End Use Monitoring · 3 of 5
For articles designated for enhanced monitoring, the sequence runs in one direction only. The military department or implementing agency is responsible for conducting physical security assessments to certify a partner's storage sites, and the rule that follows is absolute: "EEUM-designated defense articles may not be transferred to an uncertified site" (SAMM C8.4.8).
Certification is against a published standard. Sites are certified to the standards in the Department of Defense manual on the physical security of sensitive conventional arms, ammunition and explosives. Where an article is not covered by that manual, other appropriate authorities set the standard instead (SAMM C8.4.8).
Where a site falls short, the manual gives two ways forward and no third. "Discrepancies identified during the physical security storage site assessments shall be corrected or compensatory measures implemented prior to the transfer of any EEUM-designated defense articles" (SAMM C8.4.8).
A compensatory measure is a documented alternative where a partner site does not meet the stated physical security requirements. Risk management principles may be used to identify which measures are acceptable, and the shortfall itself has to be documented by the certifying agency (SAMM C8.4.8.4).
Those measures are then checked again every year. Embassy staff verify during annual inspections that site specific compensatory measures remain in place as documented (SAMM C8.4.8.4).
Certification is also tied to the site as it was assessed. Changes to a previously certified site that result in non-compliance with physical security requirements require recertification (SAMM C8.4.9). A partner that rebuilds, extends or repurposes a certified facility has created work, not saved it.
Certification is conducted consistently with the security risk category of the article to be stored. A certification issued by one implementing agency for a given category is reciprocally accepted for storage of another agency's articles in the same category, including any specified compensatory measures (SAMM C8.4.8.3).
A central repository makes that workable. Security inspectors check the storage site certification repository to see whether another agency has already certified a proposed location, and coordinate assessment visits in advance to avoid duplication (SAMM C8.4.8.3). Certification reports are uploaded to that repository within 30 calendar days of the certification being conducted (SAMM C8.4.8.1).
The cost falls on the case. "Certification and re-certification of partner storage sites storing EEUM-designated defense articles shall be case-funded" (SAMM C8.4.8.2).
Timing creates the only complication. Administrative funds may be used to certify a site before a case is implemented, but those costs must be reimbursed on the subsequent case. If the case is never implemented, pre-request agency funds remain the proper source (SAMM C8.4.8.2).
Once equipment arrives, accountability is established quickly. Embassy staff conduct assessments through planned visits to partner installations to "verify in-country receipt of EEUM-designated defense articles by serial number within 90 days of delivery" (SAMM C8.9.3). If the articles are already at their storage sites rather than in a customs holding area, the site is assessed at the same time.
After that the cycle is annual and complete. "SCOs must visually inventory 100 percent of in-country EEUM-designated defense articles within one year from the last inventory performed", and the assessment includes a review of the partner's own accountability procedures and inventory records as required by the case (SAMM C8.9.4).
Equipment that cannot be seen is not written off. An article unavailable during its annual cycle, because it is deployed or has gone back to the United States for repair, must be inventoried within 90 days of returning. In the meantime, accountability for items under repair is confirmed with the program office or the vendor (SAMM C8.9.6).
The disposition status recorded in the portal is what carries that reasoning. An article is not simply absent from a count. It is marked as deployed, under repair or otherwise accounted for, and the record has to be updated when it comes back.
Checks are performed against standard checklists, one completed for each storage facility assessed and attached to the inventory record in the portal (SAMM C8.9.2).
The manual attaches specific clocks to specific failures, and they are short.
The loss report states what is being done to recover the equipment where that is possible, and what is being done to prevent a recurrence (SAMM C8.9.7).
None of this reaches a partner as general policy. It arrives as a note in the case document. Implementing agencies develop physical security and accountability notes for inclusion in a Letter of Offer and Acceptance or other transfer agreement, coordinated and approved by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (SAMM C8.4.5.3).
Once approved for a case unique article, the same note is used each time that article appears on a different case (SAMM C8.4.5.3), and the implementing agency responsible for the article inserts it (SAMM C8.4.5.4).
For anyone reading a case, the note is the thing to find. It states what the partner has undertaken to do, and it is the document against which every later inventory and site assessment is measured. How designation happens in the first place is covered in routine and enhanced end use monitoring.
| Storage site certification | An agency assessment confirming a partner facility meets the physical security standard for the article. SAMM C8.4.8. |
|---|---|
| Compensatory measure | A documented alternative where a site does not meet the stated requirement. SAMM C8.4.8.4. |
| Security risk category | The classification that sets the standard a site is certified against, and the basis for reciprocity between agencies. |
| DoDM 5100.76 | The Department of Defense manual on physical security of sensitive conventional arms, ammunition and explosives. |
| SCIP | Security Cooperation Information Portal, which holds the certification repository and the inventory records. |
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.
Certification and annual inventories are physical work at physical locations. Sentfore provides protective security, facilities support, secure movement and life support around defense programs in complex environments, and its principals have worked on overseas programs in those conditions. Requirements can be sent through the contact page.