By Debbie Gildea
Air Force Personnel
Line of the Air Force active-duty officers interested in opportunities to help build and sustain international relationships have until July 7 to apply for attaché officer duty at locations ranging from Burundi to Russia, Air Force Personnel Center officials announced June 7.
AFPC and the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force International Affairs are accepting applications for senior defense official/defense attaché, air attaché and assistant air attaché duty at 10 locations, with selectees reporting for training between January and April 2013, said Maj. Amy Rammel, the AFPC international affairs assignments chief.
“Attachés officially represent the secretary of defense, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, secretary of the Air Force and Air Force chief of staff to the host country defense ministry,” Rammel explained. “They provide critical advice to the U.S. ambassador and country team, and directly support our efforts to fight global terrorism.”
Several defense attaché offices have C-12 Huron aircraft assigned, so the attaché for those offices must be fixed-wing pilots.
Attaché applicants must be active-duty senior captains, majors or lieutenant colonels. Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve officers are not eligible to apply. Operations background, foreign language skills and experience in the region are highly desired, although not mandatory. Applicants must have taken the Defense Language Aptitude Battery test, and each applicant and all immediate family members must be U.S. citizens. Candidates must also have their assignment functional manager’s hard-copy or email release to compete for attaché duty.
To download the application, go to the Air Force Portal, search for “attaché program” and select the October 2011 attaché application option. Once complete, email the application to AFPC and international affairs at afpc.dpaos@randolph.af.mil and saf.iapa@pentagon.af.mil.
Applicants selected for an interview will be notified by Aug. 7. They and their spouses (if applicable) will spend four days in Washington, D.C., for the interview process, Rammel said.
For more information about attaché duty and other developmental opportunities, or other personnel issues, visit the myPers website at https://mypers.af.mil.