The teams sent to a partner country

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1. One label, several very different jobs

Training a partner does not always mean bringing its people to the United States. Often it means sending Americans the other way, and the manual has a single umbrella term for everyone sent. "Security Cooperation Education and Training (SCET) teams consist of U.S. Military, DoD civilian, and/or contractor personnel deployed to a foreign country on temporary duty (TDY) (179 days or less), or Permanent Change of Station (PCS) (more than 179 days) status" (SAMM C10.22.1).

That single sentence carries the two distinctions everything else rests on. The first is who the people are, which may be uniformed, civilian or contracted. The second is how long they stay, with 179 days as the line between a visit and a posting.

What they do is stated broadly: advice, training, technical assistance or support to host nation personnel, aimed at specific objectives in developing a country’s capabilities (SAMM C10.22.1). Deployments are meant to sit inside the combatant command campaign plan and the embassy country strategy rather than stand alone.

2. The authority decides what the team may do

Two different bodies of law can put a team on the ground, and the choice changes the rules it lives under. Where the authority is the defense title, the embassy office must make sure the team understands the rules of engagement attached to that particular section of law. Unresolved questions go to the combatant commander’s legal adviser before departure (SAMM C10.22.1.2). The distinction between the two titles is set out in Title 10 and Title 22 funding.

Where the authority is the assistance title, the constraints are explicit and worth reading twice. "Teams deploying under security assistance (SA) authorities, Title 22 U.S.C., will not engage in, or provide assistance or advice, to foreign forces in a combat situation" (SAMM C10.22.1.3).

Two further bars keep the team separate from the institutions around it. "Teams deploying under SA authorities must not perform SCO functions or augment the SCO or U.S. forces in country" (SAMM C10.22.1.3), and "Teams will not serve as an integral part of the Armed Forces of the hosting nation" (SAMM C10.22.1.3). Operational duties are barred except where they are needed for on the job instruction in operating or maintaining the equipment itself.

3. The long stay: specialists, contractors and field teams

Three arrangements cover people who move to the country rather than visit it. The first is the individual specialist. "Extended Training Service Specialists (ETSSs) are DoD military and/or civilian personnel normally deployed in a PCS status and who are technically qualified to provide defense related advice and instruction," typically on installing, operating and maintaining a system (SAMM C10.22.2.1).

Their position is carefully drawn. "ETSSs are attached to the SCO for operational oversight and administrative and logistical support, but do not perform SCO staff duties" (SAMM C10.22.2.1). What that office is and does is described in the security cooperation organization. Under the grant training program the posting is time limited: "ETSSs may be provided for periods up to one year under IMET" (SAMM C10.22.2.1.3), with longer periods needing named approval.

The second arrangement is commercial. "Contract Field Services (CFS) are civilian personnel under contract from private industry who perform the same functions as ETSSs" (SAMM C10.22.3), used where the implementing agency decides government personnel are not practical. The contracting relationship is then held at arm’s length: "CFS contracts are non-personal services contract. U.S. officers and employees should have no supervisory control over contractor personnel" (SAMM C10.22.3.3). Contract staff are also kept out of command, supervisory and policy positions, and out of any foreign government organization.

The third is the field team. "Technical Assistance Field Teams (TAFTs) are DoD and/or contractor personnel deployed in a PCS status for the purpose of providing in-country technical, advisory, or maintenance support to foreign personnel on specific equipment, technology, weapons, and supporting systems" (SAMM C10.22.4). The emphasis falls on support rather than instruction: "Any training a TAFT provides is collateral to their technical and maintenance support function. TAFTs cannot be provided under IMET" (SAMM C10.22.4).

4. The short visit

For everything shorter there is the mobile team. "MTTs are DoD and/or contract personnel on TDY (up to 179 days) for the purpose of training foreign personnel in the operation, maintenance, or support of weapon systems and support equipment" (SAMM C10.22.5). An education team is the same idea in a seminar format, built originally around the expanded grant program described in what IMET funds.

The day limit is not a soft target. "Requirements for assistance in excess of 179 days should be met by CONUS training or be provided as an ETSS" (SAMM C10.22.5). A need that runs longer is a different instrument, not a longer visit.

Three narrower teams sit under the same heading. A technical assistance team goes out on temporary duty to install, maintain or repair equipment already supplied, and the manual draws the line plainly: "Similar to TAFTs, TATs provide SA services, not SA training" (SAMM C10.22.5.7). Its funding is constrained: "TAT services can be provided under an FMS case but cannot be provided under IMET, except in the case of the installation of English language laboratories" (SAMM C10.22.5.7).

A survey team comes earlier in the sequence. "Requirement Survey Teams (RSTs) deploy to help the SCO develop and define equipment, training and technical assistance requirements for the host nation" (SAMM C10.22.5.8). A pre deployment site survey is smaller again, an advance party sent to confirm that preparations for the main body are in place.

5. What a supplier can take from this

The team type names the commercial opening. A field team or a specialist posting is a long presence with housing, transport and support requirements attached. A mobile team is a short intense visit with facilities and equipment needed on arrival and nothing afterwards.

The bars are worth knowing as well. A team on assistance authority cannot take on the embassy office’s own work, cannot join the partner’s forces, and cannot advise in combat. Requirements that fall outside those lines are met some other way, which is usually where a commercial requirement appears.

Key terms

SCET team	The umbrella term for any team sent to a partner country to advise, train or support. SAMM C10.22.1.
179 days	The line between temporary duty and a permanent change of station, and the ceiling on a mobile team.
ETSS	An individual specialist posted to the country, attached to the embassy office but not part of its staff.
TAFT and TAT	Field teams providing technical and maintenance support, one posted and one on temporary duty.
MTT and MET	Mobile training and education teams, capped at 179 days.

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

A team in country needs somewhere to live, a way to move and someone watching the gate. Sentfore works at the delivery end of defense programs in difficult environments, providing secure movement, protective security, facilities and life support for people and equipment on the ground. Requirements can be sent through the contact page.