Hello Army FAOs!
Please see below for information on a new initiative to make the Weckerling Center a FAO center and also the first five podcasts from the new FAO Podcast:
Defense Language Institute FAO Center – Weckerling Center – Fundraiser to “FAO” the center
The Army FAO Association is happy to announce a campaign to support an effort to create FAO displays within the Weckerling Center at DLIFLC in Monterey, California. This initiative is to showcase our career field to both FAOs and linguists on the Presidio at Monterey. To do this we are accepting any monetary donations, unique items from your assignments overseas, and photos (digital or print) to make it into the Weckerling and show off our FAOs in action! Donations will be used to purchase display cases ($500 each), print and frame large photos of Army FAOs, and other Army FAO items.
Our first project is the establishment of the Colonel Sue Ann Sandusky Room!
Our fundraising goal is $15,000.00 – We’ve raised $1,000 so far! If you would like a tax free receipt we can provide that – please email our association directly to coordinate that.
If you’re interested in making a donation, please click the amount below to start the process. If you desire to donate more please click multiple times or email us directly and we can coordinate another donation method. For larger amounts we would prefer a check or electronic transfer to avoid any transaction fees (3.5%). Please reach out to armyfaoassociation@gmail.com for an address to send to our treasurer.
For donations of framed photos or prints, items from a country team assignment, or historical Army FAO letters or documents please email our President at armyfoaassociation@gmail.com and our team will contact you with shipping information. Digital photos ideally are 300 DPI or a physical photo that can be later scanned or displayed. For each item donated, we will require a release form for DLIFLC to own the item. This initiative is in accordance with military legal review, donations will be solicited and accepted by AFAOA on behalf of DLIFLC. Deadline for donations is 01 MAY 2025!
https://theforeignareaofficerpodcast.podbean.com
A podcast for the Foreign Area Officer Community to encourage mentorship and solidarity
#1 – LTC Wes Chaney
Lieutenant Colonel Wes Chaney is an infantry officer who currently serves as the Director for CENTCOM Regional Operations at the United States Army Security Assistance Command. In previous assignments has served as the Foreign Area Officer Branch Chief, SDO/DATT in Côte d’Ivoire and in Djibouti as the Chief of the Security Cooperation Office. He also served assignments at the Army G-3/5/7 and in the U.S. Army’s Africa and Southern European Task force. Lieutenant Colonel Chaney is married and is the proud father of two children.
https://theforeignareaofficerpodcast.podbean.com/e/1-ltc-wes-chaney/
#2 – MAJ Matt and Dr. Madi Saunders
MAJ Matt Saunders is an infantry officer at Latin America. Pharaoh currently earning his master’s degree at the Harvard Kennedy school of government. He is a Spanish speaker and completed his IRT at us embassy, Mexico city.
Dr. Madison Saunders is a practicing clinical audiologist. She earned her bachelor’s of arts in communication, sciences, and disorders from LSU in 2012. And her doctorate of audiology from the university of Kansas medical center in 2017.
https://theforeignareaofficerpodcast.podbean.com/e/2-maj-matt-and-dr-madi-saunders/
#3 – LTCs Alex and Emma Schade
Emma Shade is a U. S. Army Signal Officer from Georgia. She currently serves as Desk Officer at the Defense Intelligence Agency covering Sub Saharan Africa. Emma speaks French and Arabic, which she used in her assignments in N’Djamena Chad as the Chief of the Office of Security Cooperation and at SETAF-AF in Vicenza, Italy as the Sub Saharan Africa Desk Officer. She completed her IRT at the U. S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Alex Shade is from Ridgewood, New Jersey. A graduate of the Citadel Military College, he commissioned as a U.S. Army Armor Officer, where he served for two years before transitioning to Military Intelligence. An Arabic and German speaker, he currently serves on the Joint Staff J5 on the Israel Desk. Previous assignments include Army Attaché in N’Djamena, Chad, including nine months as Acting SDO/DATT, North Africa Desk Officer at SETAF-AF in Vicenza, Italy, and he completed his IRT at U. S. Embassy in Rabat, Morocco.
https://theforeignareaofficerpodcast.podbean.com/e/3-ltcs-alex-and-emma-schade/
#4 – MAJ Neil Law
MAJ Neil Law is a native of Queens, New York, Neil currently serves as a U.S. Army foreign area officer in Port-au-Prince Haiti. He received his commission as a transportation officer from SUNY Albany, and completed two deployments to Afghanistan before assessing into the FAO career field and completing in-region training in Mexico City. He is fluent in Chinese Mandarin, Chinese Cantonese and Spanish.
https://theforeignareaofficerpodcast.podbean.com/e/4-maj-neil-law/
#5 – LTC Jason Morales
Lieutenant Colonel Jason Morales was raised in Naranjito on the island of Puerto Rico and has been an Engineer Officer, Special Forces Officer, and finally a foreign area officer during his military career, now serving in Office of Defense Coordination in Mexico City. Jason served previous tours in Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador, and as an army inter-agency fellow at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
https://theforeignareaofficerpodcast.podbean.com/e/5-ltc-jason-morales/