FAO, Government Experts Educate USS Peleliu Crew

As the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA 5) deploys to the 7th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR), the ship gained a few ship riders to better educate the crew about this culturally diverse region.

Lt. Daniel Bradshaw, foreign area officer (FAO) and administrative officer for the Regional Security Education Program (RSEP), joined two unnamed government experts on East Asian security issues aboard Peleliu as part of the program that was established to provide education to forces going to regions around the globe.

“RSEP’s goal is to assist deploying units in understanding the strategic and policy-level issues that are shaping the region in which they will be operating,” said Bradshaw.

While embarked, Bradshaw’s team delivers briefings nearly every day on various countries and regions within the 7th Fleet AOR and beyond. These briefs address issues such as political stability, economic viability, and local customs and courtesies of a particular country or region.

A better grasp of the geopolitical setting can help guide the strategy and tactics of a ship’s crew during deployment, according to Bradshaw.

“By better understanding the political and strategic environment in which they will be operating, the crew of USS Peleliu can better orient their operations and behavior to further U.S. policy and strategy objectives,” said Bradshaw.

“Operate forward” is one of the Chief of Naval Operation’s (CNO) tenets for the Navy. The intent of these briefs is to fully support this tenet.

“Simply operating in the Pacific and improving interoperability with regional allies improves the overall stability, of not only the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, but the world as a whole,” added Bradshaw.

The FAO community is also expanding, offering prospective officers with appropriate backgrounds and strong performance marks an opportunity to laterally transfer.

By the end of their visit, the RSEP team will deliver briefings on most of the Asian-region allies and other regions where America is developing or further enhancing diplomatic ties.