WEBVTT

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Well , good morning everyone . I'm

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Jerry o'keefe . I'm a proud a USA life

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member and I'm also uh an a USA senior

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fellow . Uh by way of a little more

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background , I currently work as the

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chairman of the board and the CEO of a

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great not for profit called the

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Civilian Marksmanship Program . I've

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been doing that for a couple of years

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and uh prior to that , I had a full

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career in the active army and following

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that 10 years as a member of the senior

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executive service , uh uh mostly with

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time in the Pentagon as part of the

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army secretariat . So it's a pleasure

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to be here with all of you this morning .

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And thank you for joining us for this

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contemporary Mili military forum titled

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titled Harnessing The Power of a

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Modernized Security Cooper operation

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environment . As your professional

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association . The association of the

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United States Army is proud to provide

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forums like this like this one

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throughout the year that broaden the

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knowledge base for army professionals

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and those who support the army . A USA

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will amplify the US army's narrative to

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audiences inside the army and help to

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further the association's mission to be

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the voice for the army support for the

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soldier . Of course , we cannot do this

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alone . A USA relies on its members to

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help tell the army story and to support

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our soldiers and their families . A

01:18.830 --> 01:20.849
strong membership base is vitally

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important for our advocacy efforts in

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Congress , the Pentagon , the defense

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industrial base and to the public and

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communities across the country through

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A U SAS 122 chapters within the United

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States and nine other countries . So uh

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who here is a member of A OS A if I

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could get a show of hands . So almost

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everyone . Great . No surprise there

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for those who raised your hand . We

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thank you for everyone else unless

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opted out when you registered and I'm

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sure no one did that . Uh You are now a

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new basic no cost member of a USA . So

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congratulations to those members and we

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thank you . If you're not already a

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premium member and would like to

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elevate your member benefits . Please

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visit the A USA member zone located at

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the L street bridge near halls uh Delta

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and Echo or sign up online at a usa.org

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backslash membership . A USA is a

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membership organization . We can't do

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it without you . You help a USA be an

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effective voice for the total army and

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provide support for the soldier and

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their families on behalf of General

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Brown A US A's president and the rest

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of the A USA team . A USA . Thanks

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these speakers with a small token of

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appreciation and find it .

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So it's this great little a USA

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umbrella that they , that they all have .

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And uh , we appreciate all of you for

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being here today . Uh So now we will

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turn it over to our moderator ,

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Lieutenant General Charles Hooper , us

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army retired with the Cohen group .

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Thank you very much Jerry .

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And thanks again to a USA for hosting a

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fantastic uh uh annual meeting as they

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always do . Well , good morning ,

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everyone . Oh , come on guys . It is

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an army function . We can do better

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than that . Good morning , everyone who

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much better , much better . Uh As Jerry

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said , my name is Lieutenant General ,

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retired Charles Hooper . I am a life

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member of a USA . Um I am a

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proud us army foreign area officer ,

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senior counselor at the Cohen Group and

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former Director of the Defense Security

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Cooper Agency . And it is my honor uh

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to moderate today's discussion . So as

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a young man , I was an infantryman and

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I was told to always start with the

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mission to our mission today . Uh We

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have two . First is to allow us to

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reflect on the progress made by the

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army Security Cooper Operation

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enterprise during this very tumultuous

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year with conflicts all around the

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world and the need to strengthen our

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allies and partners even more present .

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And we're gonna share some success

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stories with you . Our second mission

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is to look ahead and to see how efforts

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undertaking this year can be leveraged

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to further benefit the security

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co-operation , enterprise and

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environment next year . So we're gonna

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begin with some opening introductions

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and opening statements from our three

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panel members . Uh We'll have a

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moderated discussion and then towards

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the end , we will take questions from

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the audience and Miss Martin and Miss

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Tyler , would you raise your hands ,

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please ? They'll be collecting the

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cards with the questions on them .

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They'll bring them up here and then

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we'll ask the questions from here on

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the podium . So to accomplish our

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mission today , we have assembled a

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very distinguished group of panelists

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starting with Mr Patrick Mason , Deputy

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assistant Secretary of the Army for

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defense exports and cooperations , the

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D A deck to many of us , the army's

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principal responsible for security

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cooperations with over 150 countries .

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And he brings deep experience in the

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aviation and missile communities and in

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the interagency as well . Next to him ,

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we have Mr Mike Miller , director of

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the defense Security co-operation

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Agency . Mike has over 24

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years working on political military

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issues in the Department of State . He

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was a valued colleague of mine when I

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was DS C A director and he brings a

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unique perspective to DS C A where ,

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where he oversees the nation's top

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security cooper operation programs and

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has responsibility as the executive

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agent for F MS Ed A among other many ,

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many other responsibilities next to Mr

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Miller is Brier General Alan Pepper ,

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the new commanding general of the

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United States Army Security Assistance

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Command . He leads the Army Material

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Command , security assistance

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enterprise , overseeing the army's $281

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billion . That's billion with A B in

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foreign military sales . A proud us

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army foreign area officer . He

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previously served as the US defense at

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the State of Iraq and has held a number

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of other key senior foreign area

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officer assignments . Before we get

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started with the moderated discussion ,

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I would ask our three panelists uh and

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I'd ask the three of you to offer some

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brief opening comments . So General

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Pepper will start with you and then

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we'll go to Mr Miller and we'll end

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with Mr Mason . So over to you ,

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General Pepper . Thank you , sir .

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First off , it's a great honor to be

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here on the , on the stage with uh some

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very , very senior security

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cooperations with years of experience

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at the , the highest levels of the

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field um for the last 15 years or so ,

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my experience uh in security

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cooperations much been been much more

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down at the uh the practitioner level

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uh either serving as a senior defense

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official , defense attache uh in , in

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three different co coms uh or uh at an

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army service uh component command . Um

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And those experiences have given me a

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really a great appreciation of how

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important , how valuable security

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cooperations , security assistance and

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particularly particularly uh foreign

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military sales are uh as a as tools

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for building relationships for tools

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of influence and tools within the

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competition sphere , probably most

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clearly observed this in my last year

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serving as the , the sto dat uh in Iraq

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uh where we are in , in stark

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competition , strong competition , we

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usually think of competition with the

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Chinese or the or the Russians . But

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there , it's much more with , with ,

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with Iran , the neighbor to the east .

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And uh I got to see um that many of the

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Iranian , I'm sorry , Iraqi senior

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officials were Tehran leaning . Uh And

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for that matter , for historical , for

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uh cultural , for geographic reasons ,

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many of the , the uh senior military

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officials had had those natural

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leanings as well . Um But at the same

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time , those military officials had a

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lot of experience with the United

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States army and they had a lot of

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experience with our equipment . Uh and

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they liked our equipment , they wanted

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to maintain that equipment , they

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wanted to get more of that equipment .

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Um And they realized that maintaining

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that link , the strong link with the

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United States and particularly with the

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United States army was essential for

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them to do so to do so . Therefore , it

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was a very strong tool in our whole of

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government approach of dealing with the

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Iraqi government to keep them from

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leaning too far to the east towards

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Tehran . They'll never be 100% in the

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in the western camp . But foreign

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military sales served as an important

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tool to keep them at least 1 ft uh in

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the Western camp . And that's really a

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tribute to , to industry in many ways

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because they have developed such

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wonderful uh and durable uh pieces of

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equipment and , and , and capabilities

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that they've helped the Iraqi military

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forces to , to gain over time and that

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they want to maintain . Um And as we

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talked with our Iraqi partners about

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maintaining that equipment or , or

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getting more of it , acquiring more of

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it . Of course , we had to talk about

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timelines and that was what would

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sometimes be a bit of a point of

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frustration where they uh they were a

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little bit almost a sticker shock of

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how long it might take to uh to acquire

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this or that . Uh And I would argue ,

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hey , hey , you know , you want the

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best , you want the best it takes time .

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Uh There's competition , it's an

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important , uh you know , growth period

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right now . That's , that's just

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natural . Um That only works so far .

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Uh We all know that , that all partners

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have , you know , a certain level of

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patience uh that , that wants to go

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past it , they're gonna start looking

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elsewhere . Um And so it helped me to

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realize or to , to gain an

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understanding of how important it is

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that we work in partnership with the

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other folks that are on this stage with

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the other government agencies , whether

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it be uh within dod within uh the , the ,

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the state Department uh Congress for

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that matter , to streamline our

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procedures to streamline the foreign

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military sales process to make it more

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efficient , uh more effective , uh more

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transparent so that we can respond at

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the pace of action that our partners

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require . And I look forward to working

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with our , my teammates on that in the

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years to come and I look forward to

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this discussion this morning . Thank

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you very much , sir . Thank you , Mr

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Miller . Thank you , General Hooper .

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It's uh honor and a privilege to be

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here uh today to address all of you .

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Uh This is a great event . Uh And it's

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a great panel and that starts uh John

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Hooper with you as a , as a uh security

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Cooper operation legend of sorts around

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these place , these places . Um I'm ,

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I'm pleased to talk a little bit about

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what we've achieved this year and

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security Cooper and uh what we can look

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forward to . Um I think it's fair to

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say that it's been uh a frenetic year .

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Uh It's been a really tough year in a

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lot of ways . Uh But it's also been uh

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a year really of um of both innovation

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and , and execution , uh a program uh

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and authority uh to a level that uh we

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haven't seen before . Um We're called

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upon by the national defense strategy

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to uh leverage our network , our a

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thatched network of partners and allies .

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Um And I think we're doing our best to

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do that . And the Secretary of Defense

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has called us to do this uh and a call

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to action that he issued with the issue .

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And so the national strategy to break

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down barriers to cooper operation with

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those partners and allies in service of

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meeting our our pacing challenge with

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China and the acute threat posed by

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Russia . So that's the focus of my

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agency is wor is working with our

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partners and allies to working with

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them to prepare , produce capabilities

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for them uh that are enduring . Um And

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I think it's fair to say that over the ,

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the course of the past year , as I said ,

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uh the F MS system in particular has

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responded in unprecedented ways . That

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is thanks to the work of uh the

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workforce . Uh I see many

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representatives of that workforce here

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in this room right now . Um Strong

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congressional support uh both for uh

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what has gone forward in the form of

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major sales and then also a panoply of

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authorities and funding sources that

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were otherwise uh not available uh to

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the executive uh in past years .

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Certainly partner and ally will uh and

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a desire to improve their capabilities

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in light of the threats that they see .

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And then also the , the trust that they

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put in us to partner with us in the

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preparation and development of those

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capabilities . And then certainly none

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of this is possible that the defense

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industrial base uh both here in the

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United States and then where we

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leverage industrial capacity abroad .

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Uh And there's more to say on that ,

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but really , it's been , uh it's been

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quite a remarkable year . Um And the

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challenge before us really is to

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continue to evolve and to innovate uh

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not get stuck in our ways . Uh There

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are things we can do both in , in

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certainly our processes and I hope to

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talk a little bit about that . Um And

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also uh just frankly , just pure

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execution on what we've laid out in

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front of ourselves to , to do this year

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and in the future . So as we go through

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uh the , the panel discussion and , and

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then possibly in the Q and A hope to

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talk a little bit again about uh

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achievements . And uh some of our plans ,

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talk a little bit about our reform of

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the foreign military sales system . Uh

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That continues some of the financing

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options we've been able to develop in

13:26.154 --> 13:28.321
service of supporting our partners and

13:28.321 --> 13:30.543
allies . And then a bit about how we've

13:30.543 --> 13:32.766
uh continued to invest in our workforce

13:32.766 --> 13:32.760
and in new and innovative ways . Uh

13:32.770 --> 13:34.937
With that , I'll , I'll pause and turn

13:34.937 --> 13:36.937
over Pat . Thank you very much , Mr

13:36.937 --> 13:39.048
Mason , over to you to talk about our

13:39.048 --> 13:41.159
army . All right . All right . Well ,

13:41.159 --> 13:43.326
thanks very much . It uh is again , as

13:43.326 --> 13:45.381
you've already said , very , very uh

13:45.381 --> 13:47.659
great to be sitting on this panel here .

