Regional Affairs Officer

Official Seal of the United States Marine Corps
International Affairs Program
Washington, D.C.

RAOs possess the regional expertise (academic and/or experience based) to serve as pol-mil officers.  RAO training does not include language study or regional travel. The AMOS may be awarded based on either regionally focused postgraduate academic study or extensive pol-mil experience in a region that results in a level of regional expertise equal to graduate-level study.  Because of this, RAOs serve in billets that demand a comprehensive understanding of a region but do not require foreign language skills.  The vast majority of these billets will be on operational or strategic level staffs.