Defense Attaché Office

Defense Attaché Office Opening, U.S. Embassy
December 5, 2008

LTC James McAden, U.S. Ambassador Ravic Huso, Assistant Foreign Minister Alounkeo Kittikhoun (in white) and Colonel Onesy Senesouk, Deputy Chief of Cabinet, Ministry of National Defense, toast the opening of the new Defense Attache’ Office.

A Defense Attaché Office (DAO) was officially opened on December 5 at the U.S. Embassy in Vientiane. The agreement to exchange military attaches between the United States of America and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic was first announced in 2007. The new U.S. Defense Attache, Army Lieutenant Colonel James McAden, met with senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of National Defense as part of the DAO opening. U.S. Ambassador to Lao PDR Ravic R. Huso also hosted a December 5 reception in honor of the DAO opening.

LTC McAden is a Southeast Asia specialist and most recently served as Deputy to the Foreign Policy Advisor at U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii. He previously served as Deputy in the Office of Defense Cooperation at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta. LTC McAden holds a Master of Arts in Asian Studies from The Johns Hopkins University and an Advanced Diploma in Strategic and Defense Studies from the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and of the Malaysian Armed Forces Staff College.

The exchange of military attachés is event moment in U.S.-Lao relations and represents an important next step in expanding bilateral defense cooperation. Exchanging attachés will allow the two militaries to deepen ongoing cooperation in such areas as military medicine, disaster preparedness, humanitarian assistance, and education and training. The U.S. and Lao PDR share a common interest in working together to enhance peace and security in the region.