13:47.659 --> 13:46.809
Thanks General Hooper for hosting it .

13:46.820 --> 13:48.987
Again , I know for General Hooper , uh

13:48.987 --> 13:51.098
this is much more than just coming in

13:51.098 --> 13:53.320
and sitting and this is his passion and

13:53.320 --> 13:55.098
I appreciate his mentorship and

13:55.098 --> 13:57.153
guidance as uh as an old sage within

13:57.153 --> 13:59.320
this and uh helping us navigate very ,

13:59.320 --> 14:01.487
very turbulent waters if you will , as

14:01.487 --> 14:03.653
uh as we look at this increase in , in

14:03.653 --> 14:03.390
workload or really the security

14:03.400 --> 14:05.289
environment that's driving uh the

14:05.289 --> 14:07.344
actions that we need to take place ,

14:07.344 --> 14:09.456
that need to take place . Uh I , I do

14:09.456 --> 14:11.678
want to to take a step back . And first

14:11.678 --> 14:13.678
and foremost , recognize the almost

14:13.678 --> 14:15.567
5000 army professionals that work

14:15.567 --> 14:15.489
across the army , security assistance ,

14:15.500 --> 14:17.222
enterprise and the arms cooper

14:17.222 --> 14:19.222
operation enterprise , uh executing

14:19.222 --> 14:21.333
just tremendous workload , tremendous

14:21.333 --> 14:23.669
work on a daily basis trying uh to

14:23.679 --> 14:25.512
achieve and support our national

14:25.512 --> 14:27.401
defense strategy as strengthening

14:27.401 --> 14:29.623
allies and partners . Uh and as part of

14:29.623 --> 14:31.457
that , as well as increasing the

14:31.457 --> 14:31.049
resiliency and robustness of our

14:31.059 --> 14:33.170
defense industrial base . And none of

14:33.170 --> 14:34.948
this happens without those 5000

14:34.948 --> 14:36.948
individuals that are out there in a

14:36.948 --> 14:38.948
context of team of teams across the

14:38.948 --> 14:40.948
army enterprise and then working in

14:40.948 --> 14:43.003
good partnership with our allies and

14:43.003 --> 14:45.115
making sure that we have transparency

14:45.115 --> 14:46.837
and that this isn't a customer

14:46.837 --> 14:48.892
relationship , although it is called

14:48.892 --> 14:51.059
sales . It's really about being a good

14:51.059 --> 14:53.226
partner , being a good teammate within

14:53.226 --> 14:55.059
the army and our ability to , to

14:55.059 --> 14:57.059
deliver on our commitments . And uh

14:57.059 --> 14:58.948
certainly General Pepper talked a

14:58.948 --> 15:01.115
little bit about that on timelines and

15:01.115 --> 15:03.115
commitments and what it takes uh so

15:03.115 --> 15:05.281
that we can achieve what we set out to

15:05.281 --> 15:07.392
go do . Uh So this is my , my third a

15:07.392 --> 15:09.780
USA in this role . And so it gave me an

15:09.789 --> 15:11.845
opportunity to reflect really on the

15:11.845 --> 15:14.011
first panel that I did , which was two

15:14.011 --> 15:16.233
years ago . And then really where we've

15:16.233 --> 15:18.400
come , I certainly would open up uh to

15:18.400 --> 15:20.567
discuss any of that . But , you know ,

15:20.567 --> 15:20.340
when I first came into it , the mandate

15:20.349 --> 15:22.349
that uh really the Secretary of the

15:22.349 --> 15:24.349
Army provided uh was take a look at

15:24.349 --> 15:26.516
what DAS AQ needs to be as part of the

15:26.516 --> 15:28.516
secretariat and at the headquarters

15:28.516 --> 15:30.571
department of the Army uh to achieve

15:30.571 --> 15:32.738
our mission on synchronizing the A SAE

15:32.738 --> 15:34.793
and ensuring it's integrating and we

15:34.793 --> 15:37.016
achieve operational excellence . And so

15:37.016 --> 15:39.071
2023 was all focused on what I would

15:39.071 --> 15:41.127
say is daae uh redesign to make sure

15:41.127 --> 15:43.127
that as the state department says ,

15:43.127 --> 15:45.293
retooling for the future , but that we

15:45.293 --> 15:44.419
understood the environment that we were

15:44.429 --> 15:46.651
in and that we're ready to move forward

15:46.651 --> 15:48.873
uh given the growth and just to provide

15:48.873 --> 15:51.096
perspective on growth within the army .

15:51.096 --> 15:53.096
Uh two years ago , foreign military

15:53.096 --> 15:55.096
sales averaged about $14 million.14

15:55.096 --> 15:57.318
billion dollars per year . Uh This past

15:57.318 --> 16:00.869
year , we hit 42.9 $43 billion . And so

16:00.880 --> 16:02.658
you see that growth , it really

16:02.658 --> 16:04.940
indicates the fact that the magnitude

16:04.950 --> 16:07.061
of that growth has really highlighted

16:07.070 --> 16:09.070
where we need to improve within the

16:09.070 --> 16:11.126
army , separate from the interagency

16:11.126 --> 16:13.348
process to really being able to achieve

16:13.348 --> 16:15.403
operational excellence . And so from

16:15.403 --> 16:17.539
that das A deck , internal redesign ,

16:17.549 --> 16:20.500
if you will in 2023 uh we focused on

16:20.510 --> 16:22.732
the army security assistance enterprise

16:22.732 --> 16:24.843
as a whole . In 2024 the secretary of

16:24.843 --> 16:27.479
the army released a F MS reform uh

16:27.489 --> 16:30.039
implementation memorandum in April that

16:30.049 --> 16:32.216
uh has guided the direction that we're

16:32.216 --> 16:34.382
moving . Uh My boss , honorable Bush ,

16:34.382 --> 16:36.438
who's the army acquisition executive

16:36.438 --> 16:38.438
released some execution guidance in

16:38.438 --> 16:40.549
July . And so we are now focused on a

16:40.549 --> 16:42.493
se reform and into 2025 and how we

16:42.493 --> 16:44.716
ensure that , that it drives throughout

16:44.716 --> 16:46.719
the enterprise . Uh And we are

16:46.729 --> 16:49.809
implementing those necessary changes

16:49.820 --> 16:51.940
and transformation . And I'll go back

16:51.950 --> 16:54.061
yesterday . Uh you know , they always

16:54.061 --> 16:56.006
give me lots of talking points and

16:56.006 --> 16:57.839
everything . And then I'm always

16:57.839 --> 16:59.950
listening to the speakers as I'm here

16:59.950 --> 17:02.172
at a USA . And so yesterday , the chief

17:02.172 --> 17:01.719
staff of the army at the Eisenhower

17:01.729 --> 17:04.099
luncheon talked about the army needing

17:04.109 --> 17:06.270
to have process innovation . And I

17:06.280 --> 17:08.502
would say that that directly relates to

17:08.502 --> 17:10.391
what we do with the army security

17:10.391 --> 17:12.599
enterprise and within the arms cooper

17:12.609 --> 17:14.770
operation community as well . Uh And

17:14.780 --> 17:17.010
that is what we are executing as part

17:17.020 --> 17:19.619
of this F MS reform as we look at

17:19.630 --> 17:21.741
prioritization and governance , as we

17:21.741 --> 17:23.770
look at process optimization and

17:23.780 --> 17:26.290
achieving operational excellence as we

17:26.300 --> 17:28.189
have moved forward with workforce

17:28.189 --> 17:30.244
development and creation of a career

17:30.244 --> 17:32.467
field . And as we look at the data that

17:32.467 --> 17:34.578
is out there so that we can ensure we

17:34.578 --> 17:36.633
are transparent among the enterprise

17:36.633 --> 17:38.689
and that team of teams , but that we

17:38.689 --> 17:40.911
also can be transparent with our allies

17:40.911 --> 17:42.967
and partners uh as we move forward ,

17:42.967 --> 17:45.133
because I know one of the questions we

17:45.133 --> 17:47.411
always get is where's my stuff , right ?

17:47.411 --> 17:49.522
And so that's all part of that fourth

17:49.522 --> 17:51.411
element as well . So again , II I

17:51.411 --> 17:53.522
really honored to sit on the panel uh

17:53.522 --> 17:55.633
this year with uh these distinguished

17:55.633 --> 17:57.744
gentlemen up here , I look forward to

17:57.744 --> 17:59.856
the questions in the dialogue . Thank

17:59.856 --> 17:59.834
you very much . Well , gentlemen , it's

17:59.844 --> 18:01.900
been , it's been a very eventful and

18:01.900 --> 18:04.066
tumultuous year . We have conflicts in

18:04.066 --> 18:06.066
the Middle East . We have the , the

18:06.066 --> 18:08.066
continuing conflict in , in eastern

18:08.066 --> 18:10.177
Europe and the ever present threat of

18:10.177 --> 18:12.344
conflict in East Asia . So I would ask

18:12.344 --> 18:14.066
all of you from your different

18:14.066 --> 18:16.380
perspectives , uh General pepper uh

18:16.390 --> 18:18.557
just coming out of the field in Iraq ,

18:18.557 --> 18:20.780
tip of the spear , uh the dod

18:20.790 --> 18:22.846
perspective from Mr Miller and , and

18:22.846 --> 18:24.790
starting with you , Mr Mason , the

18:24.790 --> 18:26.734
army's perspective , what specific

18:26.734 --> 18:29.000
initiatives have had the most

18:29.010 --> 18:30.890
significant impact in our reform

18:30.900 --> 18:34.250
initiatives over the past year ? Um And ,

18:34.260 --> 18:36.371
and if you can , what lessons have we

18:36.371 --> 18:38.427
learned from that ? So two questions

18:38.427 --> 18:40.709
here , which uh which uh initiatives

18:40.719 --> 18:42.886
have had the most significant impact ?

18:42.886 --> 18:45.219
And are there any lessons we've learned ?

18:45.219 --> 18:47.441
And Mr Mason , we'll start with you the

18:47.441 --> 18:49.052
dod perspective and then the

18:49.052 --> 18:51.275
perspective from the field . So over to

18:51.275 --> 18:53.608
you . Yeah , thanks . Thanks . You know .

