The officer-batman concept isn't all that alien to USians, as I seem to recall that officers in the American Army -- at least as late as WWII -- had similar enlisted assistants, perhaps called adjutants? They operated in a valet sort of mode, from what I remember of my readings. I've only just recently started reading the American version of events in Europe; my interest has been in European history from 1914-1944, and of overlapping Soviet history. My relatives of Polish and Hungarian/Czech descent escaped -- or didn't -- the Holocaust, and that's been my primary interest.

Anyways. I think the concept isn't totally alien to Americans, or Canadians, so it shouldn't be such a difficult thing to sell.

Academia is nice and all, but very protected. Government work is even better. ;-) You mustn't tell anyone that I said so. Plausible deniability, yanno.