Supporting tomorrow's coalitions today defense Security Cooperation Agency Conference 2004.

   There is at least one thing worse than fighting with allies--and
   that is fighting without them.

   --Sir Winston S. Churchill

International Customer Symposium

As a prelude to this year's Security Cooperation 2004 Conference, the Foreign Procurement Group and the International Customers Users' Group co-chaired the International Customer Symposium. This was a special opportunity for foreign government representatives to participate in pre-conference discussions on topics of interest. There were over sixty-five attendees including Department of Defense (DoD) representatives, Foreign Liaison Officers (FLO), Security Assistance Foreign Representatives (SAFR), country representatives of the Foreign Procurement Group (FPG) and the International Customers Users Group (ICUG). The symposium was sponsored and moderated by Jennifer Stewart, FPG Chairperson, LCDR Mehmet Yildiz, ICUG Chairperson, and Glenn Lazarus, DSCA/P2.

The presentation and discussions focused on policies and issues of particular interest to foreign military sales (FMS) customers. Symposium topics included DoD military transformation; transportation and export procedures; FMS process transparency; Cooperative Logistics Supply Support Arrangement (CLSSA) program; and Information Technology (IT) systems. All interested DoD organizations and agencies including the military departments (MILDEPs), International Logistics Control Offices (ILCOs) and contractors were invited to attend and provide their perspectives and reactions on these topics.

Robert Downes from ODUSD Readiness and Training gave a presentation on activities within DoD Transformation that might impact our international customers. Brion Midland (DSCA/P2) opened discussion on Transportation issues with a background on the relevant General Accounting Office (GAO) reports, the formation of the Interagency Working Group and the current status of solutions to several of the transportation and customs issues. Mark Smith, DTSA/ISP, Dave Quinn, Department of State PM/RSAT, Kathy Robinson, DSCA/P2, and Robert Rawls, Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security, headed up a lively panel discussion.

Steve Harris, DSCA/P2 and Frank Cevasco, Cevasco International, LLC provided briefings on Transparency in FMS Transactions and Transparency in Pricing. Daniel Nielsen, Deputy Director, Defense Procurement and Acquisitions (AT&L) chaired the panel on FMS Transparency, which included Steve Harris, Frank Cevasco and Joel Johnson (AIA). Kathy Robinson from DSCA/P2 updated the attendees with a CLSSA presentation. Other panel members were Selden von der Hoff and Jim Stapleton from DLA and Andrew Burt from the Canadian Embassy.

Beth Baker from DSCA/IT updated the group on the Case Execution Management Information System (CEMIS) and Security Cooperation Information Portal (SCIP) with a briefing on the current status of those programs. The other panel members were Mark Scher, DSCA/IT CIO, Tom Sippel, SCIP PM, and Kathy Robinson. This year's symposium offered the opportunity for networking, exchanging of views on security assistance policies, and sharing of best practices with colleagues from other countries and the U.S. government.

Security Cooperation 2004

DSCA hosted its annual conference 14 through 15 October 2004 at the Hilton Mark Center, Alexandria Virginia. The theme of the conference, "Supporting Tomorrow's Coalitions Today", was very appropriate as it truly captured the fundamental nature of security cooperation's mission and current impact on world situations and circumstances. Each conference speaker supported the premise set forth by DSCA by providing interesting insights on coalition building from the different organizations involved in the security cooperation arena.

Assuming command of DSCA in August 2004, Lieutenant General Jeffrey B. Kohler, USAF, Director of DSCA, welcomed the largest group of attendees ever for the DSCA conference. He addressed the crowd of over 600 security cooperation personnel on Thursday morning by defining and reinforcing the mission of supporting U.S. national security objectives. The Director explained that DSCA's security cooperation strategy is to ensure the regional and country priorities of the DoD's Security Cooperation Guidance are consistent with the theater strategies of Combatant Commanders. He then briefly showed how the U.S. government is not only leading coalitions, but also supporting other countries participation in coalitions, such as Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the Liberian Task Force, etc., through the Foreign Military Financing Program (FMFP) and International Military Education and Training (IMET). Lt Gen Kohler concluded with a positive outlook on the future of security cooperation. He believes the security cooperation profession is healthy, effective, and responsive as it has reached a recent high-water mark of an estimated 13.5 billion dollars in foreign military sales for fiscal year 2004. Yet, he emphasized that the community must continue to improve the way it does business for the sake of every stakeholder involved.

