Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 3/26/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hello Sir,

Do you have any advice on obtaining an evaluation of my foreign earned degree for the purpose of admission to OCS?

I am an Australian citizen with a BA from an Australian University. I'm about to obtain my U.S Citizenship and am very interested in becoming a Foreign Area Officer for the USAF. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your time.

Blue Skies

Melissa



ANSWER: Melissa,
What is your degree in?  The majority of Air Force FAOs are officers that come from the Intelligence career field and have a degree in Political Science, or Social Science, or International Studies.  Despite your major, your problem will be that your college/university is not a U.S.-accredited school, which is a requirement to enter OCS.
You'll have to talk to a USAF recruiter and give him the name and address of the school that awarded your degree.  He can then contact AF headquarters and see if your degree is accepted by the AF.
Best of luck, and thanks for wanting to serve in the military.
Colonel H

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello again Sir,

Thank you for your time.

My degree is in Political Science and Japanese language. I have near native fluency.

Would you recommend the intelligence path as the best lead in to the Foreign Area Officer program?

Also, any suggestions on other career paths that would utilize my language skills with the military? I've noticed all services have linguists but they seem to be enlisted positions rather than requiring a commission. I have my heart set on being accepted to OTS.

Blue Skies,

Melissa

Answer
Melissa,
23% of FAO's in the AF are from the Intelligence career field, which makes Intel the #1 choice.  18% of FAO's are pilots.  The remainder comes from assorted career fields.  So yes, I would say Intel is definitely the preferred path for you to increase your chances.

Don't give up your dream of going to OTS, you've got a good chance.  Although most linguists are enlisted, ALL FAO's are officers.

Right now the military needs expertise in 10 different languages: Chinese Mandarin, Korean, Arabic, Persian Farsi, Russian, Spanish, Hebrew, Serbo-Croatian, Pashto, and Dari. Although Japanese is currently not in high demand, it may be by the time you're eligible for it.  Also, it's much easier to train somebody in a foreign language if they already know another foreign language, so knowing Japanese is a plus for you if they decide to train you in Chinese (for example).
Good luck.
Colonel H