March Update: Welcome to the New Board, and upcoming events

Foreign Area Officer Association of Monterey,

It is my pleasure to introduce to you the FAOAM Board.

Chairman:  Maj. Roberto Cuevas, USMC
Vice-Chair: LCDR Rich Reyes, USN
Comptroller:  LT Jerry Tzeng, USN
DLI Rep:  LT Christina Wong, USN
FAO-CAP Coordinator: Maj. Hector Lopez, USAF
Event Coordinator (or vacant post): Maj. Andrew Sanders, USA
Communications Director / Webmaster:  vacant

It has been an honor for me and the outgoing board to serve our membership over the past six months.  The FAOAM accomplished quite a few events, including Brown Bag Lunches, Quarterly Dinners,  JFSSPP events, the Africa Film Project, planning the upcoming FAO Conference, and other events that expanded the reach of the association.  As Chairman, I would especially like to thank the other board members – Jason, Christina, Erik, Rich, Kim, Gerald, Hector, Jim and Andy – for their hard work and dedication to the FAOAM.

Upcoming Events:
1. Monday, 7 March at 1200 in GL-109: Brown Bag Lunch with Anisa Mehdi, Fulbright Scholar in 2008-9 will speak on "What's a Woman Reporter to Do?  Nuances of covering Egypt and beyond"

2. Tuesday, 8 March at 1200 in n the M.E. Auditorium (the small auditorium behind Watkins): Bosnia and Herzegovina Minister of Defense.  2 members are welcome to join a special lunch with the MoD from 1100 to 1145.  If you are interested, please let me know at acoconno@nps.edu.

3. Special thanks to all LatAm FAOs that participated in the JFSSP social events and lunch with LTG Keen. It was a wonderful opportunity for FAOs to network and make connections as well as to learn from those that are currently assigned to billets within the AOR. Look forward to seeing even better participation next year.

4. Our next FAOAM social will be... Come meet the new board!

5. SAND-MIIS War and Peace Mixer on Friday, 7 April at Duffys Tavern (282 High St Monterey, CA).  The last one was a great success.  Security & Development Group (SAND-MIIS) is hosting the second of many War & Peace mixers to bring together the Security & Development communities in Monterey and at MIIS. There's a lot to learn from each other and a lot of connections to be made!  Blurred boundaries between civilian and military organizations prompt conflicts over what researchers call domain conflicts. Traditionally, development addresses civilians and security deals with combatants. In fragile states, the line between civilians and combatants is often blurred. This “domain conflict” is a critical problem in coordinating inter-organizational operations in these settings. With the goal of building “Domain Consensus” between these two fields, SAND-MIIS and Duffy’s bar host monthly War & Peace night’s in order to build informal understanding and connections between these two spheres. http://blogs.miis.edu/sand

More Brown Bag lunches are in the works, so please stay tuned to your new FAOAM Board.

Sincerely
LT Andrew O’Connor,
Chairman, FAOAM
Faoam.org

January Update

Happy New Year FAOs.  We apologize for the belated update.  The FAOAM has some events coming up soon. Others are still in the works, so be sure to check back soon.

FAOAM Social at the Trident Room: Thursday, 13 January, following the NSA meeting in King Hall (~1700).  Come meet your fellow FAOAM members.

FAO Conference: The conference will be 7-8 Apr 2011.  Initial planning is underway. Contact LCDR Jason Neal with any questions. janeal@nps.edu

Africa Films Project is still going on: Find out how easy it is for you to help the FAOAM select films for an upcoming conference at NPS on Africa.  Click here: https://sites.google.com/site/faoamonterey/africa-film-reviews

Other events are in the works.  We are scheduling Brown Bag Lunches and the Quarterly Regional Dinner.  Once the details are set, we'll let you know.

NOVEMBER UPDATE

1. Thanks to everyone who joined us at the Quarterly dinner at Indian Summer.  It was a tremendous success and we hope to see all of you (and more) again next time!

2. Brown Bag Lunch series: Dr. Tom Bruneau, NPS Professor in National Security Affairs, specializing in Civil-Military relations and Latin America,  “Lula and Beyond” on 1 December 1200-1250 in GL-109.

3. Planning is in full swing for the 2011 Foreign Area Officers Conference held at NPS.  This is one of the largest annual student planned and executed conferences held at NPS.  We are seeking members of each service's political-military community from all regions to assist with the event.  Several committees are needed to ensure the conference is engaging and professionally executed. Realizing that the primary duty at NPS is academics, we are looking for as many folks as possible to distribute the effort. Regardless of whether it's your 1st quarter or you are finishing up your thesis, please consider assisting and making the 2011 FAO Conference a professionally rewarding experience.

4. Africa Films Project: Find out how easy it is for you to help the FAOAM select films for an upcoming conference at NPS on Africa.  Click here: https://sites.google.com/site/faoamonterey/africa-film-reviews

5. Sponsor an International Officer from Saudi Arabia, Nepal, or East Timor.  The International Programs Office is looking for student sponsors for international officers arriving in January.  Contact Jason Munoz (jdmunoz@nps.edu, 831-656-3063) at the IPO for questions or to volunteer.

6. Join us for our regular social at the Trident Room on 18 November at 1500.

2011 FAO CONFERENCE

We are conducting a survey to gather information for the upcoming FAO Conference.  Please take the time to help us deliver the best product by consulting the following link:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFJSSTRhY0RKVlBRQ2xQRWxyaHhacmc6MQ

21 October 2010 - Brown Bag

October 21, 2010. Brown Bag lunch, 1200-1250, and movie screening at 1500 in Glasgow-109. Hugh Renfro produced the IMAX film “Arabia.” He has extensive experience in the oil industry and working with the Saudi King, Court, and military. He will speak at lunch that Thursday at then provide a free showing of his film at 1500. All are welcome.

 

2010 FAO Conference Videos Now Available

Videos of the 2010 FAO Conference panels are now available on FAOweb. Please login to view under the "Learning" link on the menu bar. Then click on 'Videos" and scroll down to to find the 2010 FAO Conference Videos Section.

DoD FAO Program Brief by LtCol Rapues

LTC Rapues - DoD FAO Program Brief forLTC Rapues - FAO Association of Monterey Conference (8-9 Apr 10)

Now posted on FAOweb under FAO Forum - Positions Section.