$$


LLessons F


EARNED IN FMS


FMS is a complex ‘team sport’ with a lot of players, and a vital means to help partner nations reach their security goals, as well as to help keep the U.S. Army’s industrial base warm and support program management goals and the principles of bet ter buying power. PM SSL’s ef forts in sales to many dif ferent countries have yielded useful insights in overcoming challenges.


by COL Michael E. Sloane and Mr. Charles Meixner


oreign military sales (FMS) are a team sport. Success requires a great deal of coordination and contribu- tions from the Army acquisition enterprise and other Army-specific agencies that participate in the FMS


process with partner nations, including the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command (USASAC), the U.S. Army Corps of Engi- neers, the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and the U.S. Department of State, among others. FMS cases require the support of life-cycle management commands; research, devel- opment and engineering commands; and program executive offices (PEOs).


One of the primary reasons that FMS is a team sport, and a vigorous one at that, is that the process is far from elegant; it is complex and multifaceted, sometimes presenting questions with no easy answers. In some instances, the decision to sell U.S. military equipment is relatively straightforward, such as with close allies like many nations in Europe. With other nations, the decision-making process may have considerably more layers and nuances.


As the Project Manager for Soldier Sensors and Lasers (PM SSL) has learned, program management offices must be heav- ily involved. Contributing organizations work together to plan, program, budget and execute FMS cases with the same high degree of attention to detail and efficiency as other DOD pro- curement activities.


THERE WILL BE SURPRISES Essentially, every request that PM SSL, assigned to PEO Soldier, gets for an FMS case is a surprise, but the surprises are ones that PM SSL has come to expect over 12 years of involvement in FMS. PM SSL has garnered considerable experience and gathered lessons learned in various aspects of FMS, including advance planning and detailed discussion, data disclosure, con- tracting approaches and follow-on supply issues.


All orders for FMS products come through USASAC, which works with the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Exports and Cooperation (DASA(DE&C)). Te DASA(DE&C), in concert with other organizations such as the


ASC.ARMY.MIL


155


FOREIGN MILITARY SALES


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188  |  Page 189  |  Page 190  |  Page 191  |  Page 192  |  Page 193  |  Page 194  |  Page 195  |  Page 196  |  Page 197  |  Page 198  |  Page 199  |  Page 200  |  Page 201  |  Page 202  |  Page 203  |  Page 204  |  Page 205  |  Page 206  |  Page 207  |  Page 208