Foreign Area Officer

[North Star]

Is it possible to volunteer as a Foreign Area Officer in the Army National Guard?

[matthew.ritchie]

No. This career field is not available in the ARNG. It is highly competitive on active duty, so most people who want to get that career field are disappointed. You still have plenty of other options for service in the Guard, so I recommend having a conversation with your local Recruiter or Officer Strength Manager.

[North Star]

How about Civil Affairs or Psychological Operations?

[matthew.ritchie]

How about Civil Affairs or Psychological Operations?

Yes, those career fields are available ... BUT ... they are very small (so few options, and your nearest slot may still be very far away), and they are not "accession branches" -- meaning you must start in another field and transfer into them as a senior 1LT or CPT.

[North Star]

Yes, those career fields are available ... BUT ... they are very small (so few options, and your nearest slot may still be very far away), and they are not "accession branches" -- meaning you must start in another field and transfer into them as a senior 1LT or CPT.

Any field?

[LRSU_Dog]

To be an Officer in a CA or PsyOp unit you must have a Branch qualification in another CMF (Career Management Field) such as Infantry, Armor, etc. You cannot start from scratch with these (CA or PsyOp) positions in a military career as you can with the other branches.. However please be advised that as far as the PsyOp field is concerned you do not act as an FAO, the job is quite different.

You may want to check into the Military Intelligence Branch as an option if you are looking to have a specialization in a specific area or region. Likewise, units such as Special Forces do have internal requirements for additional duty requirements in regards to locations, area, regions and the sort based on thier mission needs and requirements.

The above may not be an FAO position, but in regards to options that might be of interest to you in regards to your fields of study, or career goals there are a variety of jobs that you might take a second look at.

One site I recommend to have a look at is: http://www.branchorientation.com

[North Star]

I'm interested in going into either MI, ADA, or FA. Any of those branches would qualify me for CA or PsyOp? Is it true that I have to go through airborne training for CA or PsyOp?

[LRSU_Dog]

These branches would not qualify you for CA or Psyop, however if accepted into one of these units after you are fully qualified into your branch (such as Infantry of Armor for example), you would be sent to additional training to qualified as a CA or PsyOp officer.

Be advised that CA and PsyOp are USAR and not ARNG.

It is not necessary or required to be Airborne in any of these units - there are only a few companies in the USAr that are on active jump status, to include the active duty group. However when looking at an officer career path Airborne is good to have, so is Ranger (for example) so do not overlook good training that will help you in your career.