Security Assistance Training Face to Face: The Life of an ITMO

As a group of international pilots from four continents looked on, I stood in front of the Alamo explaining the significance of the Texas battle for independence. One of the students asked what led to the fight. It wasnt long before we digressed into a discussion of the revolutionary war, taxation without representation, and reasons for the establishment of states. To some of the students the answers were well known. But many of them were getting information they never knew before. As their eyes lit up and the questions kept coming, a wave of satisfaction swept over me. Here I had a group of exceptionally bright, articulate, young aviators who will soon assume positions of leadership and influence in their countries, and I was allowed to hold center stage and tell them the story of the United States. Its part of the pleasure of being an International Training Management Officer or, as we have become known recently, an ITMO. The work of an ITMO is not for everyone. If there is one quality the ITMO needs above all others, it is patience. I work in a small office, usually looking after the needs of ten to fifteen officers. When I first took the job I thought attending to the needs of such a small group of officers should present no problems. I quickly learned that would not be the case. You face many obstacles daily. First there is the language barrier. Because you are working with individuals who obviously have intelligence, you might easily assume that what you are telling them will be understood. This can be quite dangerous. It is easy to cross wires, so efforts must constantly be made to check to see if what you wanted to say was understood. The best way to do this is to simply and honestly ask the international student if he would repeat the message, just to make sure. Handled with tact and with a sense of humor, the practice will be greatly appreciated.