State Partnership Program

Video by Ernest Gunasekara-Rockwell

America’s Strategy Is Outrunning Its Force

Air University Public Affairs Multimedia

Aug. 1, 2022 | 38:51

Major Tim Bettis, USAF, "America’s Strategy Is Outrunning Its Force: Why the Military’s Diplomatic Corps Is in Dire Need of Reform," Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs 5, no. 4 (July-August 2022): 176-88, https://media.defense.gov/2022/Jul/31/2003046335/-1/-1/1/13%20BETTIS_VIEW.PDF/13%20BETTIS_VIEW.PDF.
This article argues that no clear strategy exists that employs the military's diplomatic force in a way that is coherent, unified, and relevant with toady's strategic reality. Up until March 2022, when it was finally updated, the most current DOD guidance for the Foreign Area Officer (FAO) corps was published in 2007, still referred to the ·Global War on Terror,· and was written amid America's unipolar moment. While a new version has come out with some welcomed changes, including the formation of a ·FAO Council,· clearer roles and responsibilities for the oversight of Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) staff, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, and military departments, among other key stakeholders, as well as a more succinct definition of what joint effects a FAO brings to the field for better utilization by other DOD elements, the document cannot serve as a standalone solution capable of modernizing the FAO program for the era of strategic competition. In addition to undertaking a comprehensive review of the strategy and implementation guidance that links the function of the FAO corps to its wider institution, this article recommends that the Pentagon consider three additional actions for modernizing the employment of FAOs for today's challenges.