How the annual training working group works

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1. What the embassy office owns in training

The Security Cooperation Organization (SCO) helps the host country identify, plan and program American training that meets its requirements, under the Security Assistance Management Manual (SAMM) (SAMM C10.5.1). It passes those requirements to the military department training activities, keeps training in step with other security cooperation activities, and adjusts plans as needed. It also carries the administrative work of sending International Military Students (IMSs) to the United States, or of bringing training to the country.

The manual asks for planning over several years (SAMM C10.5.1.1). Training should be sequenced to support wider security cooperation objectives and to close capability gaps, so that grant funding is combined with the partner’s own money. Ideally the SCO outlines a multi-year program covering International Military Education and Training (IMET) and other Defense and State Department grant programs. The outline should also cover the partner’s funding options, where training will happen and who will deliver it. It should weigh whether the country can find and screen qualified candidates within the short timelines many grant programs impose.

2. The combined training plan

The Combined Education and Training Program Plan (CETPP) helps the SCO define training requirements across all funding sources (SAMM C10.5.1.2). The Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) use its data and narratives to understand each country’s training priorities and issues. The SCO builds it in the online Security Cooperation Training Management System. Combatant Command (CCMD) planning documents give the framework, and the SCO makes sure the plan supports the Integrated Country Strategy for the partner.

The plan covers the budget year and the planning year, the budget year plus one (SAMM C10.5.1.2.2). It consolidates the partner’s training needs from a joint American and partner perspective. It considers every funding source, including the partner’s own funds, Foreign Military Financing, IMET, narcotics and law enforcement funds, Defense train and equip programs and the Regional Defense Fellowship Program. It also considers every training source, from the partner’s own schools to third countries and commercial providers. The plan feeds the SCO’s input to the military assistance budget requests. SCOs must update it with their partner counterparts at least 30 days before the CCMD’s annual working group, or as the CCMD directs (SAMM C10.5.1.2.1).

3. The annual working group

Each CCMD must host an annual Security Cooperation Education and Training Working Group (SCETWG) (SAMM C10.5.2). It addresses security cooperation and selected security assistance training requirements for the countries in the command’s area. The aim is to match planning to each country’s absorption capacity and to resource resident, non-resident and mobile training.

The manual lists the working group’s objectives (SAMM C10.5.2.1). It reviews and coordinates the plans and addresses strategic and operational training needs for the rest of the current year and the next budget year. It finalizes each country’s budget-year IMET and fellowship programs, discusses policy and planning issues, and gives training on the management systems where needed. CCMDs also use it to collect end-of-year review input from the SCOs. The CCMD coordinates the agenda with DSCA’s training division and the military departments at least 90 days ahead (SAMM C10.5.2.2). The agenda pairs a plenary session on policy with programmatic panels run mainly by the military departments.

After a final line-by-line review, the output is a country plan approved by the CCMD, DSCA and the State Department (SAMM C10.5.2.3). It covers the rest of the current year and the budget year for the programs reviewed. How the IMET budget year is reviewed and funded is covered in planning and funding the IMET year.

4. Who attends and how to prepare

Attendance is by CCMD invitation and limited to the people needed to staff the policy, military department, fellowship and resource panels (SAMM C10.5.3). SCO attendance is required for reviewing American-funded programs, normally one representative per country. Locally employed staff may attend as well where the CCMD judges it critical, and attending instead of the SCO needs CCMD approval. State and DSCA representatives, the military departments, the Coast Guard and field training activities may attend. Each expanded IMET school may send one representative, and other schools may attend at a military department’s request for country-specific courses.

Before the meeting, SCOs and military departments validate the remaining current-year training and build the budget-year and planning-year plans (SAMM C10.5.4). Training requests are entered into the training module of the Defense Security Assistance Management System by each service’s security assistance training activity. SCOs must make every reasonable effort to build programs that will not need revision after the review (SAMM C10.5.4.1). That matters most where quotas are scarce, where mobile teams must deploy at short notice from operational units, or where curricula are tailored. SCOs must also make sure the plan is complete and that the IMET percentage splits for professional military education and expanded IMET are respected (SAMM C10.5.4.2).

Afterward, the military departments confirm quotas, schedules and start dates with the schools (SAMM C10.5.5). Any later change to IMET course allocations approved at the meeting needs DSCA approval. The change must stay within the country’s IMET allocation and keep the required percentage levels.

5. Supporting teams in country

The SCO’s support for security cooperation education and training teams goes beyond requesting them, and the manual tabulates its duties (SAMM C10.22.12). The office forecasts team requirements into theater planning and the CETPP, and submits formal requests at the annual working group. It works with the host nation and the military department to validate training requirements and to identify case-unique duties in the implementing program directive. It makes sure equipment, instruction, facilities and publications are ready when the team arrives. It checks that trainees meet the prerequisites and are entered in the training system before training starts.

The same table reaches into daily support (SAMM C10.22.12). Where team members must fly on partner military aircraft, the SCO supports compliance with airworthiness policies. It reviews residential leases for rank and dependent status, and sends each lease request to the embassy’s interagency housing board where required. It periodically reviews the team’s petty cash and helps set up embassy payroll support for any foreign service employees hired for the team. The team chief’s own duties are covered in who a deployed team answers to.

Key terms

CETPP	The SCO’s plan of a partner’s training needs across all funding sources for two years.
SCETWG	The annual Combatant Command working group that reviews and approves country training plans.
Absorption capacity	How much training a partner can take on, given its people and timelines.
Resource panel	The working group panel that includes the expanded IMET schools.
Interagency housing board	The embassy board that approves residential leases where required.

Every statement above links to the document behind it. The full source list for this piece is on the sources page.

This page describes public United States government programs for general information. It is not legal, regulatory or procurement advice, and it does not address the facts of any particular case.

How Sentfore supports this

Training brought to a partner country also needs facilities and support on the ground. Sentfore works at the delivery end of defense programs in difficult environments, providing secure movement, protective security, facilities and life support. Requirements can be sent through the contact page.