The defense institute of security assistance management sends a mobile education team to India.
The United States is transforming its bilateral relationship with India, an emerging global power that has provided crucial support for the war on terrorism. India and the United States also share a commitment to the global spread of democracy. We seek a greatly expanded and highly visible partnership with India on multiple strategic and programmatic fronts, and will continue the further expansion of our military, political, and economic relationships through a joint Defense Planning Group and high profile dialogues on economic issues, strengthening export controls, and important international issues.2004 Congressional Budget Justification - Foreign Operations
In December of 2001, representatives of the Ministry of Defence from the Government of India and their counterparts in the United States Department of Defense convened the first meeting of a newly formed India and U.S. Security Cooperation Group (SCG) to explore and understand mutual areas of security cooperation, particularly those pertaining to the sale of defense articles and services. One of the initiatives discussed in subsequent meetings of the SCG addressed the continuing need for bringing together knowledgeable members of the Arms Transfer Communities to discuss processes and procedures. An important step in that direction was to enlighten the participants of the Ministry of Defense (MoD) in India regarding the processes and procedures of U.S. foreign military sales (FMS). The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), acting as the Department of Defense (DoD) chair on the SCG, recommended that their education component, the Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management (DISAM) be requested to conduct a course in New Delhi for the military acquisition professionals in the Indian MoD.
To this end, a Mobile Education Team from the Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management (DISAM) was requested by the MoD and dispatched to New Delhi in July of 2002. The team was led by Dr. Mark Ahles, Director of International Studies at DISAM. The other instructors were Mr. Robert Hanseman and Mr. Michael Layton. They conducted a one weekA executive overview of Security Assistance Management which included classes on Legislation and Policy, FMS Process, Acquisition, Logistics and Financial Management. The participants in the seminar realized the rationale for the U.S. government legal requirements leading to the mutual protections offered by FMS agreements, as well as the other potential advantages of using the U.S. Defense purchasing system for military sales.
At the fourth meeting of the SCG in 2004, it was confirmed that a team of professors from DISAM would conduct additional courses in New Delhi in order to provide more in-depth information and train additional personnel. The DISAM Team consisted of Ms. Virginia Caudill, Director of Management Studies, who was accompanied by associate professors Mr. Tom Dop, and LCDR Ed McFarland, USN. The team was originally prepared to depart in May 2004, but the class was postponed until September 2004 because of the elections.
The DISAM instructors conducted a one-day Executive Level Seminar for twenty three senior military and civilian members of the Ministry of Defence. The executive seminar was designed specifically for those country officials involved in oversight, integration and management of the security assistance and defense sales process into overall country planning and requirements. The instruction focused on the legal requirements and processes for FMS in order to incorporate the customer requirements into the U.S. System for effective planning and program management. Other material presented included overviews of the FMS acquisition rules within the U.S. DoD procedures, logistics and sustainment support, and financial management of international military sales.
In addition, DISAM conducted a Security Assistance Planning and Resource Management Course for thirty-six civilian and military representatives of the MoD. This course was specifically intended for the country officials directly involved in the functions and management of the international sales programs. The curriculum included the planning and resource processes of requirements generation, budgeting, acquisition and sustainment within a security assistance relationship. The two-week course included detailed operational and application details. The schedule of individual classes began with an introduction of the general policies of the Security Assistance Programs, and then progressed into analysis of the documents and requirements for an effective program.
A representative from the Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) in India attended every class and contributed to the instruction by citing specific country examples. DISAM encouraged the Security Assistance Officers (SAO) to participate in their classes and the ODC members took maximum advantage of the opportunity to meet with students and discuss country affairs. This level of ODC participation clearly enhanced the educational objectives of the courses.
In addition to the ODC academic assistance, LTC Scott Denney, ODC Chief, opened and closed both classes. LTC Denney further augmented the instruction in both courses by providing a lecture on the operations of the ODC in India, explaining the office set-up and functions. The The Deputy Chief of Mission from the American Embassy, Mr. Robert Blake, gave opening remarks for the Executive Session and assisted in the distribution of diplomas in the Planning and Resource Management Course.
The team from DISAM would like to extend their appreciation to Mr. Harsh Chugh, a long time employee of the Office of Defense Cooperation in India, and international training manager and budget officer. In addition to setting up the course, and taking care of student enrollment, Mr. Chugh began communicating with DISAM as soon as the military education team was confirmed, making sure all administrative requirements for an effective course were in place. The instructors were able to concentrate on the academic elements, knowing that Mr. Chugh would have everything else taken care of.
Virginia K. Caudill is the Director of Management Studies at the Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management where she has been an associate professor for almost sixteen years. She came to DISAM with over fifteen years of security assistance experience in program management, acquisition, logistics and financial management with the United States Air Force. She has a Master of Arts degree in public administration and international programs from the University of Dayton, in Dayton, Ohio and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Language and Linguistics from the University of the Americas in Mexico. She is also a former Peace Corps volunteer.
Virginia K. Caudill Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management
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| Title Annotation: | FEATURE REFERENCE |
|---|---|
| Author: | Caudill, Virginia K. |
| Publication: | DISAM Journal |
| Geographic Code: | 9INDI |
| Date: | Jun 22, 2005 |
| Words: | 1032 |
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