The Army's FAO Program -- Room for Improvement?

[John T. Fishel]

As someone once told me, the best career manager is you, yourself. And a senior level mentor is very desirable.

Reorganizing can only create the opportunity to fix a problem - it really can't fix it and often has unintended consequences. While teaching at CGSC, a few years after you had gone on to bigger things, I felt it incumbent on me to advise my FAO students that they could do everything right and still retire as Majors. Nevertheless, they would still have the assignments they wanted. OPMS XXI meant that most FAOs could expect to retire as LTCs and many would have a chance at COL. That was a good thing but it also made it somewhat more difficult to re-blue.

I'd like to see the system take a half step backwards so that FAOs could still dual track and have a chance at some of the command slots and even reach for the stars. Neverless, I second Tom in noting that there are incompetent FAOs in both the single and dual track systems ... who are/were also incompetent in their basic branch.

Cheers

JohnT

[Pete]

A friend of mine became an FAO with the specialty of Greece after he commanded a Field Artillery Detachment there in around 1980. He was not aware that the U.S. Army had provided assistance to the Greek government fighting against the Reds during 1947-1950 until I told him so. One would think that would be an important thing for an FAO on Greece to know -- it's certainly no secret to the Greeks.

[John T. Fishel]

we have known FAOs who were not particularly good in heir specialties (not to disparage your friend) - either FAO or basic branch. That said, I believe FAO training to be worthwhile in itself.

Cheers

JohnT

[Pete]

My friend said the biggest incident during his command of the detachment in Greece was when some of his soldiers got into a bar room brawl with some members of the Greek Communist Party. The main Greek Communist newspaper had an overheated story on how U.S. Army soldiers had made an unprovoked attack on law-abiding Greek citizens.

[Pete]

On a gun forum (jouster.com) I read that Greece is returning M1903-series and M1917 U.S. rifles to the U.S. Government, which are being sold to the public through the Civilian Marksmanship Program. I have not read of M1 rifles and carbines from Greece being offered for sale by CMP but without doubt some of them were sent there after WWII.