REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala., -- The year 2021 saw new leadership take the reins of U.S. Army Security Assistance Command’s multibillion dollar foreign military sales (FMS) portfolio. Brig. Gen. Garrick Harmon, who took command of USASAC in May, said relationships are the focus of the FMS aspect of security assistance.
Through relationship building with allies and partners, USASAC brought in $12 billion in new business and ended the year with a $210 billion portfolio, a $3 billion increase from the previous year. Case Development performance increased to a high average starting in Fiscal Year 2019, and has remained high through Fiscal Year 2021, ending the year at 91 percent on-time.
“The Army Security Assistance Enterprise closed 672 cases in Fiscal Year 2021, exceeding the Defense Security Cooperation Agency's goal of 550 cases,” said the command’s deputy to the commanding general, SES Dr. Myra Gray. “Our workers have been actively improving processes and training that makes case closure more efficient, and the efforts are paying off.”
Managing more than 6,500 foreign military sales for more than 140 nations around the globe, USASAC acknowledges people as their greatest strength and has continued to focus extensively on their professional development.
“We’ve recently fielded a knowledge management system called the Agile Learning Environment. This system boasts platforms that are similar to knowledge repositories like Wikipedia and YouTube, and allows the workforce to learn, train, collaborate and share vital information across the enterprise,” said Gray.
USASAC continues to professionally elevate their workforce through the Security Cooperation Workforce Certification Program, and the command is well on its way to certifying 100 percent of their employees by summer 2022.
These successes are executed under the purview of Brig. Gen. Garrick Harmon, who came to USASAC from the embassy in Moscow, where he served as Senior Defense Official and Defense Attaché, United States Defense Attaché Office, Embassy of the United States of America, Moscow, Russian Federation.
Other additions to the USASAC Team include:
• Col. Kenneth Burgess took command of Office of the Program Manager – Saudi Arabian National Guard Modernization Program in July 2021. Burgess’ last assignment was in Vicenza, Italy, where he commanded the 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne).
• Col. Andrew P. Clark took command of U.S. Army Security Training Management Organization in September 2021. Clark’s last assignment was with the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria where he served as the Senior Defense Official/Defense Attaché to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
• Also joining the USASAC team were and Col. James Zanella and Sgt. Maj. Matthew Strasser, heading the U.S. Army – Military Assistance Group in Saudi Arabia.
Highlights from USASAC's Regional Operations (RO) Directorates include the following:
• CENTCOM, with $4.9 billion in new business and 2,061 active cases totaling $133.7 billion. There are 20 countries in CENTCOM. Significant CENTCOM priorities for the fiscal year included major deliveries of UH-60 and HA-10 rockets. Emphasis on building capacity and supporting COCOM engagement strategies significantly strengthened regional partnerships across the Middle East.
• AFRICOM, with 765 active cases and a total active case value of approximately $5 billion. There are 53 countries in AFRICOM, whose primary tools for implementing U.S. strategy are posture, presence, programs, exercises, engagements and operations. Priority cases in fiscal 2021 included M1A1 tanks, AH-64E helicopters, Bell HUEY II helicopters and Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs).
• EUCOM, with $3.2 billion in new business, bringing their total up to 1,895 active cases with a total program value of $36.7 billion. There are 51 countries in EUCOM. Significant materiel priorities included Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Hellfire missiles, UH-60M helicopters Javelins and Strykers.
• NORTHCOM, with new business totaling approximately $71 million. NORTHCOM currently has 111 active cases worth approximately $1.7B. NORTHCOM has three countries. Significant cases for the fiscal year were Light Machine Guns/UH-60H helicopter sustainment and technical support/blanket order training.
• INDOPACOM, with approximately $1.8 billion in new business, and 1,082 cases at a total program value of $30.5 billion. There are 36 countries in INDOPACOM, which develops and executes FMS cases for partner nations in Asia and the Pacific. Significant INDOPACOM priorities for the fiscal year included cold weather gear, M777s and Excaliburs, Strykers and UH-60, UH-6 and AH-64 helicopters, and M1A2 Tanks.
• SOUTHCOM, with $141 million in new business and 435 active cases totaling $2.5 billion. There are 33 countries in SOUTHCOM. Significant SOUTHCOM priorities for the fiscal year were Beechcraft Aircraft, M1117s, aircraft components, technical support, helicopter simulators, Javelins and JLTVs.
Two of the command’s substantial, longstanding programs that have considerable impact on the global economy and regional stability are located in Saudi Arabia.
• USASAC’s Ministry of the Interior-Military Advisory Group continues to train and advise the Saudi Ministry of Interior’s Military Forces on defending their country from threats and protecting infrastructure. During the past year, female Soldiers provided training to Saudi Arabia military members, an occupation historically not open to women.
• USASAC’s Office of the Program Manager-Saudi Arabian National Guard Modernization Program—OPM-SANG— coordinated the first female military police training course, oversaw the issuance and new equipment training of one Light Armored Vehicle variant, continued support to forward-deployed SANG combat formations, and executed two phases for the aviation materiel fielding to complete an $11.7B foreign military sales case.
At Fort Bragg, N.C., the command’s Security Assistance Training Management Organization continues to stand ready to continue ongoing support and meet future mission requirements. USASATMO successfully collaborated with the 3rd Security Force Assistance Brigade to deliver premier training with the Bahrain Defense. USASATMO also conducted nine Foreign Affairs Counter Threat (FACT) courses, fully training for 129 deploying team members to increase their situational awareness and improve force protection.
USASAC’s Washington Field Office continues to see success in the Building Partnership Capacity program which has supported 59 countries receiving resources since 2016. In its 56th year, USASAC continues its vital mission of building partner capacity, supporting geographic combatant command strategies and strengthening global partnerships in support of U.S. national security.
“At a time of increasing levels of military competition around the globe, and as we seek to expand the global land power network as part of our approach to a multi-domain Army in competition, the important role of security assistance through foreign military sales will continue to grow,” Harmon said.
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