Officer attache duty applications due Dec. 29

by Debbie Gildea
Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas — Eligible active-duty line officers interested in attache duty must submit their application by Dec. 29, Air Force officials said Dec. 2.

The Air Force Personnel Center and the secretary of the Air Force, international affairs office are accepting applications for senior defense official/defense attache, air attache and assistant air attache duty at a dozen locations, with accompanied tour lengths ranging from 24 to 36 months, said Maj. Katie Tanner, international affairs assignments chief.

“Attaches 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,” she said. “They help build and sustain relationships between the U.S. and host country and provide critical advice on bilateral political-military issues to the U.S. ambassador and country team.”

Attache 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 attache 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 attache offices have C-12 aircraft assigned, so the attache for those offices must be fixed-wing pilots, Tanner said. Although not mandatory, operations background, foreign language skills and experience in the desired region are highly desired.

Applicants selected for an interview will be notified by Jan. 30, and they (and spouses, if applicable) will be scheduled for an interview.

For more information about the attache program, including complete eligibility and application instructions, visit the Air Force Portal and enter “Attache Program” in the search window, or visit myPers. Select “Search All Components” from the drop down menu and enter “Attache Duty” in the search window.