Operating in the Gray: A Foreign Area Officer’s Experience Supporting Ukraine

Major Freddy Manjarres, U.S. Army

Photo: provided by author, all rights reserved.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of War, the U.S. Army, or the U.S. Government.

In April 2025, I started working as the Army Program Manager within the Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC). The last four months in Kyiv have been marked by a stark contrast between the urgency of war and the rhythm of daily duty. Russian missile and drone attacks have intensified, often striking civilian infrastructure in the early morning hours—leaving behind shattered glass, burning debris, and momentary power outages. Air raid alerts are a near-daily occurrence, frequently interrupting work, sleep, and even key meetings. Yet amid this persistent volatility, our mission continues.

As an active-duty Foreign Area Officer (FAO), I have had to perform a delicate balancing act: ensuring continuity of operations, responding to shifting priorities, and representing U.S. interests—all while adapting to the harsh realities of a war zone. This is the gray space where FAOs operate—where diplomacy meets combat urgency, and ambiguity defines the terrain.

Operating in that space requires constant coordination—not only within the U.S. Embassy Country Team, but also with broader efforts such as the Security Assistance Group–Ukraine (SAG-U), headquartered in Wiesbaden. SAG-U synchronizes the U.S. military’s multi-domain support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) for training, equipping, and sustainment. ODC-Kyiv functions as a vital connective node in this system, linking Embassy authorities, SAG-U planners, and Ukrainian counterparts. My daily responsibilities require translating field-level Ukrainian sustainment requirements into actionable coordination with SAG-U, while ensuring strategic alignment with U.S. interagency goals. This cross-boundary facilitation—between tactical realities on the ground and operational planning at theater level—illustrates the enduring FAO role of integrating across seams where others often see division.

In early 2024, the Defense Security Cooperation Service (DSCS) issued a solicitation seeking experienced security cooperation professionals to support ODC-Kyiv for six-month temporary duty (TDY) assignments. Despite the active conflict, DSCS and ODC leadership made a deliberate decision: prioritize security cooperation (SC) expertise over regional familiarity. I felt honored to be selected as the Army Program Manager, even though my prior assignments focused on the Western Hemisphere. It was a clear signal that adaptability, SC proficiency, and the ability to operate in the gray mattered most.

Shortly after arriving, I was tasked to represent ODC-Kyiv at the NATO-led Operational Force Development Process (OFDeF) in Poland. This quarterly event brings together more than 27 NATO and partner countries to coordinate security assistance to Ukraine through various working groups. I was embedded in the Land Programs Working Group—an arena shaped by fast-moving priorities, constrained timelines, and complex multinational coordination.

Here, the value of my FAO training and experience enabled me to adapt the working group structure to accommodate multinational dynamics and facilitate engagement between Ukrainian and allied counterparts. I introduced the Joint Ukrainian Multinational Program – Services, Training, and Articles Rapid Timeline (JUMPSTART), a Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) initiative designed to align donor funds with validated Ukrainian requirements. Most participants had not yet heard of JUMPSTART, and the initiative quickly became a point of interest for states seeking efficient procurement pathways outside bilateral channels.

The ambiguous nature of my role intensified back in Kyiv. About two weeks after OFDeF, my assignment was to organize a U.S. Embassy-based Bradley Fighting Vehicle sustainment planning workshop for Ukraine’s M2A2 ODS (Operation Desert Storm improvements) vehicles. In this context, sustainment is far more than repair parts and maintenance—it includes battle damage assessment, major overhaul, and forward-deployed recovery efforts. The mission required engagement well beyond typical Security Cooperation Office (SCO) functions, involving program executive offices, key Ukrainian logisticians, and high-level U.S. Embassy stakeholders.

To frame the effort, we hosted a key leader engagement (KLE) between the U.S. Senior Defense Official/Defense Attaché (SDO/DATT) and the Director of Logistics for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Their discussion covered not only the Bradley fleet, but broader sustainment challenges affecting systems like M777 and M109 howitzers, HMMWVs, M113s, MaxxPro vehicles, and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). While not all issues were resolved, the open exchange demonstrated a growing operational trust—an essential currency for any ongoing SC relationship, especially during conflict.

Sustainment, however, does not occur in a vacuum. U.S. funding constraints are real. With prior-year Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funds largely exhausted and new Foreign Military Financing (FMF) levels still under review, we often lack firm commitments to relay to our Ukrainian partners. Yet, the expectation for continuity remains. The Ukrainian Logistics Command, rightly, considers reliable sustainment an operational necessity—not a luxury. FAOs must navigate these conversations carefully, balancing candor with credibility, and offering pathways where promises cannot yet be made.

To ensure the Bradley workshop had maximum utility, I structured it around a collaborative, multi-stakeholder model. In addition to key U.S. personnel, we included representatives from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense’s Department of International Defense Cooperation, the General Directorate of Military Cooperation, and other sustainment entities. The outcome was not just a deeper understanding of current gaps, but a roadmap for future coordination and logistical alignment.

This assignment reaffirmed for me that FAOs are not simply liaisons or advisors—we are integrators. We are trained and trusted to operate where standard procedures blur, and where the space between institutions, timelines, and expectations can be both the most difficult and most impactful. Our strength lies in navigating ambiguity—not avoiding it.

Though this is my first assignment in the European Command (EUCOM) area of responsibility, I have drawn heavily on prior FAO experiences, including work in Haiti and with partner militaries across the Western Hemisphere. The environments are different, but the operational logic is similar: uncertainty is constant; adaptability is vital. As the Army’s FAO Program continues to evolve to meet modern conflict demands, our ability to operate in this “gray zone” will remain a comparative advantage.

In Ukraine, FAOs are playing a pivotal role in shaping outcomes. Whether designing sustainment frameworks, coordinating with NATO allies, or fielding urgent partner inquiries, we operate at the critical intersection of strategy and execution. Our work may not always be visible, but its impact is real. We do not simply interpret the gray—we operate in it, and we thrive there.

About the Author

Major Manjarres is a U.S. Army FAO (48B) assigned to the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation and deployed to the Office of Defense Cooperation in Kyiv, Ukraine, as the Army Programs Manager for land combat systems. A prior-enlisted soldier and Green to Gold graduate, he has served in intelligence, counterintelligence, and security cooperation roles in the Central Command, Indo-Pacific Command, Southern Command, and Europe Command areas of responsibility.