Offices and People · 3 of 3
Every case has a named owner inside the American system. "The Implementing Agency (IA) assigns a Case Manager (CM) to each Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) to assist with case development, and to guide execution of the case after implementation" (SAMM C2.2.1).
The job title will not always say so. The term may differ by organization, appearing as country manager, command country manager, security assistance program manager, program support manager or line manager, "but all perform case management functions" (SAMM C2.2.1.1). The current name is held in the case system, which is where to ask.
Size is not the measure of effort. The manual contrasts a twenty five million dollar weapon system sale with a ten million dollar order for off-the-shelf spares and notes that both "require special attention (even a very low value case may involve many different functional activities)" (SAMM C2.2.1.2). The level of management depends on the buyer's experience with the system and with the process.
"The CM is the focal point for case activities and manages all aspects of the FMS case" (SAMM C2.2.2). Eleven published responsibilities give that content, and several are directly useful to a partner trying to work out who to ask.
The manager is the central point of contact and issues a master plan with key milestones. The manager ensures disclosure and technology transfer requirements are met, that transportation documents are in place, that contracting milestones are met, and that funding is there. The manager also checks that delivery and performance reports are accurate, and that the systems a partner can see reflect reality (SAMM Table C2.T1).
Two items have a long tail. Reconciliation runs "throughout its lifecycle starting with implementation", not at the end, and case records "are retained for a period of 10 years after final closure" (SAMM Table C2.T1). A question about a case closed six years ago is answerable.
Success is defined narrowly and usefully. The objectives are "to: provide all articles or services included in the case on schedule, within the stated value; and close the case in a timely manner" (SAMM C2.2.3). Closure is one of the three, which is why it gets chased.
There is an escalation duty that partners should know exists. A situation may put at risk the ability to meet a commitment, or produce an operational, political or readiness impact on the partner. The manager must then forward the matter in writing to the agency's country portfolio director and country finance director (SAMM C2.2.5). The stated purpose is "to inform the broader security cooperation (SC) enterprise in advance and coordinate a unified response to the international partner".
One category bypasses that coordination entirely. Where the situation "also poses an immediate safety risk (to include safety of flight, safety of use, etc.) to the international partner's use of delivered defense articles", the agency notifies the partner immediately rather than waiting for a coordinated answer (SAMM C2.2.5). Safety outruns process, and it is the one situation where a partner should expect a fast and unpolished message.
The main reporting instrument is a plan rather than a report. The manager "develops a program master plan that separates the case into management components, indicates significant activities in the execution of the case, and establishes an implementation schedule" (SAMM C2.2.6).
It is required on larger sales. That covers sales crossing the congressional notification threshold, and "proposed sales that represent an increase of more than fifteen percent to the FMS purchaser's current active program" (SAMM C2.2.6). It may also be required on other sales at the agency's or the implementing agency's discretion.
It goes to the buyer as well as upward. The manager "provides the master plan to higher authority and to the FMS customer to forecast events and track progress", and it "will be updated and reissued after significant project milestones, prior to program management reviews (PMRs), and as part of the development of amendments to the FMS case" (SAMM C2.2.6). A partner not receiving one on a case of that size is missing something it is entitled to. What happens at the reviews themselves is set out in case reviews and how often they happen.
For cases funded by American grants rather than partner money, the case manager is downstream of a budget process that starts two years earlier and does not begin in the defense department.
"The Military Assistance Budget is under the direct purview of the Department of State (State) and is included in its International Affairs Budget request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)" (SAMM C2.3.3.1). The secretary of state is the final authority on the levels in that request. Congress appropriates, the state department passes the money to the defense department, and the security cooperation agency administers it.
The lead time is the part worth internalizing. Annual preparation of these budgets is for funding that "will be executed two years in the future" (SAMM C2.3.3.1). A requirement raised this year is competing for money that will arrive the year after next.
What a submission must contain is specified, and it is not a shopping list. Requests must carry out-year requirements and objective-oriented input "detailing what needs to be accomplished and why, the capability being created, enhanced, or maintained, how long it will take to achieve the objective, and the desired end state" (SAMM C2.3.3.1.4), with justifications tying materiel to that objective.
The cycle is published, and knowing it tells a partner when its arguments have to be made rather than when they will be answered.
Preliminary information reaches offices in country in mid August and the data call follows in mid September. Offices submit to their combatant commands in late October, commands to the joint staff in mid December, and the joint staff to the agency in early January. The agency submits to the policy offices in early February. Recommendations reach the state department in mid March, and regional budget roundtables follow in mid April (SAMM Table C2.T2).
A partner's influence is concentrated in the first two steps, before late October. After that its requirement is inside an American staffing process and is competing on American terms. The factors that then decide the answer include "fiscal constraints, policy and political concerns, sanctions, schoolhouse capacity, effective and efficient use of previously provided funding, and availability of other SC funds" (SAMM C2.3.3.1.6).
One document then governs execution. The baseline "must be followed when submitting Letters of Request (LORs) and executing Letters of Offer and Acceptance (LOAs) unless a deviation is sought" and approved by the state department (SAMM C2.3.3.1.7). A request that departs from it is a request that needs a separate approval first.
| Case manager | The named owner of a case, whatever the local job title says. SAMM C2.2.1. |
|---|---|
| Program master plan | The milestone document required on larger sales and provided to the buyer. |
| Fifteen percent | The increase to an active program that triggers a master plan. |
| Program baseline | The approved plan for grant funds that requests and cases must follow. |
| Two year lead | The gap between preparing a grant budget and executing it. |
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.
Budgets are set years ahead; delivery happens in the present. Sentfore supports defense programs at the delivery end, providing secure transport, protective security, facilities and life support in complex environments. Requirements can be sent through the contact page.