Dave Carey.

Director of International Studies, Retires

On December 20, 2000, his colleagues and friends honored William David Carey, Director of International Studies at Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management (DISAM), at a breakfast that celebrated Dave's retirement after thirty-two years of federal civilian service. The highlight of the occasion was the presentation of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) Exceptional Civilian Service Award by DISAM Commandant, Colonel Judy-Ann Carroll.

A native of Harrodsburg, Kentucky, Dave joined the federal civil service in 1969 after service in the Army. He began his career as a computer programmer and analyst at the Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He was responsible for the design, development, programming, and testing of a major portion of the stock control and distribution system.

He joined the AFLC security assistance policy office as a program analyst in 1977. There he formulated new concepts and policies which improved the timeliness and quality of logistics support for the security assistance program. In 1979 Carey moved to the Air Force Security Assistance Center as a program manager for the countries of Australia and Korea. He developed plans and programs for selected system and sub-system acquisitions, and he negotiated cooperative logistics supply support arrangements with high-level government officials.

In October 1980, Dave joined the DISAM faculty where he served as instructor and functional coordinator for the foreign military sales process until assuming his current position in March 1988.

From the very outset, he shaped the scope and direction of the Security Assistance Management Overseas Course, first by conducting a global stakeholder survey in 1989 and subsequently by special customer feedback mechanisms in the following years. These efforts collectively resulted in several major enhancements to the course throughout the 1990s and carrying over to the 21st century, resulting in savings exceeding $1 million dollars over the last decade. Moreover, Carey introduced, and has continually refined, specialty tracks in the third week of the Overseas Course, allowing for extensive student preparation in international education and training management, international armaments cooperation management, and security assistance resource management. These additive tracks served as a curriculum multiplier by tailoring the Overseas Course to the specific needs of the student.

In 1995, he engineered the development of the Security Assistance Planning and Resource Management Course as DISAM's unique contribution to the Expanded International Military Education and Training Program, a major foreign policy objective desired by the State Department. This Resource Management Course has enabled key officials from nations such as Poland, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Latvia to better understand international defense cooperation principles in the context of U.S. foreign assistance statutory provisions and the concepts of international logistics, long-range planning and resource management, and interoperability.

Notwithstanding Carey's significant responsibilities for the oversight of curriculum and course scheduling, through personal foresight and initiative he accomplished innovative personal computer software development and telecommunications network support services. He led the way in the development and implementation of both the Security Assistance Network and the Security Assistance Automated Resource Management Suite (SAARMS), converting the latter from a local program to one used throughout the world. The SAARMS software suite has had the effect of linking remote defense cooperation offices abroad with stateside activities, constituting a big leap forward in the associated business processes. In addition, he promoted and oversaw the development of PC software application programs that are used to manage country's international military education and training and foreign military sales programs. Building upon the success stories overseas, the Training Management System (TMS) software application was subsequ ently expanded in design scope and made available to international military student managers in military service schools throughout the United States. This initiative allowed a direct exchange of electronic information, registration data, and documentation between the initiating agency and the schools, reducing time and resources, while facilitating travel for the international students. The TMS software development efforts were the catalyst for fostering standardization among the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as the production of a standard data dictionary for international training. Today, Department of Defense and foreign officials recognize DISAM as an innovative software producer -- one that effectively supports what it produces.

He earned the full confidence of DISAM and DSCA Headquarters to proceed into uncharted areas and to make DISAM part of the cutting edge of technological innovation. In 1998, DSCA Headquarters asked Dave to take charge of developing the Agency's and Institute's internet web pages, which are now accessible through the DoD home page.

In conclusion, Dave Carey has been an all-around exemplary performer at DISAM. Always standing above his peers, he was the first DISAM civilian employee to receive the Exceptional Civilian Service Award from the Director, DSCA, in 1998. A visionary and a doer, he epitomizes the quality management theme that the customers' needs come first, and he constantly seeks out new challenges in order to improve customer service. His capstone years at DISAM as a leader and role model, with major responsibilities impacting the preparation and support of U.S. military personnel in over one hundred embassies and other offices around the world, have earned him the respect and admiration of thousands of members throughout the defense cooperation community. He leaves a legacy that will long be remembered.

He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Eastern Kentucky University in 1969 and a master's degree in logistics management from Central Michigan University in 1981. He attained the academic rank of associate professor at DISAM.

Dave and his wife, Margo, have planned a retirement of skiing in Colorado and sailing and golfing in Panama.