Asia-Pacific Orientation Course (APOC)

Course Description 

General: 

1. Purpose:  This course provides a basic orientation on trends and current issues shaping the Asia-Pacific security environment, equipping course Fellows with policy perspectives and tools important for duties at interagency headquarters.  By design, this course directly supports the U.S. Pacific Command by providing its staff and supporting components an educational environment to create a foundation of knowledge or build upon already existing Asia-Pacific experiences. 

2. Description:  The course provides an introduction to Asia-Pacific culture, politics, protocols and challenges, while addressing U.S. interests in the region.  The curriculum is focused by day and examines: Day One) Regional Perspectives, Day Two) Treaty Alliance Partners & Security Challenges, Day Three) Key Regional Players & Security Challenges, Day Four) Regional Issues, and Day Five) Transnational Challenges.  Attention is given to both historical and emerging issues.  The course includes a rigorous program of lectures and interactive sessions, and three break-out seminar sessions. 

 All course attendees attain membership in an expanded network of contacts among security practitioners that includes their fellow class-mates and APCSS faculty as well as the APCSS alumni network and a regional “community of expertise” via a dedicated web portal.

 3.  Length: One week.

4.  Frequency: Three times per year.

5.  Fellows: 0-3 through 0-6 and their civilian equivalents, with selected warrant and NCOs; 30 (once per year) or 75 fellows (two times per year) per course; U.S. and other Asia-Pacific/International self-funded participants.

 Who would benefit by attending this course:

  • Primarily U.S. PACOM or component leaders whose current position requires making (or having significant input to) critical interagency decisions requiring significant input to intergovernmental policy analysis, formulation and decisions in international setting.

  • Primarily U.S. PACOM or component security practitioners serving as critical action officers

  • U.S. and Asia-Pacific security practitioners or leaders in training for service in international settings whose current/future responsibilities require significant input to intergovernmental policy analysis, formulation and decisions

  • U.S. and Asia-Pacific security practitioners serving as critical action officers for important interagency organizations/headquarters

 

Educational Objectives:  To achieve the course purpose stated above, the APOC has specific educational objectives in four areas: 1) Enhanced knowledge, 2) Improve Fellow leader skills, 3) Expand Fellow security-practitioner, 4) Build Fellow Teaming Skills: 

1.  Enhanced knowledge in following areas:

  • Knowledge and better understanding of the Asia-Pacific region as a whole

  • Understanding of sub-regional and national perspectives on security challenges

  • Knowledge and better understanding of selected countries that play a major role concerning U.S. policy within the Asia-Pacific region

  • Understanding of selected Regional Cooperation on Interstate Challenges, and Regional Responses to Transnational Challenges

2.  Improve Fellow leader skills in the following areas:

  • Enhancing skills and abilities in articulating U.S. national security policy; confidently and assertively proposing options to  security-policy formulators and decision-makers for action

  • Identifying threats and security challenges, regional and transnational

  • Analyzing risk and articulating options balancing risk with intended outcomes related to countering terrorist ideologies and stability operations

  • Identifying alternative security-cooperation options

3.  Expand Fellow security-practitioner networks in the following areas:

  • Among Asia-Pacific Orientation Course Fellows

  • Among APCSS faculty and guest lecturers

  • Through alumni contacts at home and regionally

4.  Build Fellow Teaming Skills:

  • Identify, link, and exploit team-member expertise, perspective.

  • Unique contributions possible.

  • Areas of agreement/disagreement/inter-dependencies

  • Identify requirements to act (terms of reference, subject knowledge needed, methods of operating)

 

Educational Approach:

  • Primary medium for learning in this course are essential, current, real-world background context lectures and interactive sessions
  • To allow the Fellows to interact with the faculty and each other, three discussion seminars are offered: 1) alliance partners break-out seminar; 2) key players in the region break-out seminar and 3) responses to regional challenges break-out seminars. An exercise will aid Fellows in practical application of the information presented.
  • Discussions, interactive presentations, and seminars are guided by flexible APCSS facilitators encouraging mutual respect, transparency, non-attribution, effective listening, and clear communication skills

  • Faculty will ensure Fellows understand all information presented in lectures,  interactive presentations, and seminar break-out sessions

  • APCSS will emphasize factual analyses, conclusions and recommendations based upon today’s security issues but taking into account cultural perspectives

 

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