18:53.608 --> 18:55.663
So so of those initiatives uh that I

18:55.663 --> 18:57.886
really discussed , I'll , I'll focus on

18:57.886 --> 18:59.886
two very tangible areas uh where we

18:59.886 --> 19:01.830
have seen . Uh what I would say is

19:01.830 --> 19:04.219
tangible outcomes that influence how we

19:04.229 --> 19:06.515
execute . The first is the way that we

19:06.525 --> 19:09.564
have uh stood up our demand forecasting

19:09.574 --> 19:12.454
and analysis for total demand that we

19:12.464 --> 19:15.435
have for critical capabilities , weapon

19:15.444 --> 19:17.895
systems across the board . Both army

19:17.905 --> 19:20.125
demand us g demand , international

19:20.135 --> 19:21.869
demand . And then what are the

19:21.880 --> 19:24.102
production capacities that we , what is

19:24.102 --> 19:26.158
the production capacity that we have

19:26.158 --> 19:28.102
right now ? Where are the targeted

19:28.102 --> 19:29.936
investments that are going in to

19:29.936 --> 19:32.158
increase that total capacity ? And then

19:32.158 --> 19:34.102
how can we forecast that out uh to

19:34.102 --> 19:35.769
ensure that we are working in

19:35.769 --> 19:37.936
conjunction with our larger as salt uh

19:37.936 --> 19:39.880
the army acquisition community and

19:39.880 --> 19:41.936
where the defense industrial base is

19:41.936 --> 19:44.102
going . Uh We certainly recognize that

19:44.102 --> 19:46.324
there are limitations as we look at our

19:46.324 --> 19:48.547
total capacity that we have there . And

19:48.547 --> 19:50.713
so where does that targeted investment

19:50.713 --> 19:50.239
need to be ? And so that's allowed us

19:50.250 --> 19:52.028
to very clearly see ourselves ,

19:52.028 --> 19:54.083
communicate priorities and then also

19:54.083 --> 19:56.139
look at that targeted investment and

19:56.139 --> 19:58.579
also reflect it back to our industry

19:58.589 --> 20:01.199
partners and have a robust dialogue

20:01.209 --> 20:03.431
with industry on the forecast that they

20:03.431 --> 20:05.542
see . Uh because we do recognize that

20:05.542 --> 20:07.598
the timelines are quite long in some

20:07.598 --> 20:09.431
cases to get delivery of certain

20:09.431 --> 20:11.265
capabilities And so what are the

20:11.265 --> 20:12.876
options that we can do uh to

20:12.876 --> 20:15.098
potentially accelerate that or where do

20:15.098 --> 20:17.320
we need targeted investments ? And that

20:17.320 --> 20:19.153
isn't just in opening up another

20:19.153 --> 20:21.042
assembly line , but down into the

20:21.042 --> 20:23.209
supply chain on specific targeted tier

20:23.209 --> 20:25.376
two , tier three suppliers uh that are

20:25.376 --> 20:27.542
the critical constraints as we look at

20:27.542 --> 20:29.653
uh at total demand and our ability to

20:29.653 --> 20:31.709
deliver . Uh And so we've got a team

20:31.709 --> 20:34.042
within D AEC that works across the army .

20:34.042 --> 20:35.876
Uh Our international acquisition

20:35.876 --> 20:37.931
directorate uh which was stood up as

20:37.931 --> 20:40.153
part of this reorganization or redesign

20:40.153 --> 20:42.320
that we had . And so that has had some

20:42.320 --> 20:44.431
very , very tangible outcomes and our

20:44.431 --> 20:46.431
ability to both assess diversions ,

20:46.431 --> 20:48.598
look at prioritization and then how we

20:48.598 --> 20:50.765
uh we work to delivery . And as I said

20:50.765 --> 20:52.931
earlier is uh is being able to deliver

20:52.931 --> 20:55.153
on commitments , I would say the second

20:55.153 --> 20:57.042
one which , which is a little bit

20:57.042 --> 20:59.265
longer term , but it's very tangible is

20:59.265 --> 21:01.320
the way that uh working with uh Miss

21:01.320 --> 21:03.376
Long , who's up here in the front of

21:03.376 --> 21:05.487
the senior advisor . And really the F

21:05.487 --> 21:07.709
MS guru within D A is the establishment

21:07.709 --> 21:09.931
of a security cooper career field . The

21:09.931 --> 21:12.042
army has never had that in the past .

21:12.042 --> 21:13.709
And so the ability to link uh

21:13.709 --> 21:15.876
strategists with those who work within

21:15.876 --> 21:17.876
the security systems enterprise and

21:17.876 --> 21:19.709
being able to work on training ,

21:19.709 --> 21:22.069
development , job series , how you can

21:22.079 --> 21:24.301
navigate through your career and expand

21:24.301 --> 21:26.468
the skill sets that are necessary with

21:26.468 --> 21:28.635
an array of different experiences . Uh

21:28.635 --> 21:30.857
really has just been uh been incredibly

21:30.857 --> 21:32.912
important , not just to where we are

21:32.912 --> 21:34.968
today , but how we make sure that we

21:34.968 --> 21:37.900
have uh our workforce that is fully

21:37.910 --> 21:40.099
equipped to deal with the complexities

21:40.180 --> 21:41.902
uh that we face in the current

21:41.902 --> 21:44.180
environment . So , thank you very much .

21:44.180 --> 21:46.513
What's it look like from uh the view on ?

21:46.513 --> 21:48.736
Hi , Mr Li . OK . I'm gonna , I'm gonna

21:48.736 --> 21:50.791
pick just one thing . Um But the one

21:50.791 --> 21:52.847
thing is made of several things , so

21:52.847 --> 21:54.791
it's a bit of a sheet . Uh It also

21:54.791 --> 21:56.847
originates uh some part back to your

21:56.847 --> 21:58.847
tenure as the SC A director . Um So

21:58.847 --> 22:01.510
back before five years ago , before

22:01.520 --> 22:03.409
that point , uh with some limited

22:03.409 --> 22:05.742
exceptions of various levels of success ,

22:05.742 --> 22:07.576
um if you were a foreign partner

22:07.576 --> 22:09.687
seeking to a uh acquire equipment and

22:09.687 --> 22:11.909
training uh like from the United States

22:11.909 --> 22:14.020
through foreign military sales , your

22:14.020 --> 22:16.020
options were quite limited . It was

22:16.020 --> 22:18.187
largely pegged to your credit , credit

22:18.187 --> 22:20.298
worthiness . It was pretty much , you

22:20.298 --> 22:22.520
would be 100% upfront or you'd be given

22:22.520 --> 22:22.400
a payment schedule under a program

22:22.410 --> 22:24.410
called Dependable Undertaking . And

22:24.410 --> 22:26.521
there were some variations in that uh

22:26.521 --> 22:28.688
about what was available . Uh but that

22:28.688 --> 22:30.910
was pretty much where you were . Um And

22:30.910 --> 22:32.966
there's been an evolution in 2019 in

22:32.966 --> 22:34.966
recognition of the fact that it's a

22:34.966 --> 22:37.188
competitive environment . Uh and the US

22:37.188 --> 22:39.410
needs to be able to offer better credit

22:39.410 --> 22:41.410
terms that are the responsible also

22:41.410 --> 22:43.577
keeping in mind the hallmarks of the F

22:43.577 --> 22:43.459
MS system , it needs to be operated no

22:43.469 --> 22:45.469
profit or loss to the United States

22:45.469 --> 22:47.636
government . Also elements of policy ,

22:47.636 --> 22:49.469
they go in the conventional arms

22:49.469 --> 22:51.413
transfer policy . Goes back to the

22:51.413 --> 22:53.636
Carter Administration , the idea that a

22:53.636 --> 22:53.260
partner should be in a position to

22:53.334 --> 22:55.854
credibly obtain the equipment , use it

22:55.864 --> 22:58.444
properly uh and be able to sustain it .

22:58.454 --> 23:00.510
And then we're also , if you go back

23:00.510 --> 23:02.398
even further that to our founding

23:02.398 --> 23:04.565
legislation , we don't want to be in a

23:04.565 --> 23:06.398
position where such procure such

23:06.398 --> 23:08.398
acquisitions are , are crowding out

23:08.398 --> 23:10.621
other , other national goods . Uh And ,

23:10.621 --> 23:12.676
and we're not fueling arms races and

23:12.676 --> 23:14.787
the like . Um so starting from 2019 ,

23:14.787 --> 23:16.787
we were able to roll out a range of

23:16.787 --> 23:18.732
initiatives starting with the risk

23:18.732 --> 23:20.787
assessed payment schedule , uh where

23:20.787 --> 23:22.621
you were able to allow uh a down

23:22.621 --> 23:24.954
payment that was less than 100% upfront ,

23:24.954 --> 23:27.065
sort of somewhere in between . Uh And

23:27.065 --> 23:29.232
then just in the last uh year , a year

23:29.232 --> 23:28.520
and a half , we've moved out the , the

23:28.530 --> 23:30.808
credit assured payment schedule system ,

23:30.808 --> 23:33.239
uh where that's backed by AAA line of

23:33.250 --> 23:35.083
credit from a , from a financial

23:35.083 --> 23:37.083
institution , a qualified financial

23:37.083 --> 23:39.306
institution to be clear , um which then

23:39.306 --> 23:41.780
allows that to offset um the risk .

23:41.790 --> 23:43.790
Again , we need to indemnify the US

23:43.790 --> 23:45.623
government from risk from , from

23:45.623 --> 23:47.679
default . Uh And , and so that was ,

23:47.679 --> 23:49.846
that's uh a program we've been able to

23:49.846 --> 23:51.901
lay out addition additionally , just

23:51.901 --> 23:54.012
offering the tool of a , a bank issue

23:54.012 --> 23:55.734
line of credit uh as a sort of

23:55.734 --> 23:57.957
supplement to the work that's done . In

23:57.957 --> 23:57.869
addition to the confidence we've

23:57.880 --> 24:00.000
developed uh through really , I think

24:00.010 --> 24:02.500
continued uh learning and excellence

24:02.510 --> 24:04.566
and frankly , a lot of consultations

24:04.566 --> 24:06.430
with outside experts in terms of

24:06.439 --> 24:08.550
allowing for more flexible , flexible

24:08.550 --> 24:11.349
payment plans uh for partners again to

24:11.359 --> 24:14.030
give them a range of options uh for ,

24:14.040 --> 24:15.984
for partnering with us through the

24:15.984 --> 24:17.984
acquisition of defense articles and

24:17.984 --> 24:20.151
services in a responsible manner . And

24:20.151 --> 24:22.429
that's , that's a program that's grown .

24:22.429 --> 24:24.596
Uh We recently uh announced a bit of a

24:24.596 --> 24:24.084
partnership with our , our , our

24:24.094 --> 24:26.150
treasury department colleagues uh at

24:26.150 --> 24:28.261
the Federal Financing Bank . We've uh

24:28.261 --> 24:30.285
they've been good partners to us to

24:30.295 --> 24:32.517
lend us some technical expertise , they

24:32.517 --> 24:34.628
do this every day . Um So that's been

24:34.628 --> 24:36.890
helpful . We're also building out from

24:36.900 --> 24:38.844
a staff and , and expertise uh and

24:38.844 --> 24:41.067
programmatic perspective . Our capacity

24:41.067 --> 24:43.067
to do this at DS C A headquarters ,

24:43.067 --> 24:45.011
which has been helpful also um for

24:45.011 --> 24:47.380
military finance financing loans and

24:47.390 --> 24:49.612
loan guarantees to a lesser extent have

24:49.612 --> 24:51.890
been part of this work for a long time .

24:51.890 --> 24:53.834
But uh due to strong congressional

24:53.834 --> 24:56.250
support and recognition of the need to

24:56.260 --> 24:58.593
uh give part there's additional options .

24:58.593 --> 25:00.649
Um We have seen an expansion of that

25:00.649 --> 25:02.920
authority uh provided by Congress uh

25:02.930 --> 25:04.708
and under the , under the state

25:04.708 --> 25:06.708
Department and its authorities . So

25:06.708 --> 25:08.930
we've moved out um to issue a number of

25:08.930 --> 25:10.597
FMF loans and FMF backed loan

25:10.597 --> 25:13.040
guarantees . Uh I was uh overseas in ,

25:13.050 --> 25:14.994
in Romania recently signing one of

25:14.994 --> 25:17.161
these , um it's really been focused on

25:17.161 --> 25:19.217
our European partners . Uh and those

25:19.217 --> 25:21.560
who are modernizing uh and further and

25:21.569 --> 25:23.791
some shared security objectives and and

25:23.791 --> 25:25.625
candidly have been so incredible

25:25.625 --> 25:27.569
supporters of uh of Ukraine in the

25:27.569 --> 25:29.625
current crisis . Um And we , we hope

25:29.625 --> 25:32.280
that's an area of continued growth . Um

25:32.459 --> 25:34.839
The , the key and the , the burden upon

25:34.849 --> 25:36.793
us DC A and working with our state

25:36.793 --> 25:38.989
department colleagues is to um make

25:39.000 --> 25:41.222
good investments , uh sound investments

25:41.222 --> 25:43.111
and partners that are going to uh

25:43.111 --> 25:45.222
develop real capabilities again and ,

25:45.222 --> 25:47.389
and further and so shared objectives .

