Greetings - I have posted the F2017 USAR International Programs DRAFT OPORD for your use and review on Milsuite.
International Programs is the Army Reserve’s (AR) Line of Effort (LoE) supporting Cultural understanding Regional Expertise and Language Proficiency (CREL) and Interoperability. This LoE consists of three programs that USAR soldiers may compete to attend: 1. Military Reserve Exchange Program (MREP), 2. Young Reserve Officer Workshop (YROW), and 3. French Immersion Course with Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers Language Academy (CIOP CLA).
Developing regional expertise and cultural sensitivity is a vital component of enhancing the Army’s ability to be successfully engaged in current and future operational environments; these actions are critical components supporting the accomplishment of the Army efforts that Prevent, Shape, and Win. Army Reserve International Programs support the vision of the Chief of the Army Reserve (CAR) for a globally responsive, regionally engaged Army Reserve possessing an expeditionary mindset that provides ready forces in support of Combatant Command requirements. Army Reserve Soldiers will use this leader development program to expand training opportunities, enhance understanding of partners, share and leverage best practices that influence bi- and multi-lateral interoperability as they forge meaningful professional relationships with international partners.
For FY2017 USAR International Programs offers three opportunities.
1. Military Reserve Exchange Program (MREP) - The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs (OSD-RA) coordinated international exchange programs with NATO militaries. These are the Military Reserve Exchange Program (MREP) between the United States, Denmark (DK), Estonia (EE), Germany (DE) and United Kingdom (GB), for Reserve Training. On 30 Jan 2017, the Office of the Chief of Army Reserve (OCAR) will hold its annual selection board to select eligible Soldiers. MREP is a reciprocal exchange of USAR soldiers and military reserve officers of selected foreign nations, as agreed to by parent services and governments. The period of exchange will be 2-to-4 weeks in length and exchanges need not run on a concurrent basis. Selected USAR soldiers will be assigned to a counterpart position in the host nation's army and a foreign reserve officer will be assigned to a counterpart position within an USAR unit. Comparable officers are similar in rank and skills, if not in duties. If no comparable officers are available, a nonreciprocal ("one-way") exchange may be considered. The purpose of the exchange is to enhance mutual understanding of combined operations, inform interoperability and develop leaders.
2. Young Reserve Officer Workshop (YROW) YROW is a junior officers’ introductory exposure to a multi-national environment in the context of the Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers (CIOR), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Partnership for Peace (PfP) organizations. The course offers unique development opportunities in the areas of leadership, NATO structure and ops, and international engagement. The Young Reserve Officers Committee (YROC) is one of the nine working committees of CIOR. The YROC organizes and implements an annual Young Reserve Officers Seminar (YROS), a Workshop (YROW), and an Experienced Reserve Officers Platform (EROP). On 30 Jan 2017, the Office of the Chief of Army Reserve (OCAR) will hold its annual selection board to select eligible Soldiers to attend the 2017 Young Reserve Officer Workshop. The Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers, commonly referred to by its French acronym CIOR, represents the interests of over 1.3 million reservists across 36 participating nations within and beyond NATO, making it the world’s largest military reserve officer organization. Founded in 1948 by the reserve officer associations of Belgium, France and the Netherlands, CIOR is now a NATO-affiliated, non-political and non-profit umbrella organization of member nations’ national reserve officer associations. The CIOR meets twice a year and work through committees that examine issues and provide analysis relating to reserve forces. Typical issues of interest include the contribution of reserve forces to international operations, the re-integration of reservists within their respective communities following deployment abroad, the law of armed conflict, the impact of NATO on the Reserves, and employer support to reservists.
3. French Immersion Course with Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers Language Academy (CIOP CLA) The intent of this line of effort is to leverage native speaker instruction at the CIOR CLA to build and incentivize USAR soldiers to develop language capabilities that meet Army strategic requirements. French has been identified as a strategic language, per the Department of the Army Strategic Language List d. 10 Jun 2016. On 30 Jan 2017, the Office of the Chief of Army Reserve (OCAR) will hold its annual selection board to select eligible Soldiers to attend French Language training at the CIOP CLA. The CIOR Language Academy (CLA) teaches English and French as a second language, emphasizing a NATO military lexicon while at the same time providing an orientation to CIOR. The instructors, qualified reserve officers as well as skilled linguists and teachers, are provided by CIOR member nations and are selected through a competitive process. The students are NATO reserve officers and active duty officers of the new democracies of Eastern and Central Europe. Through the Language Academy, they are provided an essential and indispensable tool to carry out international NATO business - the ability to communicate in one of NATO's two official languages. Established in 2000, CLA was a CIOR initiative in support of the Partnership for Peace program and has matriculated more than 300 officers from every nation of Eastern and Central Europe. The 2016 CIOR Language Academy was conducted in Tallin, Estonia in July; the dates and location for FY2017 will be provided upon release.
Additional details to include program descriptions and the application process are provided at the program's Milstuite link which is included in this message. I encourage all USAR Soldiers to apply for this broadening opportunity. Please share with your fellow Soldiers and best of luck.