Brig. Gen. Allen Pepper, Commanding General at U.S. Army Security Assistance Command, delivers opening remarks for the launch of Phase 1 of the Joint Foreign Area Officer Course at the Weckerling Center on the Presidio of Monterey June 23-27, 2025.
More than 250 officers and their spouses gathered for the launch of Phase 1 of the Joint Foreign Area Officer Course at the Weckerling Center on the Presidio of Monterey June 23-27, 2025.
This five-day event aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the Foreign Area Officer career, highlighting their unique role as cultural and regional experts who bridge diplomatic and military objectives worldwide. Participants, who came from the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force, received briefings from senior FAOs and other subject matter experts on a wide array of topics pertinent to their future assignments, ranging from regional complexities to interagency collaboration.
Brig. Gen. Allen Pepper, Commanding General at U.S. Army Security Assistance Command, delivered opening remarks, underscoring the vital contributions of FAOs to global security cooperation. “I congratulate you on this job, as well as your spouses,” he told the audience. “This is often not an easy job.”
Setting a new attendance record, this year’s course welcomed over 70 FAO spouses, all preparing to navigate their next steps alongside their significant others. The Foreign Area Officer’s unique and demanding path often requires service members and their families to spend much of their professional lives overseas, frequently outside a traditional Department of Defense footprint. The steadfast support, resilience, and engagement of FAO spouses are critical to mission success and truly exemplify the strength behind the uniform.
While the mentorship program has been an annual component of JFAOC, this year it featured an exceptional number of mentors, with over 30 experienced Foreign Area Officers participating.
While the mentorship program has been an annual component of JFAOC, this year it featured an exceptional number of mentors, with over 30 experienced FAOs participating.
“Mentors are FAOs who have had several assignments in their career and are able to share these experiences with new FAOs,” said Lt. Col. Ryan Kertis, a Western Hemisphere expert who speaks Spanish. “The idea is to share best practices with the trainees who are just at the beginning of the program.”
These mentors were on hand to share invaluable insights, practical advice and first-hand accounts of what to expect in a career that demands linguistic proficiency, cultural acumen and strategic foresight. Their presence was to ensure that new FAOs gain a realistic understanding of the challenges and rewards of their chosen path.
Brig. Gen. Allen Pepper gives remarks on Col. Sue Ann Sandusky as she is posthumously inducted into the Army FAO Association Hall of Fame.
The opening day’s events also included a poignant moment of recognition: the posthumous induction of Col. Sue Ann Sandusky into the Army FAO Association Hall of Fame.
A true trailblazer who passed away in 2024, Sandusky was a distinguished French FAO for Sub-Saharan Africa, serving multiple tours as a defense attaché in nations like Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Ivory Coast, and Nigeria. Sandusky was deeply beloved within the FAO community, particularly among her African FAO cohort.