The first guest speaker, RADM William D. Sullivan, USN, Vice Director for Strategic Plans and Policy (J-5), Joint Staff, provided a view on the use of security cooperation in planning for today's operational environment. According to RADM Sullivan, recent coalition building efforts, especially OEF and OIF, have provided valuable lessons that will be used in future endeavors. He emphasized the idea that the allies that have been made in the past now make up present coalitions and, ultimately, the friends made now will be part of the coalitions that are built in the future.

RDML Craig O. McDonald, USN, Chief, Office of Defense Representative Pakistan, traveled halfway around the world in order to speak at the Security Cooperation 2004 Conference. He brought a rare perspective from the frontline of OEF. He was able to provide specific examples how through security cooperation, the U.S. has been able to increase Pakistan's military capability, thus promoting interoperability and overall self-defense. His illustrations of a strong relationship between Pakistan and the U.S. prove that security cooperation is truly a force multiplier and it justly advances U.S. national security objectives.

Just before the first day's lunch break, Edward Ross, Director Middle East, Asia, North Africa Directorate, DSCA, and Jeanne Farmer, Director Europe, Russia, Americas, and Sub-Saharan Africa Directorate, DSCA, shared the stage to offer up lessons learned from previous security cooperation efforts and practical applications for coalitions to come in the future. They began by defining the following U.S. strategic goals:

* Protecting the American homeland,

* Disrupting and attacking terrorist networks,

* Countering ideological support for terrorism, and;

* Supporting coalition partners.

Edward Ross and Jeanne Farmer illustrated how DSCA supports the aforementioned goals through specific real world examples in each one of their respective regions.

One of the most thought provoking and entertaining moments of the conference was Thursday's working lunch. General (Retired) Joseph W. Ralston, USAF, shared three brief anecdotes with the audience. While serving as Commander, U.S. European Command, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Ralston had the opportunity to meet and deal with many world leaders. Each one of the three stories he shared involved his interaction with a foreign leader during a world event, and each leader was the recipient of U.S. military education and/or training. As a result, General Ralston's relationship with each leader was affected by that training experience. Ultimately, the anecdotes emphasized the value of IMET as an important tool in achieving U.S. national security objectives.

The afternoon began with a rotation of three thirty minute breakout presentations. In the first session, Steve Harris, DSCA, and Richard Kwatnoski, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (A,T&L) discussed the "Security Cooperation Tool Bag". The tool bag consists of all of those programs and projects that the DoD has used to meet new challenges in building friendships and coalitions with many countries around the world. During the second session, Greg Bergersen, DSCA, described the challenges and requirements in sharing Command, Control, Communications, Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities with U.S. allies and within coalitions. He emphasized that C4ISR is more than just hardware and software. As a result, a methodical process must be used to assess, integrate, and implement C4ISR capabilities amongst U.S. allies. In the third and final session, Mr. Ernie Liberatore, Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs (SAF/IA), brought together panel experts from the Department of State (DoS) and DoD to discuss and answer questions about technology transfer processes. The panel stressed the importance of the timelines involved with release, export license review, National Disclosure Policy Committee (NDPC), MILDEP export policy, and other specific technology transfer processes. Many moving parts make up these processes and, thus, proper management is essential.

The rotating breakout sessions also allowed the attendees to mingle amongst the numerous displays and demonstrations that were on hand for all two days of the conference. DSCA set up a booth to demonstrate the SCIP. The display showed how the FMS customer and DoD personnel can view FMS case data from a tri-service perspective and perform such functions as submitting requisitions and Supply Discrepancy Reports (SDRs) on-line via a web-browser. The Humanitarian Demining Training Center (HDTC) setup a display to provide information on predeployment training for the Special Operations Forces and other DoD and U.S. government elements conducting mine action training for nations affected by landmines and other explosive remnants of war. This type of training directly supports the Secretary of Defense's Security Cooperation Guidance. The Defense Institute of International Legal Studies (DIILS) booth provided information on resident courses and Mobile Education Teams (MET) that teach Military Law, Justice Systems, and the Rule of Law through both. DIILS has reached out to and trained personnel in 108 different countries. The Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management (DISAM) had a display to promote the professional education, research, and support of both U.S. government and foreign security assistance personnel. DISAM helps to promote U.S. foreign policy through international affairs personnel professional development. The mentioned organizations were just a handful of groups that had displays and demonstrations present at Security Cooperation 2004.

