Hey! My husband is a Foreign Area Officer - I guess you could say it's his secondary MOS... all branches have this program in some form, but they run it in different ways... some better than others
As a Marine FAO, the USMC sent him to the Naval postgraduate school to get his masters in Asian Affairs, then to the Defense Language Institute to learn Mandarin Chinese (I also went, spouses can go as well if they go full time and if there is space available), and the last portion is a year of in-country training (which consists of almost 90% traveling the region, and language training at local schools).
There are no bases in China so your DH would have to work at the embassy, and I seriously have no idea if they have JAGS there. I wouldn't think so but what the hell do I know? lol.
The other way you can get stationed in a country like China is to try to become the attache at the embassy.
Shanghai is a really great city, we had friends living there (through another military program, but they got to live there for 2 years instead of just 1). We lived in Beijing.
Re: *Calindi*
I'm not Cal, but FAO is something I've wanted to do almost as long as I've wanted to be a Marine. I'm also hopeful that if I don't get into the Marine Corps (as this year is my only shot), that H will be promoted and can try for MSG. The spouses I knew of the Det. Commanders found jobs in the embassy, and I have a relevant degree.
You'd be able to get a job at the embassy. I could have but because we were only there for a year, I wanted to take advantage of travel. One of my friends over there was the wife of the MSG gunny... they'd lived in Vienna, the Congo, and Beijing. I'm so excited that she is moving to Pendleton this summer! Anyway, she is a former Marine and she worked at the embassy as well. The embassies are always putting out hiring announcements to the spouses.
Good luck Stan! Why do you think you wouldn't get in? I definitely think you will be a great Marine.
Thanks for the info! That's super cool, and I'm really jealous (especially of you being able to go to the school, too). Unfortunately, my guy isn't even remotely good at languages, that's my specialty. So it looks like we'll just have to get stationed in Korea or Japan and travel around Asia - at least that's what I hope will happen for at least one of his duty stations! Dream big, right?
I miss China something fierce sometimes. It was a really cool experience, but I can only imagine it would be so much more fun now that I'm a bit older and with FI, rather than as a single student who was frustrated as heck that there was absolutely no dating scene for me - all the Westerners wanted Chinese girls, and all the Chinese guys didn't interest me (the culture gap was a bit much for me as a romantic relationship).