25:47.389 --> 25:49.611
So that's already seen impact . Uh As I

25:49.611 --> 25:51.833
mentioned , those various programs , we

25:51.833 --> 25:54.000
have uh you know , dozens of countries

25:54.000 --> 25:56.000
that have qualified and they are us

25:56.000 --> 25:58.056
utilizing uh again payment schedules

25:58.056 --> 26:00.278
that uh allow them to , to partner with

26:00.278 --> 25:59.910
us more easily . So I would say that ,

25:59.920 --> 26:02.349
sir . That's good . Thank you , General

26:02.359 --> 26:04.581
Pepper . You've been , you're currently

26:04.581 --> 26:06.692
at uh used to act , but you just came

26:06.692 --> 26:08.803
out of the field as a defense attache

26:08.803 --> 26:10.692
in a country that's a significant

26:10.692 --> 26:12.915
recipient of uh security cooperations ,

26:12.915 --> 26:15.026
security assistance . What's the view

26:15.026 --> 26:17.248
from the field ? Sure . When I was a uh

26:17.248 --> 26:19.026
a young lieutenant , I had a uh

26:19.026 --> 26:21.248
battalion commander who told me , hey ,

26:21.248 --> 26:20.880
Pepper , you've never had a new idea in

26:20.890 --> 26:23.001
your life . Just take somebody else's

26:23.001 --> 26:25.057
idea and try and build on that . And

26:25.057 --> 26:27.112
he's probably Right . So I'm gonna ,

26:27.112 --> 26:26.869
I'm gonna use a couple of ideas that Mr

26:26.880 --> 26:29.800
Miller or , and Mr Mason just wrote uh

26:29.810 --> 26:33.030
uh brought up . Um So the first one was

26:33.040 --> 26:35.920
the flexible financing . Uh We saw that

26:35.930 --> 26:38.400
in Iraq that it's a really vital tool .

26:38.780 --> 26:40.724
Uh I won't go into the , the , the

26:40.724 --> 26:42.780
details of the , you know , a single

26:42.780 --> 26:44.669
country's bureaucracy , but every

26:44.669 --> 26:46.724
country has its own way of having to

26:46.724 --> 26:48.836
work through its , its uh budget , uh

26:48.836 --> 26:51.002
its defense budget and when that money

26:51.002 --> 26:52.891
becomes available , et cetera and

26:52.891 --> 26:55.113
having those flexible financing options

26:55.113 --> 26:56.891
for countries that , that don't

26:56.891 --> 26:58.780
necessarily , you know , meet the

26:58.780 --> 27:00.724
highest levels of , of credit , uh

27:00.724 --> 27:02.447
assurance , et cetera , credit

27:02.447 --> 27:04.224
worthiness , uh really opens up

27:04.224 --> 27:06.336
opportunities and keeps us , keeps us

27:06.336 --> 27:08.391
in the competition . So that was the

27:08.391 --> 27:10.169
first one . Uh the second one ,

27:10.169 --> 27:12.391
something that uh that Mr Mason brought

27:12.391 --> 27:14.724
up was demand forecasting . Uh you know ,

27:14.724 --> 27:17.058
we , we all know that our partners want ,

27:17.058 --> 27:19.058
want their , their equipment , they

27:19.058 --> 27:21.280
want it yesterday and , and as somebody

27:21.280 --> 27:23.447
joked earlier today , they want it for

27:23.447 --> 27:23.400
free . But uh they , of course ,

27:23.410 --> 27:25.354
everyone understands it can't be ,

27:25.354 --> 27:27.466
can't be tomorrow and it can't be for

27:27.466 --> 27:29.410
free . But what they do want is is

27:29.410 --> 27:31.466
predictability . They want clarity .

27:31.466 --> 27:33.632
And I've , I've met with about a dozen

27:33.632 --> 27:35.799
uh of our partners here just in , in ,

27:35.799 --> 27:38.540
in a USA over the last 48 hours . And

27:38.550 --> 27:40.661
I've heard that over and over again .

27:40.661 --> 27:42.828
We want clarity on the timelines . And

27:42.828 --> 27:45.050
I think that demand forecasting that Mr

27:45.050 --> 27:47.272
Mason and his team have put together is

27:47.272 --> 27:49.383
really an important tool uh to get us

27:49.383 --> 27:51.494
towards that . And the last thing I'd

27:51.494 --> 27:52.772
bring up is the um the

27:52.772 --> 27:54.772
professionalization of the security

27:54.772 --> 27:56.883
cooper operation workforce . Uh I got

27:56.883 --> 27:58.939
to see that firsthand . In Iraq , it

27:58.939 --> 28:01.050
was one of the first places where the

28:01.050 --> 28:03.161
defense security cooperations service

28:03.161 --> 28:04.994
was starting to roll out . Uh We

28:04.994 --> 28:07.050
started to , to essentially swap out

28:07.050 --> 28:09.272
some of our folks that were on the army

28:09.272 --> 28:11.272
guys at least know this term why as

28:11.272 --> 28:13.439
taskers uh guys and gals , excuse me ,

28:13.439 --> 28:15.328
Steph . Uh They uh they were y as

28:15.328 --> 28:18.334
taskers and replacing them with DS CS

28:18.604 --> 28:21.204
uh professionals . And while I , I

28:21.214 --> 28:23.395
absolutely love the aggressiveness and

28:23.405 --> 28:25.294
the go get it attitude of a young

28:25.294 --> 28:28.344
captain , uh a young captain without

28:28.354 --> 28:30.410
having undergone any security cooper

28:30.410 --> 28:32.632
operation training before showing up in

28:32.632 --> 28:35.380
Baghdad can't hold a candle to a Ds CS

28:35.390 --> 28:37.501
professional who's been doing this uh

28:37.501 --> 28:39.800
for a period of time and has undergone

28:39.810 --> 28:41.921
all of that uh that formal training .

28:41.921 --> 28:43.754
And so I just like to salute the

28:43.754 --> 28:46.099
efforts of uh starting at the , at the

28:46.109 --> 28:48.599
Ds CS , but also within the army uh

28:48.609 --> 28:50.880
within the army security uh uh

28:50.890 --> 28:52.420
assistance enterprise to

28:52.430 --> 28:54.652
professionalize the workforce . I think

28:54.652 --> 28:56.874
it's , it's gonna pay massive dividends

28:56.874 --> 28:58.874
in the years and decades to come on

28:58.874 --> 29:00.986
that note . And , and because you did

29:00.986 --> 29:03.152
mention that last , I wanted to many ,

29:03.152 --> 29:05.486
many of the people in our audience here ,

29:05.486 --> 29:07.708
they might not understand what you mean

29:07.708 --> 29:07.579
when you talk about the , the defense

29:07.589 --> 29:09.700
Security Cooper Service , Mr Miller ,

29:09.700 --> 29:11.978
would you talk a little bit about that ?

29:11.978 --> 29:14.089
It's really groundbreaking and , uh ,

29:14.089 --> 29:15.978
and please thank you . Um , yes ,

29:15.978 --> 29:17.922
indeed . And , um , I'm , I'm glad

29:17.922 --> 29:19.922
General Pepper brought it up . Um ,

29:19.922 --> 29:22.033
certainly it was , it was , I , I was

29:22.033 --> 29:21.400
certainly going to , uh , raise that as

29:21.410 --> 29:24.060
one of my points . Um But I'm glad he's

29:24.069 --> 29:26.291
had that positive experience with it as

29:26.291 --> 29:28.347
one of our , our , our senior leader

29:28.347 --> 29:28.260
who has gone through the , the , the

29:28.270 --> 29:30.589
training and in Baghdad , as he , as he

29:30.599 --> 29:32.377
described it embassy there . Um

29:32.377 --> 29:33.932
certainly , even before the

29:33.932 --> 29:36.099
establishment of the , of the Ds CS at

29:36.099 --> 29:38.377
IOC , which I'll talk about , you know ,

29:38.377 --> 29:40.599
we were able to cycle in a number of um

29:40.599 --> 29:42.821
of civilians into those positions as an

29:42.821 --> 29:45.155
effort to expand not million eye by any ,

29:45.155 --> 29:47.377
by any means , but expand the number of

29:47.377 --> 29:49.599
civilians who serve in those capacities

29:49.599 --> 29:49.594
of abroad abroad , which issues a , a

29:49.604 --> 29:51.765
range of um benefits including uh

29:51.775 --> 29:53.719
longevity and sort of some of that

29:53.719 --> 29:55.442
institutional memory and , and

29:55.442 --> 29:57.219
hopefully years of training and

29:57.219 --> 29:57.015
experience , we're making good

29:57.025 --> 29:59.564
selections . Um So the Defense Security

29:59.574 --> 30:02.755
Corporation Service uh rolled out uh at

30:02.765 --> 30:04.885
uh IOC initial operating capability

30:04.895 --> 30:06.895
back on October the first , we were

30:06.895 --> 30:08.951
very pleased and honored to have the

30:08.951 --> 30:11.062
Deputy Secretary of Defense uh launch

30:11.062 --> 30:13.284
that effort . Um This has been years in

30:13.284 --> 30:16.099
the making uh to establish a separate

30:16.109 --> 30:18.220
defense security co-operation service

30:18.260 --> 30:20.199
uh initially , to some degree uh

30:20.209 --> 30:23.209
modeled off the defense S a service in

30:23.219 --> 30:24.941
the sense that there is a , an

30:24.941 --> 30:27.150
organized uh program of support and

30:27.160 --> 30:29.839
training mentorship uh and an ability

30:29.849 --> 30:33.160
to uh move assets uh where they're most

30:33.170 --> 30:34.948
needed . Uh So you're searching

30:34.948 --> 30:37.170
resources where they're required . So ,

30:37.170 --> 30:39.392
as uh general Hooper said , it's really

30:39.392 --> 30:41.281
uh it's a , it's a fundamental uh

30:41.281 --> 30:43.503
generational shift in how we organize ,

30:43.503 --> 30:45.503
train and equip for security cooper

30:45.503 --> 30:47.614
operation . It just , it just is . Um

30:47.614 --> 30:49.670
So we're at IOC this year um with uh

30:49.670 --> 30:51.559
looking to go to full operational

30:51.559 --> 30:53.726
capability start next fiscal year . So

30:53.726 --> 30:55.614
that has entailed uh us taking um

30:55.614 --> 30:57.930
administrative uh control and effect of

30:57.939 --> 31:00.050
our civilian skill personnel and then

31:00.050 --> 31:02.050
our locally engaged staff . So , in

31:02.050 --> 31:04.760
total uh 500 or so , uh folks um just

31:04.770 --> 31:07.890
shy of 100 civilians , then we uh look

31:07.900 --> 31:11.530
to uh have uh administrative um uh

31:11.540 --> 31:13.689
responsibilities for the remainder uh

31:13.699 --> 31:16.329
1000 or so of our scope personnel . So

31:16.339 --> 31:18.506
it's uh it's , it's really a change in

31:18.506 --> 31:20.709
how we've done this , this work . I

31:20.719 --> 31:22.941
think it will make us more responsive .

31:22.941 --> 31:25.108
It'll give us an opportunity to really

31:25.108 --> 31:27.219
get our arms around this community uh

31:27.219 --> 31:29.275
to make sure we know what challenges

31:29.275 --> 31:30.830
they're facing uh where the

31:30.830 --> 31:33.052
opportunities are for better engagement

31:33.052 --> 31:34.830
and where we need to again move

31:34.830 --> 31:36.830
resources uh where required , we've

31:36.830 --> 31:38.997
gone through a range of uh assessments

31:38.997 --> 31:41.579
of staffing at various uh embassies

31:41.589 --> 31:43.920
around the world by combatant command .

