MARADMINS : 156/14
R 311344Z MAR 14
UNCLASSIFIED/
MARADMIN 156/14
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC PPO PL//
SUBJ/ANNOUNCEMENT AND SOLICITATION FOR VOLUNTEERS FOR USMC FOREIGN AREA STAFF NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICER (FAS) PROGRAM//
REF/A/MSGID:MARADMIN/496.11/YMD:20110830//
REF/B/MSGID:MARADMIN/724.11/YMD:20111211//
REF/C/MSGID:MCO/1520.11F/YMD:20130327//
NARR/REF A IS THE ANNOUNCEMENT SOLICITING VOLUNTEERS FOR THE INITIAL BETA TEST OF THE FAS AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS STAFF NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS (RAS) PROGRAM. REF B IS THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF PARTICIPANTS SELECTED FOR THE INITIAL BETA TEST OF USMC FAS-RAS PROGRAM AND ASSIGNMENT OF ADDITIONAL FAS-RAS MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY (MOS). REF C IS THE MARINE CORPS ORDER FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS PROGRAM.//
POC/NIELSEN, ALEXANDRA/LTCOL/UNIT: CMC WASHINGTON DC PPO PLU/EMAIL:ALEXANDRA.NIELSEN1(AT)USMC.MIL/TEL:(703)692-4365//
POC/REYES, RAMON/MGYSGT/UNIT:CMC WASHINGTON DC PPO PLU/NAME:RAMON.REYES(AT)USMC.MIL/TEL:(703)692-4366//
POC/FISHER, CLAYTON/GS/UNIT:CMC WASHINGTON DC PPO PLU/NAME:CLAYTON.FISHER(AT)USMC.MIL/TEL:(703)614-0322//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1. THE PURPOSE OF THIS MSG IS TO SOLICIT APPLICATIONS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS PROGRAM (IAP) TO CONTINUE THE FOREIGN AREA STAFF NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICER (FAS) BETA TEST.
2. CMC, IN HIS 2010 PLANNING GUIDANCE, TASKED DC PLANS, POLICIES AND OPERATIONS (PPO) TO "THOROUGHLY EXAMINE CURRENT FOREIGN AREA OFFOCER (FAO) REGIONAL AREA OFFICER (RAO) PROGRAMS, POLICIES AND BILLETS, AND RECOMMEND OPTIONS TO INCREASE CAPACITY" IN ORDER TO SUPPORT HIS PRIORITY OF BETTER EDUCATING AND TRAINING MARINES TO SUCCEED IN DISTRIBUTED OPERATIONS AND INCREASINGLY COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS. IN 2011 CMC APPROVED THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A FAS PROGRAM. THE FAS PROGRAM IS INTENDED TO LEVERAGE THE DIVERSITY OF THE SNCO CORPS TO PROVIDE THE MARINE CORPS WITH AN EXPANDED CAPACITY TO IDENTIFY, TRACK, AND EMPLOY MARINES WITH LANGUAGE, REGIONAL AND CULTURE (LREC) EXPERTISE. FAS WILL SERVE AS LREC SMES TO MAGTF COMMANDERS AT THE TACTICAL AND OPERATIONAL LEVEL, THROUGHOUT THE PHASES OF MILITARY OPERATIONS, AND ACROSS THE RANGE OF MILITARY OPERATIONS. NINE SNCOS WERE SELECTED FOR THE INITIAL FAS BETA TEST AND HAVE SERVED ON MEU, MEF, AND MARFOR STAFFS AND WITH MARSOC, THE MARINE CORPS SECURITY COOPERATION GROUP, AND THE CENTER FOR ADVANCED OPERATIONAL CULTURE LEARNING. ALTHOUGH PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENTS OF THE FAS PROGRAM INDICATE THAT A FAS FREE MOS WOULD SUFFICIENTLY SATISFY A VALID REQUIREMENT, IAP WILL CONTINUE THE BETA TEST TO GATHER FURTHER INFORMATION TO INFORM THE DIRECTION OF THE PROGRAM.
3. QUALIFIED ACTIVE DUTY MARINES WILL BE SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CONTINUATION OF THE FAS BETA PROGRAM THROUGH EXPERIENCE AND PARTIAL STUDY TRACK. MARINES WITH EXPERIENCE IN ALL REGIONS AND LANGUAGES ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.
4. APPLICANTS FOR THE BETA TEST SHOULD MEET AT LEAST ONE OF THE FOLLOWING THREE REQUIREMENTS:
4.A. POSSESS AN ASSOCIATES DEGREE.
