NEW CUMBERLAND, Pa. – A group of Defense Security Cooperation University (DSCU) students visited the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command (USASAC) in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, last month to gain understanding of foreign military sales case execution and facilitate direct relationships with their case management teams ahead of their upcoming diplomatic missions abroad.
The cohort of students from DSCU’s Security Cooperation Organization Qualification (SCO) Course will soon take on assignments at U.S. embassy-based military groups (USMILGP) throughout U.S. Central and Africa Commands.
The students learned about USASAC’s role in the security assistance enterprise through formal briefings, but they also had the chance to meet separately with their respective country case teams for a deeper dive into specifics.
Meeting in person also established relationships that will pay dividends, according to a course instructor, Patrick Schuler.
“Security cooperation and foreign military sales are governed by well-established procedures and laws, but relationships greatly enhance common understanding and help parties work through the inevitable challenges that arise when executing complex security cooperation programs," said Schuler.
For the students preparing to head overseas, the opportunity to put faces to names was invaluable. Navy Lt. Bryna Loranger, the incoming deputy USMILGP chief and Navy programs manager for Ghana, emphasized that it also provides an opportunity for building trust and cohesive teams.
"Face-to-face conversation is the most effective communication, and we won’t have that luxury often with our country program managers and portfolio directors once we’re in country,” said Loranger. “Understanding how they can best help us, and what they expect from us when we go overseas, makes you feel like you can really trust your teams."
Loranger added that seeing the sheer volume of work managed by a relatively small footprint of personnel was enlightening.
"It was eye-opening to see what a small but hard-working staff is at USASAC," Loranger observed. "Understanding that the makeup of the organization is primarily civilian and that most positions can be handling more than a dozen country portfolios at once is the type of perspective that we, as incoming USMILGP personnel, need from every agency we are going to be liaising with along the way."
To expand their perspective even further, the students went to the Naval Supply Systems Command joint consolidation point in nearby Mechanicsburg after their USASAC visit to experience the logistics and transportation side of security cooperation programs. At other times throughout the course, they have also met with Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Defense Exports and Cooperation leadership and additional country program managers (CPM), creating a holistic view of the security cooperation enterprise and its role in meeting national security objectives and strengthening global alliances.
This was the second cohort of SCO qualification course students to visit USASAC and NAVSUP, with the first group from U.S. European Command assignments meeting their counterparts over the summer.
Christina Wilson, a CPM with USASAC’s EUCOM regional operations, has found early engagement with DSCU students instrumental in building and accelerating the working relationship. She reflected on interactions with one such student who was bound for a Lithuania USMILGP.
"From before the time he touched down in Lithuania, he knew that USASAC was the face of Army FMS—that central point to reach back to—that could help him widen his net and understand his role and where he falls into the whole enterprise,” said Wilson. “It was incredibly beneficial in forging the strong bond that the CPM and CCM (central case manager) should have with the military group."
DSCU has prioritized creating these connections ahead of overseas assignments, ensuring that students are ready to make an immediate impact in their USMILGP roles. Through revamped, cohort-based courses based on real-world situations offered in the National Capital Region, DSCU prepares these DoW representatives to build readiness and relationships that better assist allies and partners in identifying defense sales requirements, improving Letters of Request, and accelerating the FMS process.
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