31:44.270 --> 31:46.214
Uh Again , we'll make sure we're ,

31:46.214 --> 31:47.826
we're resourcing this effort

31:47.826 --> 31:49.992
appropriately . Uh You will be shocked

31:49.992 --> 31:52.159
to learn as security cooperations that

31:52.159 --> 31:53.992
there is a desire for additional

31:53.992 --> 31:55.937
staffing at almost every uh one of

31:55.937 --> 31:58.048
these posts that may not be where the

31:58.048 --> 32:00.381
analysis comes out . Uh Because this is ,

32:00.381 --> 32:02.381
uh again , this is a growth uh is a

32:02.381 --> 32:04.492
growth area and an area of engagement

32:04.492 --> 32:06.548
with , with partners and allies . So

32:06.548 --> 32:08.603
that um the stand up of that service

32:08.603 --> 32:10.770
that IOC is , has been a huge effort .

32:10.770 --> 32:12.826
We've also had our first instance of

32:12.826 --> 32:14.937
the security Cooper operation officer

32:14.937 --> 32:14.900
course , we would move from right

32:14.910 --> 32:16.910
Patterson Air Force Base to the NCR

32:16.910 --> 32:18.910
that is ongoing . In fact , I think

32:18.910 --> 32:20.854
some of the students may be in the

32:20.854 --> 32:23.021
audience here . Um So that's been also

32:23.021 --> 32:25.132
a huge endeavor and then separate but

32:25.132 --> 32:27.390
certainly associated . We've relaunched

32:27.479 --> 32:29.670
our security co-operation , workforce

32:29.680 --> 32:32.239
uh uh training program uh starting in

32:32.250 --> 32:34.306
phases . And we've , we've also done

32:34.306 --> 32:36.417
that on October 1 . So we really have

32:36.417 --> 32:38.739
cut ourselves out uh to , to be clear ,

32:38.750 --> 32:40.972
a tremendous amount of work to get done

32:40.972 --> 32:43.028
uh and to , to iterate upon and make

32:43.028 --> 32:45.139
sure we're , we're successful in , in

32:45.139 --> 32:46.861
supporting the security cooper

32:46.861 --> 32:49.083
operation workforce . Um because at the

32:49.083 --> 32:48.030
end of the day , and I mean ,

32:48.040 --> 32:50.151
specifically for our o personnel when

32:50.151 --> 32:52.262
they're deployed down range , we want

32:52.262 --> 32:54.540
them to have the same level of support ,

32:54.540 --> 32:56.596
uh mentorship uh development and the

32:56.596 --> 32:58.762
rest for themselves and also for their

32:58.762 --> 33:00.929
families when they deploy . Uh Because

33:00.929 --> 33:03.096
that , that matters greatly uh to make

33:03.096 --> 33:05.096
sure that they are in a position to

33:05.096 --> 33:07.207
help the Chief of mission and uh what

33:07.207 --> 33:09.429
the caba and commands are trying to get

33:09.429 --> 33:11.318
out as well as the broader policy

33:11.318 --> 33:13.262
community . So we take this charge

33:13.262 --> 33:15.429
exceptionally seriously and we're just

33:15.429 --> 33:17.484
getting underway . Thank you . Thank

33:17.484 --> 33:19.484
you very much . Let's return to the

33:19.484 --> 33:21.429
reform effort to the army . And so

33:21.429 --> 33:23.596
we've talked a little bit about how we

33:23.596 --> 33:25.651
see the reforms from our perspective

33:25.651 --> 33:27.707
are being the US perspective . I'd ,

33:27.707 --> 33:27.010
I'd like to ask all three of you

33:27.020 --> 33:29.430
starting with Mr Mason . Uh what have

33:29.439 --> 33:33.270
you seen in terms of the , the response

33:33.280 --> 33:36.630
from our partner nations to the reform

33:36.640 --> 33:38.696
and , and how has that changed their

33:38.696 --> 33:41.180
engagement with us in positive ways ?

33:41.189 --> 33:44.969
So Mr Mason , your thoughts ? Sure . So

33:44.979 --> 33:47.810
the , you know , one of the chief uh

33:47.819 --> 33:50.041
items that's brought up . So as General

33:50.041 --> 33:52.041
Pepper said , it's , you know about

33:52.041 --> 33:54.263
when you're going transparency and when

33:54.263 --> 33:56.263
you're going to get something . But

33:56.263 --> 33:58.486
then there's also who do I have to talk

33:58.486 --> 34:00.541
to within the army , within the army

34:00.541 --> 34:02.652
enterprise ? Because we are a team of

34:02.652 --> 34:04.819
teams , there are many organizations .

34:04.819 --> 34:06.986
And so what you hear is , do I need to

34:06.986 --> 34:09.097
talk to the PM ? Do I need to talk to

34:09.097 --> 34:11.375
the CD ? Do I need to talk to you sack ,

34:11.388 --> 34:13.555
you know who is Dudek and why should I

34:13.555 --> 34:15.499
talk to you ? Right . All of these

34:15.499 --> 34:17.555
things that typically go on . And so

34:17.555 --> 34:19.979
it's often confusing particularly for a

34:19.989 --> 34:22.045
partner that doesn't know our system

34:22.045 --> 34:24.156
extremely well on who to specifically

34:24.156 --> 34:26.260
interface with . And how do we align

34:26.270 --> 34:28.500
the messaging between the army elements

34:28.510 --> 34:30.669
that are there uh such that we are

34:30.679 --> 34:33.520
speaking with one voice and we are

34:33.530 --> 34:35.879
speaking in a transparent manner . And

34:35.889 --> 34:38.111
so the one thing that we've seen out of

34:38.111 --> 34:40.111
our really our process optimization

34:40.111 --> 34:42.278
that we've been doing is to really how

34:42.278 --> 34:44.500
do we streamline those elements so that

34:44.500 --> 34:46.722
we have good connectivity to our allies

34:46.722 --> 34:48.833
and partners and that they understand

34:48.833 --> 34:51.056
who to talk to , to get the information

34:51.056 --> 34:53.056
that they need based on the type of

34:53.056 --> 34:55.167
information that they are looking for

34:55.167 --> 34:57.389
the type of discussion that needs uh to

34:57.389 --> 34:59.500
be brought , brought to bear . And so

34:59.500 --> 34:59.079
that's the one area where I've really

34:59.089 --> 35:01.311
seen with allies and partners , the the

35:01.311 --> 35:03.367
thing that they want most clarity on

35:03.367 --> 35:05.589
and they want to understand how through

35:05.589 --> 35:07.589
this reform effort and particularly

35:07.589 --> 35:09.589
through our process optimization or

35:09.589 --> 35:11.811
I'll say our process innovation side of

35:11.811 --> 35:13.978
it is how do I interface to that ? And

35:13.978 --> 35:16.033
how do I make sure that I understand

35:16.033 --> 35:15.928
what's going on ? Because , you know ,

35:15.938 --> 35:18.979
again , transparency in what we're

35:18.989 --> 35:22.010
doing is key and making it transparent

35:22.020 --> 35:24.350
within what can be viewed as , as an

35:24.360 --> 35:27.399
extremely complex enterprise to try to

35:27.409 --> 35:30.649
work through and get answers . Thank

35:30.659 --> 35:32.969
you very much . Any other thoughts on ,

35:32.979 --> 35:35.090
on , on how it's changed engagement ?

35:35.090 --> 35:37.423
You talked a little bit about Mr Miller ,

35:37.423 --> 35:39.479
the financing options that have come

35:39.479 --> 35:41.312
together . But what has been the

35:41.312 --> 35:43.423
reaction from our allies and partners

35:43.423 --> 35:42.629
to some of the reforms that we've been

35:42.639 --> 35:44.806
this year ? Yeah , I thank you . I , I

35:44.806 --> 35:46.861
think as I mentioned , it all starts

35:46.861 --> 35:48.861
back with strategy , national event

35:48.861 --> 35:50.917
strategy and that we made clear that

35:50.917 --> 35:50.639
allies and partners are , are , are ,

35:50.649 --> 35:52.750
are really at the heart of it . Um I

35:52.760 --> 35:54.816
think that , you know , uh certainly

35:54.816 --> 35:56.760
conveys the impression that we are

35:56.760 --> 35:58.760
listening uh that we're evolving uh

35:58.760 --> 36:00.871
that we are seeking to innovate and ,

36:00.871 --> 36:02.982
and find new ways to support partners

36:02.982 --> 36:04.871
and allies . That's certainly not

36:04.871 --> 36:04.409
perfect . It's not gonna be perfect in

36:04.419 --> 36:06.586
every instance . But I think the level

36:06.586 --> 36:08.697
of engagement we've had with partners

36:08.697 --> 36:10.863
about what they're seeking from us , I

36:10.863 --> 36:13.141
think has been elevated to some extent .

