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| Our "Morocco corner" with everything we need for an entire year (minus the ball). |
Anyway, moving is boring...so I'll move on. Even though this blog is mainly about our experience in Africa, I wanted to take the time to reflect on my experience going through French language training as well as my Master's Degree program here in Monterey. For the benefit of those not totally familiar with the Army Foreign Area Officer training system, FAOs are required to be proficient in a language of their assigned region as well as have a Master's Degree in political/military/security related studies of the region. Some have one or both of these before beginning training as a FAO but most get it by attending the Defense Language Institute (DLI) and a grad school (somewhat) of their choice. For more detail on this process, here a link to a very good blog post that explains it top to bottom. I'm going to move on to more of a reflective tone about my personal experience checking these two boxes on the way to becoming a full-fledged FAO. Just one disclaimer: no two experiences are alike. My time in Monterey and opinions are entirely my own and do not reflect the official views or opinions of either of these two fine institutions or the military in general.
From February 2012 to August I studied French at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. A month before, I participated in the Joint Foreign Area Officer Course (held at DLI) for a week which is a great familiarization to the roles and skills required of FAO. That course went by quickly and has likely changed since then, so I won't go in to much detail on it unless anybody out there is really curious. DLI is unlike any other "military school" I've ever seen. Since the 40's this place has been pumping out studs and studettes able to "parler" in the most difficult (but most highly-demanded) languages in the world including Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, and tons of others.
I took French. Now, I'm not saying French is not hard. Learning any language is no walk in the park I'm simply saying that it's not on the same level with trying to pick up a whole new alphabet, reading right to left, and contort your mouth. That's all. Unlike Arabic and Chinese students who can be in a course for a up to two years, our French course lasted 6 months total. I had some French background living in bi-lingual Canada for six years and taking a year in college so I hit the ground running to an extent. Even so, six months to grasp a language felt like a shotgun blast of linguistics to the face to pretty much our entire class of 16 officers, Non-commissioned Officers, and enlisted Soldiers from all branches of service. We had some fantastic civilian native-speaker instructors who made student learning a priority. The time they had with us was short so the pace of learning was quick. After a week we were already listening and reading to long passages and having basic conversation with each other. The level of homework was reasonable (and much less than that of the level three and four languages), so there was ample time at home with the (then pregnant) wife after the 8am to 3pm day.
I enjoyed the time at DLI since I got to meet some great people from all walks on military life. Soldiers fresh from Army basic training preparing to be crypto-linguists, Non-Commissioned Officers changing their mission specialty or picking up additional skills, Foreign Area Officers in training like myself, and other Officers heading off to directly embed with foreign armed forces. Despite this mix, the attitude in the classroom was very relaxed yet professional. When it was all said and done, not only did we all learn French; I think we all learned a little about life among the other ranks and services of our own military.
Perhaps one of the best decisions I made in the last two years (and one I would recommend to anyone in this position) was to stay in Monterey after DLI and attend the Naval Postgraduate School for my Master's Degree requirement to be a FAO. I say this not only because NPS is a great academic institution (and I'm not just saying that because I'm done), but also because it was a great opportunity to stabilize my family in the same location instead of moving to go to grad school somewhere else or conduct in-region training (IRT) after language training as most FAOs do. A big driver in this decision was the fact that Sabrina was due to give birth right at the end of DLI and moving (possibly to sub-Saharan Africa) with a few-week-old baby was not ideal.
I will be honest and say that had it not been required for Foreign Area Officer training, I would have probably delayed going to graduate school at least for a few more years (maybe longer). I am now happy to have gone and feel prepared now to go on IRT with a well-developed understanding of politics and culture of the region. NPS is a military school run by (you guessed it) the US Navy. Being an alumnus of West Point and an avid fan of Army sports, I felt just a little bit like an outsider but soon realized that there are a great deal of other Army folks here (as well as Air Force, Marines, and even Coast Guard folks) to keep the Navy company. Culturally (just like at DLI) I learned a lot about our sister services. For example, aviators (especially in the Navy) seem like they will go to great lengths to let you know they're a pilot including wearing a thick, fur-lined, leather "Top Gun" jacket over their khaki button down shirt in high-80 degree weather when the rest of us ground folks are in short sleeves.
I was in the Department of National Security Affairs (NSA for short) with mostly civilian faculty who brought with them a lot of experience both in their field of study and working with the US government/military so they knew generally where we were coming from and where we were going. From the first day, however, it became evident that 7 years removed from academics and book-learnin' meant I had to learn how to be a student again: how to read book and long articles with a critical eye and for retention, how to study in the age of Facebook, how to write (something other than an operations order) and most importantly, how to do it all without letting up on my role as a Dad and husband (this last one turned out to be a harder adjustment than I though it would be). Being a military school, you are required to attend the occasional briefing and wear uniforms once a week. Honestly, this was not a problem, and it was even a good reminder of our military status (something perhaps more easily forgotten at other civilian schools). Courses were held in 3-month quarters: quick and to the point. Since I was only there for a 12 month program, I completed a comprehensive examination at the end instead of writing a thesis. Given over a week, this is definitely challenging, organizing relevant concepts I've learned over a year into two in-depth papers.
After graduating this coming Friday, we start on our roadtrip east to stay with family for a bit before moving on to Rabat. These past (almost) two years have been about learning in the classroom. Now, the learning continues on the road both in Morocco and traveling the sub-continent of Africa below the desert for the course of a year. Thanks to the French and African studies I've very briefly described here, I go in with my family with the confidence needed to get around and the context to understand what we see and experience. Stay tuned. The adventure has yet to begin.