4.B. POSSESS SIX MONTHS OF FOREIGN IMMERSION OR PROFESSIONAL LEVEL REGIONAL EXPERIENCE. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS PROGRAM, FOREIGN IMMERSION IS DEFINED AS IN-DEPTH, DAILY INTERACTION WITH FOREIGN POPULATIONS.
4.C. DEMONSTRATED INTERMEDIATE LEVEL FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY (SCORE A MINIMUM OF LEVEL 1+ IN TWO OF THE TESTED MODALITIES OF THE DEFENSE LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TEST (DLPT) OR ORAL PROFICIENCY INTERVIEW (OPI).
5. A SELECTION PANEL WILL CONVENE AT HQMC (PPO PLU), AND THE FOLLOWING PREREQUISITES WILL APPLY:
5.A. APPLICANTS MUST BE MEMBERS OF THE ACTIVE COMPONENT.
5.B. APPLICANTS MUST HAVE COMPLETED THE MINIMUM TIME ON STATION REQUIREMENTS BY JUNE OF 2014 AND COMMUNICATED WITH THEIR PRIMARY MOS MONITOR TO DETERMINE POTENTIAL FOR ASSIGNMENT AS A FAS AND FOR FOLLOW ON TOUR AFTER COMPLETING THE PROGRAM.
5.C. APPLICANTS MUST BE ELIGIBLE FOR SECRET CLEARANCE.
6. SELECTION FOR THIS PROGRAM WILL BE BASED UPON THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE MARINE CORPS, ASSIGNABILITY CONSIDERATIONS, SNCO CAREER DEVELOPMENT, AND ABILITY TO SUCCEED IN ACADEMIC AND INDEPENDENT DUTY ENVIRONMENTS. SELECTED CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSIGNED TO SPECIFIC UNITS FOR UP TO TWO YEARS, IN ORDER TO COMPLETE A WORK-UP AND DEPLOYMENT CYCLE. TIME ASSIGNED TO THE FAS PROGRAM WILL BE APPROXIMATELY 24 MONTHS. FAS MARINES WILL RETURN TO THEIR PMOS-OPERATING FORCE ASSIGNMENT AT THE COMPLETION OF THE PROGRAM.
7. APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS PROGRAMS WEBSITE AT: HTTPS(DOUBLE SLASH)HQMC.USMC.AFPIMS.MIL(SLASH)PPO(SLASH)UNITS(SLASH)STRATEGYANDPL ANSDIVISION(PL)(SLASH)INTERNATIONALAFFAIRSBRANCH(PLU) (SLASH)INTERNATIONALAFFAIRSPROGRAMS(SLASH)IAPRESOURCES.ASPX
7.A. APPLICATION PACKAGES MUST BE SUBMITTED VIA THE ENDORSING CHAIN OF COMMAND TO HQMC PLU-8 NLT 15 MAY 2014.
7.B. NOMINATIONS WILL BE ENDORSED BY THE FIRST O-6 IN THE CHAIN OF COMMAND.
7.C. DIGITAL (PDF) COPIES OF THE ENTIRE PACKAGE ARE THE STANDARD SUBMISSION. THESE PDF FILE(S) SHALL BE E-MAILED TO THE HQMC PLU-8 POCS LISTED IN THIS MESSAGE.
7.D. LABEL ALL PDF FILES WITH "LAST.FIRST.REGION.LANGUAGE" (E.G. REYES.RAMON.LATAM.SPANISH).
7.E. IF COMMANDS ARE UNABLE TO CONVERT THE APPLICATION PACKAGE TO PDF, CONTACT MGYSGT RAMON REYES VIA EMAIL AT RAMON.REYES(AT)USMC.MIL OR (703) 692-4366.
7.F. HQMC (PPO-PLU) WILL EVALUATE ASSIGNABILITY CONSIDERATIONS OF EACH PACKAGE BEFORE SUBMITTING THEM TO (MMEA-85) FOR FINAL DECISION.
8. QUESTIONS REGARDING FAS MAY BE ADDRESSED VIA EMAIL TO MGYSGT RAMON REYES AT RAMON.REYES(AT)USMC.MIL OR (703) 692-4366.
9. RELEASE AUTHORIZED BY MAJGEN MICHAEL A. ROCCO, DIRECTOR, STRATEGY AND PLANS DIVISION, PLANS, POLICIES AND OPERATIONS, HEADQUARTERS, U.S. MARINE CORPS.//