36:13.141 --> 36:15.252
Um I think also candidly all the work

36:15.252 --> 36:17.363
that we've done uh to support Ukraine

36:17.363 --> 36:19.475
over the last two years plus , um and

36:19.475 --> 36:19.270
how we've leveraged our defense

36:19.280 --> 36:21.058
industrial base , how we've and

36:21.058 --> 36:23.058
leverage our workforces , how we've

36:23.058 --> 36:25.280
leveraged our national capabilities . I

36:25.280 --> 36:27.391
think that's created uh a commonality

36:27.391 --> 36:29.502
of purpose , certainly in , in Europe

36:29.502 --> 36:31.613
um that has really driven much , much

36:31.613 --> 36:33.836
closer cooper operation to all of our ,

36:33.836 --> 36:35.780
all of our benefit . Um So I think

36:35.780 --> 36:37.947
seeing uh everyone uh with that , with

36:37.947 --> 36:40.058
that skin in the game , that level of

36:40.058 --> 36:42.224
commitment , uh , on that level , then

36:42.224 --> 36:44.280
of , uh , looking across the various

36:44.280 --> 36:46.558
ways that we can continue that support ,

36:46.558 --> 36:48.558
uh , durably into the future . Um ,

36:48.558 --> 36:50.669
again , backed by strong support from

36:50.669 --> 36:52.502
Congress and certain instances ,

36:52.502 --> 36:54.780
parlance and the rest , I think that's ,

36:54.780 --> 36:56.780
um , I think that's how galvanizing

36:56.780 --> 36:58.891
effect in , in , in wanting and , and

36:58.891 --> 36:58.620
getting a commitment to do security

36:58.629 --> 37:00.796
cooper more effectively , more durably

37:01.770 --> 37:04.500
general pepper . Yes , sir . I've been

37:04.510 --> 37:06.732
in this job for , for all of all of six

37:06.732 --> 37:08.899
weeks and , and one of the things I've

37:08.899 --> 37:11.479
realized is there's a lot behind the

37:11.489 --> 37:13.889
curtain that I never knew about doing

37:13.899 --> 37:16.649
15 years of this uh out on the other

37:16.659 --> 37:18.899
end . And there's , there's a , a

37:18.909 --> 37:22.550
tremendous uh number of really

37:22.560 --> 37:24.782
great professionals that are , that are

37:24.782 --> 37:26.838
working these various problem sets ,

37:26.838 --> 37:28.616
whether they be on the , on the

37:28.616 --> 37:30.671
industry side , on the department of

37:30.671 --> 37:32.782
State side uh within , within dod and

37:32.782 --> 37:34.959
the different uh organizations and ,

37:35.169 --> 37:36.780
and it is complicated . It's

37:36.780 --> 37:38.699
complicated enough for me when in

37:38.709 --> 37:40.709
theory I've been working this for a

37:40.709 --> 37:42.820
number of years . So I can understand

37:42.820 --> 37:44.876
how it's , it's difficult uh for the

37:44.876 --> 37:47.042
partners to , to understand that . And

37:47.042 --> 37:49.265
so anything that they uh will have that

37:49.265 --> 37:51.431
gi gives them greater transparency . A

37:51.431 --> 37:53.679
and , and quite quite frankly , uh

37:54.370 --> 37:57.929
faster responses is probably gonna give

37:57.939 --> 38:01.479
them uh satisfaction . And so , um I

38:01.489 --> 38:03.800
won't say that I've seen the partners

38:03.810 --> 38:07.590
uh uh G give very clear responses

38:07.600 --> 38:09.433
yet about uh you know , what our

38:09.433 --> 38:11.469
reforms are . But what I'd like to

38:11.479 --> 38:13.479
think they're gonna see is the same

38:13.479 --> 38:15.812
points of contact they've had all along ,

38:15.812 --> 38:18.379
which are those OD CSO S CS mags ,

38:18.389 --> 38:20.167
wherever you are in the world ,

38:20.167 --> 38:22.167
whatever you call it , that remains

38:22.167 --> 38:24.278
their belly button that remains their

38:24.278 --> 38:26.556
inject , that's how they can touch the ,

38:26.556 --> 38:28.222
the security cooper operation

38:28.222 --> 38:30.445
enterprise . And what they're gonna see

38:30.445 --> 38:32.469
is the responses are gonna become

38:32.790 --> 38:36.379
quicker and more detailed

38:36.679 --> 38:39.699
and more accurate . Um as the

38:39.709 --> 38:42.550
enterprise reforms and the the belly

38:42.560 --> 38:45.209
button they're touching uh is gonna be

38:45.219 --> 38:47.550
feeding them back uh information uh

38:47.560 --> 38:49.504
just uh in a much more efficient ,

38:49.504 --> 38:51.750
efficient fashion . Thank , thank you

38:51.760 --> 38:54.510
very much and , and thank you all for

38:54.520 --> 38:56.687
this moderated discussion . Uh The the

38:56.687 --> 38:59.250
moderator releases his uh his

38:59.260 --> 39:01.482
initiative to initiate the conversation

39:01.482 --> 39:03.538
and we're gonna go to questions from

39:03.538 --> 39:05.760
the audience and , and I look as we all

39:05.760 --> 39:07.871
look at over this audience , we see a

39:07.871 --> 39:10.038
lot of familiar faces and so we're not

39:10.038 --> 39:12.204
surprised that we've gotten some great

39:12.204 --> 39:11.699
questions from the audience . I

39:11.709 --> 39:14.040
apologize in advance if we don't get to

39:14.050 --> 39:16.217
your particular question , but I think

39:16.270 --> 39:18.270
all of these will , will , will all

39:18.270 --> 39:20.103
benefit from them . So the first

39:20.103 --> 39:21.937
question here um and this is for

39:21.937 --> 39:24.103
everyone , we'll start with Mr Mason .

39:24.103 --> 39:26.326
And it's a very interesting one when we

39:26.326 --> 39:28.492
discuss security cooper operation , it

39:28.492 --> 39:31.040
is often about weapons or material what

39:31.050 --> 39:33.161
is , what is the demand , what is the

39:33.161 --> 39:36.090
demand for training or other services

39:36.100 --> 39:38.322
and by that maintenance and sustainment

39:38.322 --> 39:40.590
and others independent on material

39:40.600 --> 39:42.709
fielding . How are those most often

39:42.719 --> 39:44.775
acquired and what are the challenges

39:44.775 --> 39:48.050
and opportunities there ? So certainly

39:48.060 --> 39:50.060
we could spend the rest of the time

39:50.060 --> 39:52.171
talking about how you synchronize all

39:52.171 --> 39:54.282
of the elements that are necessary to

39:54.282 --> 39:56.504
deliver a capability . Um You know , so

39:56.504 --> 39:56.419
when we do look across the enterprise ,

39:56.429 --> 39:58.651
and I'll go back to what I talked about

39:58.651 --> 40:00.651
as far as synchronizing between the

40:00.651 --> 40:02.762
different elements . I talked about A

40:02.762 --> 40:04.818
PM or AC MD , but I should have also

40:04.818 --> 40:06.985
added in there SAS A fa right from our

40:06.985 --> 40:09.207
training element side of the house from

40:09.207 --> 40:08.780
a life cycle management center

40:08.790 --> 40:10.639
perspective , how do we actually

40:10.649 --> 40:13.469
forecast in the spares and repairs that

40:13.479 --> 40:15.701
are necessary as part of that as well ?

40:15.701 --> 40:17.812
Uh And that is really integrated into

40:17.812 --> 40:19.979
the way that we're looking at uh these

40:19.979 --> 40:22.035
total F MS reform efforts . And that

40:22.035 --> 40:21.830
what I talked about is our process

40:21.840 --> 40:24.189
innovation is how as we sit down and

40:24.199 --> 40:26.366
look at the total package approach and

40:26.366 --> 40:28.366
the delivery of that , do we ensure

40:28.366 --> 40:30.421
that we're taking a holistic view to

40:30.421 --> 40:30.389
that ? And we have it synchronized

40:30.399 --> 40:32.399
across the enterprise , right , the

40:32.399 --> 40:34.343
army , despite what everybody says

40:34.343 --> 40:36.455
about acquisition and the fielding of

40:36.455 --> 40:38.621
it , the reality is that when you look

40:38.621 --> 40:40.843
at army acquisition and you look at the

40:40.843 --> 40:40.780
ability to operate at speed and scale

40:40.810 --> 40:43.032
and to deliver and field equipment that

40:43.032 --> 40:45.199
is done in a dot LP F manner . Uh They

40:45.199 --> 40:47.709
do exceptionally well and there's an

40:47.719 --> 40:49.886
army regulation that tells you how you

40:49.886 --> 40:52.000
should do army fielding . We don't

40:52.010 --> 40:54.320
actually follow that same process in F

40:54.330 --> 40:56.699
MS F MS has always been looked at as

40:56.709 --> 40:58.820
somewhat of a different process and I

40:58.820 --> 41:00.820
would stipulate and my hypothesis ,

41:00.820 --> 41:02.820
which we are proving out is that we

41:02.820 --> 41:04.876
need to follow the way that the army

41:04.876 --> 41:06.931
has done this and we can look to the

41:06.931 --> 41:08.987
army regulation to go do that , that

41:08.987 --> 41:10.431
allows for and drives the

41:10.431 --> 41:12.431
synchronization across all of these

41:12.431 --> 41:15.040
elements . Uh My , my , I believe that

41:15.050 --> 41:17.161
our allies and partners want that and

41:17.161 --> 41:18.883
that they are looking for that

41:18.883 --> 41:21.106
synchronization because it is not about

41:21.106 --> 41:23.328
a single case or it's not about just am

41:23.328 --> 41:25.661
I going to get my tank ? I need my tank ,

41:25.661 --> 41:27.939
I need my ammo , I need my sustainment .

41:27.939 --> 41:30.050
I need facilities . You need the same

41:30.050 --> 41:32.272
types of things that we look at when we

41:32.272 --> 41:34.439
field a US army unit for that . And we

41:34.439 --> 41:36.661
know how to synchronize that within the

41:36.661 --> 41:38.717
US army and deliver a full package ,

41:38.717 --> 41:40.606
fielding to an army unit . And so

41:40.606 --> 41:42.606
that's what we're in the process of

41:42.606 --> 41:44.494
doing to ensure that we have that

41:44.494 --> 41:46.550
aligned and do we have work to go on

41:46.550 --> 41:48.661
that ? Yes , that's really what Fy 25

41:48.661 --> 41:50.828
is all about is to expand that out and

41:50.828 --> 41:52.939
then be able to inculcate that in the

41:52.939 --> 41:55.050
way that we operate and be able to do

41:55.050 --> 41:54.830
that and deliver that on a repetitive

41:54.840 --> 41:56.840
manner . Uh You know , the guidance

41:56.840 --> 41:58.951
that I get from my boss . Again , the

41:58.951 --> 42:01.173
army acquisition executive , his mantra

42:01.173 --> 42:03.396
is acquisition at speed and scale . And

42:03.396 --> 42:05.451
we have to be able to do that within

42:05.451 --> 42:05.260
the security assistance , enter

42:05.270 --> 42:07.270
enterprise as well . And we have to

42:07.270 --> 42:09.326
leverage the way that we do title 10

42:09.326 --> 42:11.437
programs because the army understands

42:11.437 --> 42:13.492
how to do that . And we can leverage

42:13.492 --> 42:15.326
all of that great experience and

42:15.326 --> 42:17.437
knowledge and then be able to do that

42:17.437 --> 42:19.326
as we execute where we strengthen

42:19.326 --> 42:21.381
allies and partners . Thanks . Thank

42:21.381 --> 42:23.603
you so much , Mr Miller , sir . Um in a

42:23.603 --> 42:25.826
period of unprecedented security cooper

42:25.826 --> 42:27.639
uh both in execution of F MS uh

42:27.860 --> 42:29.749
security assistance , authority ,

42:29.749 --> 42:31.971
security Cooper and security assistance

42:31.971 --> 42:34.193
funding . Um over the last two years in

42:34.193 --> 42:36.360
particular that , that , that and then

42:36.389 --> 42:39.219
lends a heavy burden on uh on the

42:39.229 --> 42:41.396
security cooper operation community in

42:41.396 --> 42:43.173
the sense that you know , a , a

42:43.173 --> 42:45.500
substantial portion of that uh that

42:45.510 --> 42:47.732
assistance is gonna come in the form of

42:47.732 --> 42:50.239
training . Um So then on , on for our

42:50.250 --> 42:52.417
purposes in terms of implementation of

42:52.417 --> 42:54.810
that , are you uh are you organized ?

42:54.820 --> 42:56.820
Do you have the facilities ? Do you

42:56.820 --> 42:58.987
have personnel ? Do you have time ? Do

42:58.987 --> 43:01.209
you have slots at schools ? Do you have

43:01.209 --> 43:03.431
the ability to do that ? Uh Do you have

43:03.431 --> 43:05.542
training ranges and so forth ? Do you

43:05.542 --> 43:07.764
have uh , training , uh , you know , uh

43:07.764 --> 43:09.931
facilities . Do you have uh aircraft ,

43:09.931 --> 43:12.153
do you have as it goes ? So , as you're

43:12.153 --> 43:14.431
producing these aircraft , do you have ,

43:14.431 --> 43:14.139
do you have trainer aircraft or do you

43:14.149 --> 43:17.250
have flex ? Um , so that , um , in ways

43:17.260 --> 43:19.371
that the gentleman's left to my right

43:19.371 --> 43:21.260
can explain , uh , in far greater

43:21.260 --> 43:22.982
detail . That's , that's a key

43:22.982 --> 43:25.149
consideration for whether or not we're

43:25.149 --> 43:27.204
gonna make good on , on the promises

43:27.204 --> 43:29.371
that we've made in effect , whether we

43:29.371 --> 43:29.100
are going to be the partner of choice

43:29.110 --> 43:31.110
continue to be , I should say , and

43:31.110 --> 43:33.332
whether we're gonna provide a full spec

43:33.332 --> 43:35.166
spectrum capability , absent and

43:35.166 --> 43:37.221
integrated training plan into all of

43:37.221 --> 43:37.100
that and the sustainment , the

43:37.110 --> 43:39.221
acquisition , all the rest of that in

43:39.221 --> 43:41.166
the way that pat's described quite

43:41.166 --> 43:43.332
eloquently absent that then you're not

43:43.332 --> 43:45.388
doing that . Uh And then you're just

43:45.388 --> 43:45.310
selling stuff which is not in the

43:45.320 --> 43:47.431
position where we wanna be . So , I'd

43:47.431 --> 43:49.598
say that's one area where uh we have a

43:49.598 --> 43:51.598
lot of work ahead of us as we , you

43:51.598 --> 43:53.487
know , remark at , you know , the

43:53.487 --> 43:55.709
growth in the security cooper operation

43:55.709 --> 43:57.376
uh that's uh and the security

43:57.376 --> 43:59.542
assistance that's going out the door .

