Security Assistance Course, and other courses), and also includes FAOs in its several Country Liaison and Assistance Teams (CLATs) for SME focused support of each GCC.

Do not know about USAF SC-related courses or related / similar US Navy SC-related courses,

FWIW, historical note - In the early 1970s, the Dept' of the Army (DA) established a Military Assistance Officer Program (MAOP), which closely paralleled the existing FAO specialty program and career track. ** The MAOP was focused almost exclusively on developing and managing a cadre of MAOs -- qualified advisors and trainers, somewhat similar to the DOD's more-recent and ill-fated AfPak Hands Program, as best I understand -- to support the US military presence in Vietnam. For various reasons, DA disestablished the MAOP and folded its remnants into the FAO Specialty.

Regards to all,

Stephen H. Franke

LTC, FAO (FA 48G) / SECASST /

SOF / Attache / MI,

US Army Retired

San Pedro, California

"FAOs Forward!"

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Stephen Franke's avatar

Interesting and insightful article. Some additional observations:

[1] There are FAOs assigned to two other DOD organization which design and conduct pre-deployment preparation programs (PPPs) to sensitize, orient, train and otherwise prepare members of their respective Service-resourced SCO/SAO teams (i.e. MTTs, NETTs, capability assessment teams, etc.) and other personnel outbound to SC-related missions (assignees to advisor billets in US SCOs in the host country).

[2] Those two entities are:

A. Military Advisor Training Academy (MATA) at the US Army TRADOC's Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE) at Fort Benning, GA.

** The MATA conducts the Combat Advisor Training Course (CATC), which basically provides MOSQ-like qualification / transition training to US Army personnel selected for duty with the Army's relatively-new SFA Brigades (SFABs).

** The MATA faculty includes one FAO MAJ, in FA 48X. Have no details on the role or participation of that FAO in the POI of the CATC.

(more later.)

Regards to all,

Stephen H. Franke

LTC, FAO (FA 48G) / SC / Attache / MI,

US Army Retired

San Pedro, California

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