Someone call?
BinRat55 -- In the CA the Adjt may play the role of the UPAR but that is not always the norm. In the rest of the CAF (yes, there are two other elements) the UPAR is a secondary duty that is picked up by anyone with an interest. It is very rarely, if ever, assigned to a non-willing person as that would just defeat the purpose.
And as for the OP's switch between unit PAO and PA Rep, give him a break. Many times the unit staff are the ones referring to the UPAR as the unit PAO. It may not be correct, but it happens.
Anyway, as for the rest of the posts, let's see if I can remember what was asked and fill in the blanks.
PSOs can be an odd breed. The first PSO I dealt with seemed very uninterested in anything I had to say. The second one I dealt with, several years later, was extremely gung ho (and we ended up working together again in Edmonton) and helped me get the ball rolling for when I came back from deployment. My third dealing with the BPSO was with that first one and he hadn't changed. The difference was that I came to the table with PERs, referrals and a portfolio of articles (not necessarily that I had written) showing my involvement with the trade within that past year so there was no way he could say I wasn't a 'good fit for the trade.'
So my suggestion to you would be to talk to the PAO where you are working right now and get that portfolio updated. When you get back from Kuwait then make an appointment with your BPSO (who is probably a different person) and be ready. You don't necessarily have to know the PA Handbook by heart. It's a reference book, which means even PAOs refer to it when they need to. But knowing what the basics of the trade are is important.
One last thing - if your intention in going PAO is to get your name out there, then choose something else. Any PAO who ends up in front of the camera or with their name in print on a byline is not doing their job properly. Our job is not even to act as cheerleaders for the CAF, but to facilitate others telling our story, and the only time a PAO should be in front of the camera is when they are taking a bullet (figuratively of course) or it's the ealy minutes of a crisis situation and no one else is available.
