PENSACOLA, Fla. (NNS) -- The Navy Center for Language, Regional Expertise, and Culture (CLREC) announced the relaunch of the joint Foreign Area Officer (FAO) web portal, known as FAOweb, on Joint Knowledge Online (JKO), Jan. 13.
The new version of FAOweb on JKO replaces a pilot program managed by the Naval Postgraduate School since 2009. When that pilot ended in September 2015 with the website's deactivation, the Navy's Language, Regional Expertise, and Culture (LREC) Office (OPNAV N13F) stepped in to sponsor the follow-on solution.
"FAOweb is an important tool for the joint FAO community," said Chris Wise, director of CLREC. "When the Navy's LREC Office asked CLREC to identify and manage how to deliver online training and other FAO professional development, my team was excited to be a part of the answer. Together, we saw JKO as the best, quickest, and most cost-effective way to reach the more than 3,000 members of the joint FAO community."
Now as a community of interest within JKO, active, reserve and civilian personnel from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force, serving in the Foreign Area Officer community around the globe, can reconnect with the resources the previous website offered. The joint Foreign Area Officer community includes Marine Corps regional affairs officers as well as Air Force regional affairs strategists and political affairs strategists.
Training materials and capabilities will continue to become available incrementally over the coming weeks and months as JKO converts existing FAO courseware to be compatible with JKO's traditional portal website and its mobile learning platform. The existing FAOweb document library, with more than 5,000 items, is now available on the new FAOweb, and more than 200 lectures, seminars and other valuable resources are coming online through a linked video channel.
"FAOs have access again to the library that was hosted by Naval Postgraduate School and includes everything from service-specific references to cross-cultural training and advice for family members heading to their first overseas assignment," said Jim Murphy, CLREC's FAOweb content manager. "FAOweb will ultimately be a clearinghouse for FAO-related professional development information and training. We're particularly enthusiastic about the JKO Mobile application, which now allows FAOs to access training and working aids on their mobile devices."
Joint Foreign Area Officers can access FAOweb at http://jko.jten.mil/faoweb. Instructions for accessing the mobile app are available on the site.
Questions about FAOweb may be directed to the appropriate service proponent office or Murphy by emailing questions and feedback to clrec@navy.mil or calling CLREC at 850-452-6218.
The Navy's Center for Language, Regional Expertise, and Culture delivers foreign language instruction and training on foreign cultures to prepare Navy personnel for global engagements - to strengthen ties with enduring allies, cultivate relationships with emerging partners, thwart adversaries and defeat enemies. Part of the Center for Information Dominance, CLREC is located at Naval Air Station Pensacola Corry Station.
For more news from Center for Information Dominance, visit www.navy.mil/local/cid/.