PENSACOLA, Fla. – Military and civilian personnel from the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard attended the 29th annual International Military Student Officer (IMSO) conference in Pensacola, Florida, Nov. 15 through Nov. 18, 2022.  

IMSOs are typically the first official U.S. government representatives that international military students engage when arriving in the United States for training. IMSOs play a critical role in the lives of foreign allies’ students by facilitating their transition to life in a new country.

The purpose of the IMSO conference was to highlight the vital role allied relationships play in maritime security on a global scale, and allow IMSOs from across the United States an opportunity to network with one another.
Rear Adm. Pete Garvin, Commander, Naval Education and Training Command (NETC), noted the importance of IMSOs building relationships with international military allies.

“The role of an International Military Student Officer is critical in ensuring our partners and allies time training with us is logistically smooth and professionally fulfilling,” said Garvin. “It allows them to concentrate and focus on training vice administrative burdens. It is the duty and responsibility of the IMSO to ensure a safe and secure environment for both our students and the international students they are assigned to guide.”

In 2022, the IMSO team collectively trained 8,444 international military students with 11,594 courses for over 150 international partner countries.

“Training with our partners and allies is an essential element to improving future warfighting readiness,” said Garvin. “The United States cannot build the necessary trust and interoperability with our maritime allies and partners from a distance.”



Capt. Daniel Testa, Commanding Officer, Naval Education and Training Security Assistance Field Activity (NETSAFA), emphasized the objectives for the conference, which offered 175 IMSOs the opportunity develop in-person relationships with counterparts serving the same mission.

"Our goal for the conference was to assess, train and advise IMSOs across the maritime domain," said Testa. "The focus this week was to re-establish the baseline and standardize IMSO knowledge and practices as well as recommend administrative oversight of the maritime IMSO."

An awards ceremony was held as part of the conference to recognize IMSOs for their dedication to providing the administrative and logistical support necessary to allow international military students to focus on their training while in the United States. Awardees included:

• Aviation Electronics Technician 1st Class Nicholas Turner, Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit, Jacksonville, Fla.
• Lt. Alexander Hoersten, Expeditionary Warfare Training Group Pacific, San Diego
• Ms. Maria Jonckheere, Training Air Wing 4, Corpus Christi, Texas
• Ms. Angela Miller, Marine Corps University, Quantico, Va.
• Mr. Thomas Beard, U.S. Coast Guard Training Center, Yorktown, Va.

“I am excited for the opportunity to meet NETSAFA program managers and to continue to grow the program," said Lt. Alexander Hoersten, assigned to Pacific Fleet as an IMSO. “It has been essential getting the international training program back online post COVID-19. I am looking forward to continuing to work with international students."

NETSAFA is the U.S. Navy’s agent for Navy education and training for international military students. Located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, NETSAFA coordinates and supplies training support to international governments and international organizations. As a field activity of NETC, they serve as a focal point for all Security Assistance and Security Cooperation education and training program issues, coordination and advice within the U.S. Navy.

NETC’s mission is to recruit and hire talented civilians, deliver training and education to transform civilians into Sailors, and distribute accession Sailors to the fleet to maximize readiness and ensure mission success; to provide specialized training and educational tools to advance the personal and professional development of Sailors throughout their career; and serve as the sole claimant for individual training and education and as the principal advisor to the Chief of Naval Operations and Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command on training and education related matters.
For more information about NETC, visit the command’s website at https://www.netc.navy.mil/ and follow MyNavy HR: Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MYNAVYHR/, Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/mynavyhr/ and Twitter at https://twitter.com/mynavyhr