JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO — RANDOLPH, Texas,November 20, 2013 (AFNS) – Active duty line of the Air Force captains, majors and lieutenant colonels interested in attaché duty must submit an application by Dec. 12, Air Force officials said Nov. 19.
The Air Force Personnel Center and the Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs office are accepting applications for senior defense official/defense attaché, air attaché and assistant air attaché duty at 15 locations, with accompanied tour lengths ranging from 24 to 36 months, said James Yarbrough, Secretary of the Air Force attaché program 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,” he said. “They help build and sustain relationships between the U.S. and host country, provide critical advice to the U.S. ambassador and country team, and directly support our efforts to fight global terrorism.”
Attaché applicants must be active duty senior captains, majors or lieutenant colonels, and must have their assignment functional manager’s hard-copy or email release to compete for attaché duty. Applicants and all immediate family members must be U.S. citizens, and candidates must take the Defense Language Aptitude Battery test to compete for foreign language required positions.
Several defense attaché offices have C-12 aircraft assigned, so the attaché for those offices must be fixed-wing pilots, said Yarbrough. Rated officers who are not already regional or political affairs strategists may not apply for any of the attaché positions this cycle. Although not mandatory, operations background, foreign language skills and experience in the desired region are highly desired.
For interested officers who want more information, a webinar is scheduled for Dec. 4, 10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, on the Defense Connect Online site (https://www2.dco.dod.mil); enter “attaché” in the search window.
Applicants selected for an interview will be notified by Jan. 10, and they (and spouses, if applicable) will be scheduled for interviews.
For more information about the attaché program including application submission instructions, go to the Air Force Portal and enter “attaché program” in the search window, or visit myPers at https://mypers.af.mil and enter “PSDM 13-112” in the search window. For more information about developmental opportunities and other personnel issues, go to myPers.