To end the first day, Dr. Robert H. Trice, Senior Vice President Corporate Business Development, Lockheed Martin Corporation, gave a compelling presentation on the defense industry as a coalition partner. He compared the defense industry market to other industry markets to give a perspective of the role that the defense industry plays in U.S. economics. He applauded the U.S. government and the relationship it has formed with defense industry but urged the U.S. government to continue to improve the business processes that the defense industry must abide by in supporting security cooperation and U.S. national security objectives.

His Excellency Luis Alberto Moreno, Ambassador of Colombia, opened Day 2 of the conference. He shared a customer's perspective on Security Cooperation and coalition building. He made the point that the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) is being fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the U.S. is also fighting terrorism in other places around the world. The Colombian government has successfully teamed with the U.S. government to combat the terrorist group, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC). He put emphasis on the fact that the two governments have combined to use security cooperation for the people of Colombia, but the job is far from over. Colombia and the U.S. must continue to work together to make a more positive effect in South America and the world.

Dr. Joseph E. Goldberg, of the National Defense University, followed the ambassador. He focused on the terrorism and insurgency as threats to coalitions and overall stability. He pointed out that the U.S. government defines terrorism as a transnational issue because it cannot be satisfactorily addressed by a single state alone. As a result, coalitions are the best resource in combating terrorism at the transnational level. The problem with this approach is that not all states agree with the U.S. government definition of terrorism. He, therefore, concluded that coalitions that fight terrorism are often limited to those nations that share a common national interest and require continuous maintenance.

Robert W. Maggi, Managing Director, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), DoS, spoke to the relationship between DDTC and effective coalitions. He shared the fact that current standards for export license review are being met and can be validated by subjective measurement criteria. Additionally, he mentioned new processes, specifically a near real-time information management system, are being introduced to continue to streamline the export license review process.

The last guest speakers of the conference, Major General Craig D. Hackett, USA, Commanding General, United States Army Security Assistance Command (USASAC), RDML Mark R. Milliken, USN, Director Navy International Programs Office (IPO), and Major General John L. Hudson, USAF, Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs (SAF/IA), shared the stage together in a panel format. The three MILDEP leaders discussed security cooperation at the service level. They described their security assistance organizations within each MILDEP. Each service director spoke to the how they are using security cooperation to meet DoD, DSCA, and their individual Department's strategic plans and goals. Moreover, they identified trends that they are seeing from present security cooperation efforts and lessons learned from current world situations. Finally, the directors discussed how each MILDEP is involved in the development of innovative solutions to address security cooperation community's challenges.

Lieutenant General Kohler wrapped up the conference by stressing that the job is never finished. The security cooperation community is on the right track, but can always make improvements. It is up to security cooperation personnel to be proactive and develop professionally in order to meet foreign customer needs and achieve U.S. national security objectives. Because the world's landscape changes so quickly, problems within the security cooperation world must be tackled immediately to keep existing coalitions alive and preserve allied relationships for coalitions of the future.

Additional information about the "Security Cooperation 2004: Supporting Tomorrow's Coalitions Today," including presentations and pictures, can be found at the DSCA website http://www.dsca.mil/.

Lieutenant Christopher Krolikowski is an Instructor and the Research Database Administrator at the Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management. Upon graduation from Tulane University in 1999, he was commissioned as a Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy. Prior to DISAM, LT Krolikowski served as Ship's Navigator, USS HIGGINS (DDG 76) and Fire Control/Gunnery Officer, USS CARON (DD 970). Additionally, he is currently pursuing a MBA from Wright State University. LT Krolikowski contributed to the Security Cooperation 2004 portion of the article.

Forrest E. "Ed" Smith has an extensive background in security assistance programs and training. He is currently an Associate Professor of Security Assistance Management at DISAM. He has also held positions as a Logistics Analyst for DSAMS Training and Field Support, Chief, Arabian Programs Branch, Air Force Security Assistance Center (AFSAC), Chief, Cost Sharing Branch, Assistant Chief of Staff (J-4), Yongsan, Korea, AFLC Security Assistance Program Liaison Officer to PACOM, and Security Assistance Program Manager, International Logistics Center (ILC). He was awarded a Master's of Science in Logistics Management from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor's of Business Administration, Business and Finance from the University of Massachusetts. He contributed the International Customer Symposium portion of the article.