End Use Monitoring · 1 of 5
The Security Assistance Management Manual gives the working definition. "End Use Monitoring (EUM) is the process of verifying that defense articles and services transferred from the U.S. to our partners are being used, stored, and disposed of in accordance with the terms and conditions of the transfer agreements" (SAMM C8.1.1).
Three verbs carry the scope: used, stored, disposed of. Monitoring is not a delivery check. It runs from the moment title transfers until the equipment is demilitarized, and it covers where an item is kept and how it is eventually destroyed as much as what it is used for.
Monitoring works because the partner government has already agreed to it in writing. The obligations come from statute and are reproduced in the standard terms of every Letter of Offer and Acceptance.
Under the Arms Export Control Act, no defense article or service is sold or leased unless the recipient has first given two undertakings. It will not transfer title or possession to anyone who is not an officer, employee or agent of that government. And it will not use the item, or permit its use, for purposes other than those for which it was furnished. Either step requires the prior consent of the President (22 U.S.C. 2753(a)(2)).
The recipient must also have agreed that it "will maintain the security of such article or service and will provide substantially the same degree of security protection afforded to such article or service by the United States Government" (22 U.S.C. 2753(a)(3)).
For grant material the Foreign Assistance Act adds the access undertaking. The recipient agrees that it will, as the President may require, "permit continuous observation and review by, and furnish necessary information to, representatives of the United States Government with regard to the use of such articles" (22 U.S.C. 2314(a)(3)). That sentence is what allows an American official to walk into a partner's storage site at all.
Section 40A of the Arms Export Control Act directs that a program be established. Its stated purpose is "to improve accountability with respect to defense articles and defense services sold, leased, or exported" under that Act or the Foreign Assistance Act (22 U.S.C. 2785(a)(1)).
The standard the statute sets is not certainty. To the extent practicable, the program is to be designed to provide reasonable assurance that "the recipient is complying with the requirements imposed by the United States Government with respect to use, transfers, and security" of the articles and services, and that they are being used for the purposes for which they were provided (22 U.S.C. 2785(a)(2)(B)).
The statute also tells the program where to concentrate. It is to provide for verification of articles and services that incorporate sensitive technology, that are particularly vulnerable to diversion or other misuse, or whose diversion or misuse "could have significant consequences" (22 U.S.C. 2785(b)(1)). Those three categories are the origin of the tiering described in routine and enhanced end use monitoring.
One subsection closes an obvious gap. For the purposes of the section, articles and services sold, leased or exported include those "transferred to a third country or other third party" (22 U.S.C. 2785(d)). An approved onward transfer does not end the monitoring obligation.
The program that satisfies section 40A for government to government transfers is called Golden Sentry, and the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency administers it under delegated authority (SAMM C8.2.1).
The manual describes Golden Sentry as covering policies, procedures, tools and a global network of monitoring professionals who work with partners to maintain accountability of United States provided items throughout their life cycle (SAMM C8.2.2). The work in country is done by Security Cooperation Organizations, the defense offices attached to American embassies.
A second program covers the commercial side. The statute directs that monitoring follow the standards that apply for identifying high risk exports for regular end use verification, which it names the "Blue Lantern" program (22 U.S.C. 2785(a)(2)(A)). Blue Lantern checks are run by the Department of State and cover commercially exported articles, and a Security Cooperation Organization conducts them when directed by the Chief of Mission (SAMM C8.5.1).
The manual is explicit that monitoring is shared. It is a joint responsibility of the partner and the United States government, including the military departments, the combatant commands and the Security Cooperation Organizations (SAMM C8.2.3).
The handover point is title. "USG representatives have full responsibility for defense articles until title is transferred to the partner", and the partner then assumes that responsibility on the terms under which the transfer was made, including any restrictions on physical security and accountability (SAMM C8.2.3).
Grant material carries one further undertaking that sales do not. The recipient agrees to return articles that are no longer needed for the purposes for which they were furnished, unless the President consents to some other disposition. They go back for such use or disposition as the President considers to be in the interests of the United States (22 U.S.C. 2314(a)(4)). Equipment given rather than sold does not simply become the recipient's to keep once it falls out of use.
This is the sentence that decides who answers for a loss. Before title transfer the question is a United States government one. After it, the partner is accountable and the American role is verification, which is why the terms written into the Letter of Offer and Acceptance matter so much. How a case is assembled is covered in how an FMS case is built.
The program reports on itself annually. The President transmits a report describing the actions taken to implement the section, and it must include a detailed accounting of the costs and number of personnel associated with the monitoring program (22 U.S.C. 2785(c)).
A 2002 amendment added a second element to that report: "the numbers, range, and findings of end-use monitoring of United States transfers of small arms and light weapons" (22 U.S.C. 2785(c)). The agency responsible for drafting and submitting that report through the Department of State is the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (SAMM C8.9.12).
| EUM | End use monitoring, defined at SAMM C8.1.1. |
|---|---|
| Golden Sentry | The monitoring program for government to government transfers, run by DSCA. |
| Blue Lantern | The State Department end use check program for commercial exports, named in 22 U.S.C. 2785(a)(2)(A). |
| SCO | Security Cooperation Organization, the defense office at an American embassy that performs monitoring in country. |
| LOA | Letter of Offer and Acceptance, which carries the standard terms reproducing the statutory undertakings. |
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.
Monitoring obligations attach to equipment wherever it is stored and used. Sentfore provides protective security, secure movement, facilities and life support around defense programs in difficult environments, and its principals have worked on overseas defense and security programs of that kind. Requirements can be sent through the contact page.