Calling it a career broadening experience, Master Sgt. Carl Turner, a reservist, is pleased with the assignment he accepted at the Army's Ministry of Interior-Military Assistance Group's G2, security and intelligence.
"We are building this from the ground up," he said, referring to MOI-MAG's mission of advising, training and assisting for internal security needs in Saudi Arabia.
"I definitely wanted to come to this position for my career," he added. Turner's civilian Department of Defense occupation is in criminal intelligence.
Much of the work at MOI-MAG focuses on anti-terrorism and force protection methods, and one of the job's challenges that Turner finds unique is adapting U.S. standards to another culture.
"Internal security has become a critical component for fighting terrorism, and we are doing this through security assistance," he explained.
MOI-MAG is subordinate organization of the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command, which oversees security assistance and foreign military sales.
Turner credits his experience as working as a trainer/adviser in Afghanistan, Iraq, and having various anti-terrorism training and education, with making him competitive for the position.
Turner encourages other reservists who have experience with security, intelligence or training and advising to apply at MOI-MAG, citing the networking opportunities.
"We get a lot of high-level visitors," he said. "The operational tempo is also high."
But Turner emphasized that the importance of unit personnel's day-to-day jobs and how they factor into the critical nature of the organization's mission as the overriding reason to pursue a job there.
"With foreign military sales, you are representing the U.S. government," he said. "Your actions will have long-term effects."
Turner cites the knowledge and professionalism of his co-workers as another plus for this assignment. Because much of his job has been documenting the processes and procedures the MOI-MAG G2 is using, he thinks the job will get easier for the next noncommissioned officer who takes his place.
According to Turner, the quality of the facilities is also a pleasant surprise.
"Most folks go in thinking this is like Iraq or Afghanistan, but your living quarters and other facilities are as good, or better, than most places in the States."
Turner enjoys traveling and MOI-MAG personnel are positioned to visit countries in Europe, Africa and the Pacific easily. He recently visited Egypt with some of his co-workers, which marked his 26th country.
"I love traveling," he said.
Turner admits that if he had not joined the Army, he would probably be an electrical engineer. But his enthusiasm for his current profession and his curiosity about other cultures make his role at MOI-MAG a good fit for his philosophy: "Love to love life!"
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