(My son Aiden and I after graduation from the Basic Spanish Course at DLI)   

     I think the best place to start is probably with an introduction.  My name is Major Dustin Heumphreus.  I am a U.S. Army Foreign Area Officer (FAO) with a geographic focus of Latin America.  My specialty designation is FA 48B.  The 48 represents FAO, while the B represents Latin America.  I am currently attending ACS at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN (Go Dores!).

     I have not always been a FAO.  I was commissioned in 1999 as an infantry officer.  My first assignment was to Fort Hood as a part of the First Cavalry Division.  In 2003 I attended the Infantry Captain's Career Course followed by two years a a platoon trainer at the Officer's Candidate School at Fort Benning.  After OCS I PCSed to Fort Lewis and was assigned to the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker).  I spent three years as a part of 4-2 ID including fifteen months as the Troop Commander of Arrow Troop, 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment (Blackhawks!).  I had the distinct honor and privellege of commanding my troop for twelve months in Iraq from 2007 to 2008.  That year was the most difficult and rewarding experience of my career.

     It was after redeployment from Iraq that I finally started my FAO training.  In 2009 I started a blog on AKO about my experiences as a FAO trainee.  My hope was to provide a frame of reference for others as they began their FAO training and to encourage discussion of topics of interest to the FAO community.  I decided to switch to the Army Strong Stories website in order to increase access to my blog and, selfiishly, because this blog software if far more user friendly than that of AKO.  So, this will be my new home and I hope to relate my story as a Foreign Area Officer to a wider audience.  It has been an incredible experience so far and I am so thankful for the opportunity.