Naval Postgraduate School Welcomes Former Astronaut as New Dean of Students

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Leonardo Carrillo, Naval Postgraduate School Public Affairs

MONTEREY, Calif. (NNS) -- A former astronaut and Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) alumnus presided over the school's graduation ceremony as the school's new dean of students March 25.

The graduation was the first under command of Capt. Alan Poindexter.

During the ceremony, Poindexter reflected on his new position and the opportunity he'll have to shape Navy leaders.

"I'm very glad to be back serving in this position," said Poindexter. "I think it's a great opportunity for me to lead and influence officers as they're going to school here. I think I have a lot to offer them and I hope I can serve them and help them make their way through the school."

A veteran NASA astronaut who commanded the STS-131 mission, one of five final space shuttle missions, Poindexter attributed part of his success to the technical education he received at NPS.

"The technical knowledge and the technical education certainly assisted me," said Poindexter. "I learned about systems management, systems engineering and it allowed me to be more analytical in my thought process. So when I became a project officer and then an astronaut, I was able to think through problems and find a solution. My NPS education was instrumental in my follow-on tours."

Poindexter considers education to be an important part of an officer's career path and summed up his thoughts on that subject in one word -- critical.

"Critical," he stated. "I think it's critical. Graduate education is one of the key items in an officer's bag of tools as he or she progresses in their career. Whether it be in engineering, management, business or one of the many other great degrees we offer here, it will serve the individual and the Navy or their service very well to have that capability and that background."

Poindexter affirmed that his strategic goal is to continue to serve the student population. He said that it was his job to ensure that the students reach their educational goals and succeed, while at the same time making sure that their families are taken care of.

"My job is leadership," said Poindexter. "I have to make sure that students make it through the school successfully and graduate on the other end with a diploma in their hand. But it's also important not to forget to take care of your family and enjoy Monterey. We're really blessed to be in such a great area, and so while we're focused a lot on our academic future, we also need to remember that we're in Monterey and can take some time off and enjoy where we are."

In addition to the educational and auxiliary benefits NPS offers, Poindexter said that the school also offers a unique environment, an environment in which students get to interact with officers from different backgrounds.

Poindexter suggested that students make use of this unique environment by participating in courses outside of their curriculum, as well as the Enrichment Week activities, and also to get to know their classmates from other services and countries. This is one of many ways in which NPS has evolved, Poindexter said, while the school is a naval institution, it has greatly expanded its student base.

"Take advantage of the opportunity to interface with people from all over the world and from our other services," said Poindexter. "Learn from their experiences as well as your own and broaden your network … you can learn a lot from them.

I'm really honored to be back here in this job working for the school and working for the students," he continued. "I have an open door policy and I would be glad to talk with or counsel anyone, and I hope that I can influence them in some small way."

Foreign Area Officers Help Bridge Cultural Divides

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

Dec. 6, 2007 - A cadre of military officers with special foreign language training and cultural expertise are helping the Defense Department and U.S. military bridge gaps between American allies and local foreign populations. More than 1,400 foreign area officers, or FAOs, possess a vital foreign language, regional expertise and cultural awareness that are integral to the Defense Department's warfighting capability, the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Plans said at the Pentagon today.

"Foreign area officers are an extraordinary group of people who have in-depth knowledge of cultures, of regions of the world and languages of the world, sometimes the more difficult and strategic languages, who play an incredibly important part in our ability to communicate and work with other countries," said Gail H. McGinn.

Strategic languages identified by the Defense Department include Arabic, spoken by an estimated 206 million as a mother tongue, and 246 million as a second language; Dari and Pashto, Afghanistan's primary languages; and Chinese dialects.

FAOs work in the Pentagon on the joint staff, service staffs, and with the defense agencies as regional desk officers, planners and policy officers. They also work at combatant commands and U.S. embassies around the world, advising commanders on a region's cultural aspects and geopolitical issues, and enhance military-to-military relations.

U.S. Africa Command, which is slated to become fully operational next October, will benefit greatly by having FAOs in place from the start, McGinn said.

"Those foreign area officers will know parts of Africa, they will know some of the languages of Africa, they will be able to be in the African community, talking with the leaders and advising," she said, noting that other Combatant Commands have requested additional FAOs.

McGinn -- who has a language background in French, German and Danish -- said the Defense Language Institute is establishing a broad curriculum to address the steady demand for trained linguists across the globe. She noted that that by 2012, some 1,000 officers are expected to join the ranks of FAOs.

McGinn said the Defense Department and all military service branches established standards for FAOs several years ago. Officers seeking to become FAOs first must successfully perform their military specialty, speak a strategic or dominant language in their area of concentration, possess a graduate level education that focuses on their region of expertise and have experience and in-country training in the countries and region of their specialty.

"The personal touch of (FAOs) being able to understand and communicate in the language of the country you are situated in is a sign of respect for the country, and a sign that the United States is aware of the fact that we need to be able to communicate and operate in other places," McGinn said. "It isn't all about us being Americans and (speaking) English."

FAOs are "key links" in building coalition partnership in regions across the world, McGinn said. "It is our corps of individuals who have professional foreign language capability, ... (who are) our ambassadors, they can help us with alliances, they can help us understand parts of the world we find ourselves in," she said.

Language has the unique ability to connect U.S. operators with people of other countries, McGinn said.

"To be able to communicate with the people, to understand what they're saying, to understand what they're thinking, to understand what they're habits are and the correct way to interact with people ... is incredibly important," she said.