Deputy Commandant and Director of the FAO Program

Lt. Col. Ryan Kertis

Lt. Col. Ryan Kertis is a U.S. Army foreign area officer and currently serves as Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center deputy commandant and director of the Foreign Area Officer Program. He is a graduate of the DLIFLC Spanish Basic Course in 2016.

Prior to his assignment at DLIFLC, Kertis was assigned to U.S. Space Command, where he served as Strategic Partnerships Branch chief and deputy foreign policy adviser.

Kertis’ previous foreign area officer assignments include the Office of Defense Coordination in Mexico City, where he served as Army Section chief, responsible for the oversight and implementation of Department of State security assistance programs and Department of War security cooperation activities. Before his tour in Mexico, Kertis served with the U.S. Southern Command Security Cooperation Division as a regional security assistance desk officer, supporting security assistance programs throughout South America, Central America and the Caribbean. Kertis also served as deputy Army Section chief in the Office of Security Cooperation in Santiago, Chile.

Prior to becoming a foreign area officer, Kertis served as a platoon leader, troop executive officer and squadron assistant operations officer with 3rd Squadron, 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan. He subsequently commanded Bravo Company, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Kertis is a graduate of Washington State University and holds a Master of Arts in Latin American studies from Stanford University.