IA program provides political-military, cultural experts

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  • By Staff Sgt. Julie Weckerlein
  • Air Force Print News
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  Air Force officers can expect to gain international insight, foreign language proficiency and cultural understanding by becoming international affairs specialists, said an Air Force executive here.

"Under the old foreign area officer program, international skills were self-obtained," said Bruce Lemkin, deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for international affairs. "Those skills were underutilized, and the right officers were not placed in the right jobs at the right times."

He said the new program's intent is to make sure both the officer and the Air Force will benefit.

"The Air Force is committed to selecting competitive officers for this new program," Mr. Lemkin said. "It's recognized that regional (international) expertise is valuable to the warfighting commander. These officers will be critical enablers for the expeditionary missions we are a part of today."

In the past, many officers who participated in the foreign area officer program were not getting promoted at the same pace as their peers. That's not going to be the case with the International Affairs Specialist Program.

"The IA specialists' billets are high visibility -- most reside on major command staffs, air staff, joint staff and defense agency staffs," Mr. Lemkin said. "And, consistent with the force development concept, there will be carefully managed and deliberate development in both the primary career field and the IAS program, which will ensure officers will remain competitive for promotion."

Within the program are two types of positions: regional affairs strategist, or RAS, and political-military affairs strategist, or PAS.

"RAS officers will normally attend 18 to 30 months of deliberate development at the Naval Postgraduate School and the Defense Language Institute," said Maj. J.J. Casey, chief of IAS Strategic Plans and Programs. "They will graduate with a regional, international-affairs type master's degree and foreign language capability tied to their region of study."

He said the training for a PAS officer is a little different, with one of three educational options.

"PAS officers attend either one year of IAS deliberate development at (Air Command and Staff College) on the political-military studies track, one year at (the Naval Postgraduate School) earning a master's degree in national security studies, or they take on a political adviser internship," Major Casey said.

Requirements for the IAS program are:

-- Open to all line active-duty officers except judge advocate officers.

-- RAS applicants must have seven to 10 years of commissioned service, be worldwide deployable and be eligible for a top secret security clearance. They must have a current Defense Language Aptitude Battery score on file. Although waiverable, this score should be 95 or higher. To apply, officers must indicate on their transitional officer development plan that they wish to compete for RAS deliberate development and check the two boxes labeled "I would like to be considered for a Special Selection Opportunity (SSO) / Developmental Education Opportunity" and "I desire a special duty assignment."

-- PAS applicants must be intermediate development education selects and have 10 to 12 years of commissioned service. To apply, officers must indicate on their transitional officer development plan that they wish to participate in the IAS PAS Program. They should check the two boxes labeled "I would like to be considered for a Special Selection Opportunity (SSO)/Developmental Education Opportunity" and "I desire a special duty assignment." Intermediate developmental education selectees should also reflect their desires by selecting one of the three PAS alternatives in the drop-down menu on Air Force Form 3849, PME/AFIT/RTFB Officer Worksheet.

Past international experience is a plus. Foreign language skills are not a prerequisite, but are an advantage.