Expanding the Role of the Foreign Area Officer

[Stan]

Since becoming a FAO I have strongly felt that we can and should contribute to the operational side of the Army.

The FAOs I know, and have worked for, have been the very reason I was successful as an Army NCO.

Their significant contributions -- often at great personal risk during civil war, social and political upheaval -- sadly were never recognized. My FAOs frequently adjusted "National Attention" to situations gone haywire, and took a good many ass-chewing doing said.

Welcome aboard !

Regards, Stan

[Juan Rico]

i've been a long time lurker of this forum, and just wanted to mention that you guys are top notch. i've learned much from reading thru the various discussions and debates. don't know if you guys have read this article by kaplan (it's actually part of 'imperial grunts'):

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/200403/kaplan

Our hotel was two hundred yards farther along the railroad tracks, a poured-concrete blockhouse with hard beds, hideous furniture, and cracked windows. Wilhelm quickly changed into his BDU, adorned with Ranger and paratrooper insignia, and put on his new U.S. Army black beret. We all gathered in Wilhelm's room. Colonel D. Battsengel, the leader of the Mongolian delegation, ordered breakfast brought up: buuz, or mutton-ball dumplings in goulash; fatty cold cuts; and salty camel's-milk tea. We cleaned our plates.

"The American military will eat anything, anywhere, anytime," Wilhelm announced to our hosts. Major Altankhuu translated. (Though Wilhelm's Russian is fluent, his Mongolian is more rudimentary.) Everybody laughed. After asking the name of a Mongolian officer a second time, Wilhelm, apologizing, said, "I always ask for a name twice. When I remembered a woman's name the first time, I knew she would be my wife." Laughter again. Wilhelm's friendly banter and broad smile never faltered.

After small talk about wrestling and martial arts, Colonel Battsengel told us he was from northeastern Mongolia, where Genghis Khan was born and probably is buried. Formally welcoming us to East Gobi Province, Battsengel said that the tempo of development there was about to pick up dramatically, with the establishment of an economic free-trade zone, manufacturing plants, and a Chinese casino on the border. The population of Zamyn-Uud, he said, would soon increase from 10,000 to 30,000. The Chinese were pushing hard to establish casino gambling in Mongolia, an enterprise that favored their business acumen and organizational skills.