43:59.542 --> 44:01.709
I'd also just uh flag um institutional

44:01.709 --> 44:03.820
capacity building uh as an area where

44:03.820 --> 44:05.764
partners have uh more interest and

44:05.764 --> 44:05.489
frankly where we have more interest

44:05.500 --> 44:07.278
ourselves and we put additional

44:07.278 --> 44:09.333
resources to that effort . Uh making

44:09.333 --> 44:11.699
sure that when you are producing and

44:11.709 --> 44:13.653
providing that equipment , are you

44:13.653 --> 44:15.820
providing that security cooperations ,

44:15.820 --> 44:18.098
security assistance that it lands well ,

44:18.098 --> 44:19.876
that it's integrated into their

44:19.876 --> 44:22.098
national processes that their personnel

44:22.098 --> 44:24.320
are prepared , not only to receive it ,

44:24.320 --> 44:26.431
but then to sustain it and have it be

44:26.431 --> 44:28.653
an enduring capability again where it's

44:28.653 --> 44:30.931
particularly where it's adjacent to us .

44:30.931 --> 44:32.765
Security cooperations , security

44:32.765 --> 44:34.709
systems funds to make sure that us

44:34.709 --> 44:36.765
taxpayer money is well spent . Thank

44:36.765 --> 44:38.987
you , General P Yes , sir . Just , just

44:38.987 --> 44:41.098
very briefly because I think uh these

44:41.098 --> 44:43.265
gentlemen covered it very well that we

44:43.265 --> 44:42.969
do have an organization , security

44:42.979 --> 44:44.812
assistance training , management

44:44.812 --> 44:47.035
organization whose , whose sole mission

44:47.035 --> 44:49.090
really is to do that uh that kind of

44:49.090 --> 44:51.090
training . And I sat down with them

44:51.090 --> 44:53.090
recently and one of the things they

44:53.090 --> 44:55.201
reminded me of is that while the more

44:55.201 --> 44:57.312
prominent uh part of their mission is

44:57.312 --> 44:59.535
training on newly acquired uh equipment

44:59.535 --> 45:01.535
in order in order to turn it into a

45:01.535 --> 45:03.757
true capability and not just a piece of

45:03.757 --> 45:05.923
year , uh about a third of the , their

45:05.923 --> 45:08.169
work is purely training , uh not even

45:08.179 --> 45:10.290
related to a new piece of equipment ,

45:10.290 --> 45:12.235
but just purely training for a new

45:12.235 --> 45:14.235
capability that the country is , is

45:14.235 --> 45:16.346
trying to acquire or improve . And so

45:16.346 --> 45:18.457
uh there's , it's already as well and

45:18.457 --> 45:20.790
you know , well , uh it , it , you know ,

45:20.790 --> 45:22.957
integrated into our organization , but

45:22.957 --> 45:24.846
we , we realize there's , there's

45:24.846 --> 45:24.370
growth there for that and there's more

45:24.379 --> 45:26.323
we can do . And I'll say just very

45:26.330 --> 45:28.219
briefly to conclude is that uh my

45:28.219 --> 45:31.350
predecessor uh uh General Brad

45:31.360 --> 45:33.360
Nicholson had the foresight to , to

45:33.360 --> 45:37.360
establish a G7 uh within , um U

45:37.550 --> 45:39.870
ISA in order to really bring that focus

45:39.879 --> 45:41.879
out and ensure that the training is

45:41.879 --> 45:43.879
properly integrated into everything

45:43.879 --> 45:46.046
we're doing as part of a total package

45:46.046 --> 45:48.157
approach . No , thank you very much .

45:48.157 --> 45:47.979
And if I may exercise the , the

45:47.989 --> 45:50.211
moderator's discretion , I would also ,

45:50.211 --> 45:52.639
I would , I would , uh point out that

45:52.649 --> 45:54.649
the army's commitment to resourcing

45:54.649 --> 45:56.871
Security Force assistance brigades . Uh

45:56.871 --> 45:58.871
And that mission is evidence of the

45:58.871 --> 46:00.538
fact that the army writ large

46:00.538 --> 46:03.100
recognizes that training is an

46:03.110 --> 46:05.277
important as important , an element of

46:05.277 --> 46:07.388
security cooper operation as material

46:07.388 --> 46:09.443
readiness . Next question here . And

46:09.443 --> 46:11.610
this is a good one and , and uh we can

46:11.610 --> 46:14.189
start off with uh uh with Mr Miller and

46:14.199 --> 46:16.310
then Mr Mason and General Pepper . If

46:16.310 --> 46:18.421
you wanna chime in this next question

46:18.421 --> 46:20.643
is with DAS D for security cooperations

46:20.643 --> 46:22.755
for those of you that don't know that

46:22.755 --> 46:24.866
that's the Deputy Assistant Secretary

46:24.866 --> 46:24.840
of Defense for Security Cooper

46:24.850 --> 46:28.449
Operation which resides in the office

46:28.459 --> 46:31.719
of the undersecretary's old . Now ,

46:31.750 --> 46:35.360
what benefits have you seen with

46:35.370 --> 46:38.750
having by having a principle in the

46:38.760 --> 46:40.593
office of the under Secretary of

46:40.593 --> 46:42.316
Defense for Policy and a staff

46:42.316 --> 46:45.120
specifically focused on security

46:45.129 --> 46:47.250
co-operation improvements . How has

46:47.260 --> 46:49.427
that improved and helped the process ?

46:49.427 --> 46:51.371
And Mr Miller , you're in policy ,

46:51.371 --> 46:53.371
we'll start with you and then uh Mr

46:53.371 --> 46:55.649
Mason General . Ok , great . Thank you .

46:55.649 --> 46:57.816
And uh and you know , if my colleagues

46:57.816 --> 46:57.719
want to defer to me , they're welcome

46:57.729 --> 47:00.120
to . But uh in this matter , uh Chris

47:00.129 --> 47:02.296
Meit is currently the des the Security

47:02.296 --> 47:04.296
Cooper Operation and policy . Uh In

47:04.296 --> 47:05.962
addition to being a , a great

47:05.962 --> 47:08.240
professional , he's also a great human .

47:08.240 --> 47:10.462
So , uh you know , in DC A , we enjoy a

47:10.462 --> 47:09.899
really great relationship with our

47:09.909 --> 47:12.760
colleagues uh and , and uh GP as we

47:12.770 --> 47:16.699
call it . Um um So that's um I think

47:17.159 --> 47:19.381
where it really comes to the fore is in

47:19.381 --> 47:21.603
the regular co coordinations we have on

47:21.603 --> 47:23.770
the range of security Cooper operation

47:23.770 --> 47:25.881
programs uh and working with the caba

47:25.881 --> 47:28.103
and commands in particular to make sure

47:28.103 --> 47:30.215
that their proposals in this regard .

47:30.215 --> 47:29.840
Uh What they're seeking to bring

47:29.850 --> 47:32.017
forward for security Cooper title , 10

47:32.017 --> 47:34.139
programs are well conceived uh that

47:34.149 --> 47:36.205
they can be sustained that they will

47:36.205 --> 47:38.610
have impact . Um So we , that's really

47:38.620 --> 47:40.898
the point of our greatest intersection ,

47:40.898 --> 47:43.009
but it's by far , it's far from the ,

47:43.009 --> 47:44.898
you know , the only area where we

47:44.898 --> 47:46.898
coordinate . So again , some of the

47:46.898 --> 47:49.120
great work they've done in , in mapping

47:49.120 --> 47:51.064
out uh plans for the years ahead ,

47:51.064 --> 47:53.064
setting forward the , the grounding

47:53.064 --> 47:55.287
policies uh against our security cooper

47:55.287 --> 47:57.287
operation programs . I think that's

47:57.287 --> 47:59.346
been really helpful in uh coalescing

47:59.356 --> 48:01.078
the community together on what

48:01.078 --> 48:03.134
objectives we're trying to get after

48:03.134 --> 48:05.245
trying to get some regularity of , of

48:05.245 --> 48:07.467
process as we implement it . Um They've

48:07.467 --> 48:09.634
also been I think an excellent conduit

48:09.634 --> 48:09.513
to the Department of State on these

48:09.523 --> 48:11.301
issues and , and their security

48:11.301 --> 48:13.356
assistance accounts . Uh making sure

48:13.356 --> 48:15.412
that there's there , there , there ,

48:15.412 --> 48:17.523
there can be and there is making sure

48:17.523 --> 48:19.301
that there's um sort of a joint

48:19.301 --> 48:21.467
approach to how we're expending uh our

48:21.467 --> 48:23.690
Title 10 Money and adjacent adjacent to

48:23.690 --> 48:25.993
title 22 for military financing and

48:26.003 --> 48:28.003
making sure those are deconflicting

48:28.003 --> 48:30.225
their complementary . I think it's been

48:30.225 --> 48:32.281
enormously enormously helpful . Also

48:32.281 --> 48:34.225
working with us on uh assessment ,

48:34.225 --> 48:36.170
monitoring and evaluation work and

48:36.170 --> 48:38.170
trying to bring that up to a higher

48:38.170 --> 48:39.947
standard uh across the title 10

48:39.947 --> 48:41.725
enterprise . So it's a range of

48:41.725 --> 48:43.781
different programs that they provide

48:43.781 --> 48:45.947
policy oversight uh toward and again ,

48:45.947 --> 48:47.781
giving us some of that uh policy

48:47.781 --> 48:49.781
direction certainly , which we , we

48:49.781 --> 48:51.892
seek from them and then uh policy top

48:51.892 --> 48:51.740
cover for the uh what we're doing in

48:51.750 --> 48:53.760
title 10 . Um I think it's , it's a

48:53.770 --> 48:55.937
great partnership and I think it helps

48:55.937 --> 48:57.937
us uh in our day to day work . Oh ,

48:57.937 --> 49:00.629
thank you very much . Next question

49:00.639 --> 49:04.020
here . Uh uh Is uh uh General George ,

49:04.030 --> 49:06.030
the chief of staff of the army this

49:06.030 --> 49:08.252
past week uh has talked a lot about how

49:08.252 --> 49:10.474
he wants to disrupt the acquisition and

49:10.474 --> 49:12.697
procurement process to move away from a

49:12.830 --> 49:14.979
long programs of record and to keep

49:14.989 --> 49:17.156
pace with the change in innovation and

49:17.156 --> 49:19.378
technology that's taking place , that's

49:19.378 --> 49:21.211
revolutionizing the character of

49:21.211 --> 49:23.469
warfare . So the question here is how

49:23.479 --> 49:26.659
can DS C A be implementing agencies of

49:26.669 --> 49:28.780
which the army is one and the program

49:28.780 --> 49:30.780
officers ? What can they do to make

49:30.780 --> 49:32.780
sure that our security assistance ,

49:32.780 --> 49:35.879
security cooper operation processes

49:35.889 --> 49:37.945
which were deliberately built on the

49:37.945 --> 49:40.459
backbone of our own acquisition process .

49:40.620 --> 49:43.850
What we can we do to make sure that

49:43.860 --> 49:47.120
those processes keep up with the rapid

49:47.129 --> 49:49.185
integration and the rapid revolution

49:49.185 --> 49:51.129
that's gonna take place in our own

49:51.129 --> 49:53.351
acquisition process . Use other side of

49:53.351 --> 49:54.570
page if necessary .

