Q: What exactly does an LNO (Officer) in the Army do?

CPT Chris Loomis — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 18:46:00 -0400

What do they do and what regulations or FM's can be cited as reference?

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 5 at 2016 6:58 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 18:58:32 -0400

They do whatever their assigning officer/organization tells them to do for the unit they are assigned to. Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member is correct, the LNO is supposed to bring a set of skills to a unit/organization they don't have. Many joint commands will have a sister service LNO. A BDE HQ may have a BN LNO assigned to help coordinate movements/routes. Indirect fires will have an LNO at units that don't have that asset so they can communicate back and forth.
While in SOF, I met FA LNO assigned to Group and Rangers who provided communication/coordination of fire support for missions. It can be a cool job, in the right place and time.

Response by Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 5 at 2016 7:03 PM

Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 19:03:42 -0400

Its a liaison officer. Essentially its the subject matter expert from one organization bridging the knowledge gaps to another in helping cross coordination. Example, the Air Force provides ALO's to the Army. They help Army commanders translate request for air support in a manner that can be effectively coordinated to the appropriate C/JFACC C2 channels.

Air Force squadrons get Army GLO's who help the air guys understand what your army commanders need. Then there are intra-service LNO's. Like in the Air Force there will be an Air Refueling LNO to coordinate support to other air assets.]

Of course I cant answer if your service has reg or not, since I am not Army.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Oct 6 at 2016 10:10 AM

CAPT Kevin B. — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 10:10:54 -0400

And there are a number of MLOs (Military Liaison Officers) who do the MIL to MIL work at our Embassies. Army also has Civic Affairs ENL types assisting the MLOs as well. Good group of people to work with. All the services have LNO slots from everything to disaster management to the shopping list JP-4 put out and then some.

Response by SGM Steve Wettstein made Oct 6 at 2016 12:22 PM

SGM Steve Wettstein — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 12:22:52 -0400

The official answer would be that they would liaise with whatever unit they are attached to. The real answer is they are an extra officer to do whatever is needed.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 6 at 2016 9:01 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 21:01:12 -0400

The short answer is that there is no true singular FM or regulation that dictates what an LNO does. This extends all the way back the the Korean Military Advisory Group of the 1950's, the Military Assistance Command Vietnam of the Vietnam War, and a host of other organizations. The purpose of an LNO is to link one organization to another. That means you have to have some degree of cross-cultural competency and build a base of cultural awareness, understanding or expertise that allows you to link your current organization to the one you are tasked to work with. This is all big brain stuff that usually takes someone who is a COL or LTC with a very specialized focus to get into the nuts and bolts of on a doctrinal level. The real question is what type of LNO are you seeking information about?

Response by SFC Daniel Meacham made Jul 5 at 2018 11:27 AM

SFC Daniel Meacham — Thu, 05 Jul 2018 11:27:32 -0400

To bad I'm just reading this now. I was a LNO for my BN as a SSG for a full 15 months (06-07) It was probably the worst experience in my 23 years in the Army. I was given very little guidance, was yelled at, put down, insulted, called incompetent. I couldn't do anything right. Now matter how hard I tried. It was not good enough. I would brief the BDE Commander on the next 24. On the next missions. Only to be told I was wrong, It was changed like a few hours ago. Not a word from my command. So I looked like a moron in front of 90 people. And let not get into the Battle Majors.