George Washington University hosts the Foreign Area Officer Regional Skill Sustainment Initiative, consisting of seven specifically designed short courses provided annually. The aim of the courses is to ensure that Foreign Area Officers (FAOs) maintain and improve their knowledge and expertise on security issues germane to their work. The five regional and area studies security courses and two trans-regional security courses deliver to the FAO community high-level up-to-date knowledge relevant to U.S. national policy making, and include consideration of the interagency process and its impact on issues, the policies of key regional players, the roles and perspectives of third party influencers, and the culture, communication and negotiation styles appropriate to the regions being covered.
Courses Offered:
Languages/Other | Course Type | Course Pre-requisites | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Other: Regional Studies Course | Online | Topic: Climate Change and Resource Competition | Virtual |
Other: Regional Studies Course | Classroom | Topic: The Spectrum of Conflict | Washington, DC |
Other: Regional Studies Course | Online | Topic: Africa Command Seminar | Virtual |
Other: Regional Studies Course | Classroom | Topic: Central Command Seminar | Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL |
Other: Regional Studies Course | Online | Topic: Indo-Pacific Command Seminar | Virtual |
Other: Regional Studies Course | Classroom | Topic: European Command Seminar | Stuttgart, Germany |
Other: Regional Studies Course | Online | Topic: Southern Command Seminar | Virtual |
The courses employ active learning approaches, rather than a traditional lecture format. Participants are assigned some pre-course reading but the pedagogy is to back-load the reading, so participants complete it later. All courses involve a simulation exercise to embed learning about the key issues and the interagency process.