49:57.959 --> 50:00.929
So Mr Miller with you ? Sure . Yeah , I ,

50:00.939 --> 50:03.106
I had , I had , I had , I had heard of

50:03.106 --> 50:06.159
that quote . Um So in the run up to the

50:06.169 --> 50:09.479
session today , um So again , it's ,

50:09.489 --> 50:11.211
it's , it's really gets to the

50:11.211 --> 50:13.433
foundation of the F MS system , right ?

50:13.433 --> 50:13.189
Because you're working off the dod

50:13.199 --> 50:15.255
acquisition system and you're really

50:15.255 --> 50:17.477
working with partners larger than about

50:17.477 --> 50:19.477
like , you know , I'll , as I say ,

50:19.477 --> 50:19.149
I'll have what you're having , you know ,

50:19.159 --> 50:21.270
like they , they wanna , they wanna ,

50:21.280 --> 50:23.502
they wanna partner with us , they wanna

50:23.502 --> 50:25.447
train on the same equipment , they

50:25.447 --> 50:24.860
wanna train to the same standards where

50:24.870 --> 50:27.139
they can and because because , because

50:27.149 --> 50:29.482
we make the best equipment in the world .

50:29.482 --> 50:31.593
Uh And also because , you know , we ,

50:31.593 --> 50:33.816
we have experience operating it and all

50:33.816 --> 50:33.320
the rest and they wanna partner with us

50:33.330 --> 50:35.552
in coalition or certainly be able to be

50:35.552 --> 50:37.663
interoperable uh particularly for our

50:37.663 --> 50:39.719
closest partners . So I think that's

50:39.719 --> 50:41.941
going to endure . So I would argue that

50:41.941 --> 50:44.108
certainly programs of record as a , as

50:44.108 --> 50:46.052
a core element of foreign military

50:46.052 --> 50:48.163
sales and our security cooperations ,

50:48.163 --> 50:47.689
security systems I can't imagine that

50:47.699 --> 50:50.050
will not endure . I think the challenge

50:50.060 --> 50:53.340
then is to make space uh outside of

50:53.350 --> 50:56.409
those core programs of record for um

50:56.419 --> 50:58.475
you know , other programs that maybe

50:58.475 --> 51:00.752
have not been fully adopted um by , by ,

51:00.752 --> 51:02.929
by a particular service . Um so that

51:02.939 --> 51:04.995
you have some flexibility that gives

51:04.995 --> 51:07.106
you additional capacity that can give

51:07.106 --> 51:08.939
you some additional uh certainly

51:08.939 --> 51:11.161
options to work with partners uh on and

51:11.161 --> 51:13.217
towards . Um but it also creates its

51:13.217 --> 51:15.439
own set of challenges , right ? Because

51:15.439 --> 51:15.370
then you're selling this thing through

51:15.379 --> 51:17.659
foreign military sales that us military

51:17.669 --> 51:19.945
service doesn't , doesn't bought ,

51:19.955 --> 51:22.122
doesn't feel doesn't operate , doesn't

51:22.122 --> 51:24.288
sustain , hasn't worked through end of

51:24.288 --> 51:24.284
life or obsolescence , challengers or

51:24.294 --> 51:26.627
anything else . And you're saying , hey ,

51:26.627 --> 51:28.683
support this partner with this thing

51:28.683 --> 51:30.905
that , you know , you , you're learning

51:30.905 --> 51:33.127
about as , as you go along . Um And pat

51:33.127 --> 51:35.183
is far more expert at this than I am

51:35.183 --> 51:37.238
and some of the challenges I can , I

51:37.238 --> 51:39.238
can engender . Um But it also , you

51:39.238 --> 51:41.294
know , there , there's a lot of that

51:41.294 --> 51:43.127
work already going on in the non

51:43.127 --> 51:43.114
program of record space from the

51:43.125 --> 51:45.264
broader sort of implementation policy

51:45.510 --> 51:47.510
uh guidance and the like from the ,

51:47.510 --> 51:49.677
from the headquarters side and then to

51:49.677 --> 51:51.788
the implementing agency and the pe Os

51:51.788 --> 51:54.010
and others who are doing this work . Um

51:54.010 --> 51:56.177
uh It , it cannot be , I think sort of

51:56.177 --> 51:58.177
the , the full sum of the work , it

51:58.177 --> 52:00.343
cannot even I think be the majority of

52:00.343 --> 52:02.566
the work . It's resource intensive . Uh

52:02.566 --> 52:02.010
but we need to make , we need to make

52:02.020 --> 52:04.242
space for it if we're gonna continue to

52:04.242 --> 52:06.409
innovate . So uh I think Pat will give

52:06.409 --> 52:08.631
a better answer , but that's my initial

52:08.631 --> 52:10.798
thought . No pressure , Pat . I'll see

52:10.798 --> 52:12.964
if I can get a better answer . So , um

52:12.964 --> 52:15.187
you know , yesterday when the chief was

52:15.187 --> 52:17.298
talking and what he really uh focuses

52:17.298 --> 52:19.353
on is , is really this concept of do

52:19.353 --> 52:21.520
use technologies leveraging commercial

52:21.520 --> 52:23.631
markets that you have availability to

52:23.631 --> 52:25.576
and then the ability to do tranche

52:25.576 --> 52:27.631
buying . It's a tranche buying being

52:27.631 --> 52:29.853
that I go out and I'll use us and small

52:29.853 --> 52:31.798
UAs or counter us both of those he

52:31.798 --> 52:33.964
brought up yesterday in the Eisen hour

52:33.964 --> 52:33.739
lunch . And so if you look at those and

52:33.750 --> 52:35.917
the ability to leverage the commercial

52:35.917 --> 52:37.861
companies or uh the , the dual use

52:37.861 --> 52:39.972
technologies that are there and , and

52:39.972 --> 52:39.899
by the way , that's an area where

52:39.909 --> 52:42.131
there's a lot of venture capital that's

52:42.131 --> 52:45.070
going into to really uh stand up these

52:45.080 --> 52:47.080
very innovative firms and give them

52:47.080 --> 52:49.136
enough working capital that they can

52:49.136 --> 52:48.870
make it through the government

52:48.879 --> 52:50.889
contracting process that as that

52:50.899 --> 52:53.370
evolves to keep pace with it , we're

52:53.379 --> 52:55.601
gonna buy in tranches . We're not gonna

52:55.601 --> 52:57.823
go out in long programs of record where

52:57.823 --> 52:59.879
we feel everything and we have a , a

52:59.879 --> 52:59.790
basis of issue plan that says every

52:59.800 --> 53:01.911
army unit and every BC T is gonna get

53:01.911 --> 53:04.022
it . So , uh that's things that we've

53:04.022 --> 53:06.133
done beforehand . Certainly the Chief

53:06.133 --> 53:08.356
is reinforcing that . That is one of Mr

53:08.356 --> 53:10.467
Bush's uh as he talks about speed and

53:10.467 --> 53:12.578
scale , it's about the integration of

53:12.578 --> 53:14.578
adaptive acquisition so that we can

53:14.578 --> 53:14.080
make that happen . And that's happening

53:14.090 --> 53:16.989
across uh the acquisition system within

53:17.000 --> 53:19.840
the army uh as we speak . And Mr Bush

53:19.850 --> 53:22.072
talked about it during his contemporary

53:22.072 --> 53:24.129
uh panel earlier this week . So then

53:24.139 --> 53:26.139
how does that play out as we try to

53:26.139 --> 53:27.972
integrate that into the security

53:27.972 --> 53:29.972
assistance process ? So I would say

53:29.972 --> 53:32.195
that you can adapt the process that you

53:32.195 --> 53:31.689
have so that you can do that . We've

53:31.699 --> 53:33.810
seen that and I can give you examples

53:33.810 --> 53:35.979
of that on counter UAs where with our

53:35.989 --> 53:38.045
counter UAs office down a missile in

53:38.045 --> 53:40.267
space across the community , we've been

53:40.267 --> 53:42.211
able to work very quickly to field

53:42.211 --> 53:44.156
unique solutions to countries , to

53:44.156 --> 53:46.322
allies and partners that have critical

53:46.322 --> 53:48.739
uh drone threats and how they need this

53:48.750 --> 53:50.861
adaptive capability . But the concept

53:50.861 --> 53:52.972
behind that is that they're not going

53:52.972 --> 53:55.083
to keep that for a long , long period

53:55.083 --> 53:56.750
of time that ends up having a

53:56.750 --> 53:58.972
significant sustainment trail behind it

53:58.972 --> 54:01.139
uh because we are not gonna sustain it

54:01.139 --> 54:03.194
because we're gonna be moving to the

54:03.194 --> 54:03.129
next . And so that's something that we

54:03.139 --> 54:05.310
have to be very transparent about when

54:05.320 --> 54:07.376
we communicate that and we put those

54:07.376 --> 54:09.487
cases into play . But I will say that

54:09.540 --> 54:11.762
you know what we're doing when the army

54:11.762 --> 54:13.484
sits underneath a lot of other

54:13.484 --> 54:15.484
processes that were put in place in

54:15.484 --> 54:17.484
statutory requirements that I would

54:17.484 --> 54:19.707
then again defer back to my colleague ,

54:19.707 --> 54:22.080
Mr Miller to talk about um that that

54:22.090 --> 54:23.979
were put in place to specifically

54:23.979 --> 54:26.360
protect technology , technology release .

54:26.669 --> 54:29.340
And so there's a question of how does

54:29.350 --> 54:31.572
that process work and what do we really

54:31.572 --> 54:34.409
need to do in the release or the , you

54:34.419 --> 54:36.086
know , the , the , you know ,

54:36.086 --> 54:38.308
disclosure and tech security aspects of

54:38.308 --> 54:40.475
that as we look at our ability to move

54:40.475 --> 54:42.586
very , very quickly in these critical

54:42.586 --> 54:45.739
technology areas uh to deliver uh these

54:45.750 --> 54:47.850
uh these emerging capabilities to

54:47.860 --> 54:50.780
combat agile threats . So I'm not sure

54:50.790 --> 54:52.901
if there's anything you'd want to add

54:52.901 --> 54:54.401
to that . Nothing for me .

54:57.919 --> 55:00.030
Well , listen , we're , we're about a

55:00.030 --> 55:02.252
time , um , apologies again to everyone

55:02.252 --> 55:04.475
whose questions I didn't get to , but I

55:04.475 --> 55:06.197
think we've had a fantastic uh

55:06.197 --> 55:08.141
discussion up here today and , and

55:08.141 --> 55:09.808
again , if I may exercise the

55:09.808 --> 55:11.975
moderator's discretion , um as we look

55:11.975 --> 55:14.141
at over this audience and we hear from

55:14.141 --> 55:16.363
the three gentlemen on the stage , uh ,

55:16.363 --> 55:18.419
we know that there are a lot of hard

55:18.419 --> 55:20.419
working people who do the very best

55:20.419 --> 55:22.641
they can uh to work with our system and

55:22.641 --> 55:24.419
to strengthen our alliances and

55:24.419 --> 55:26.475
partnerships around the world . Uh I

55:26.475 --> 55:28.641
thank you three gentlemen , Mr Mason ,

55:28.641 --> 55:30.641
Mr Miller General Pepper for taking

55:30.641 --> 55:32.808
time out of your very busy schedules .

55:32.808 --> 55:34.975
Jerry . Thank you so much to a USA for

55:34.975 --> 55:36.919
providing a form for us to discuss

55:36.919 --> 55:39.030
these , these issues uh to all of our

55:39.030 --> 55:41.141
allies and partners out there who are

55:41.141 --> 55:43.030
attending . Thank you so much for

55:43.030 --> 55:45.252
working with us and we remain and wanna

55:45.252 --> 55:47.197
be your partner of choice . Uh And

55:47.197 --> 55:49.308
these three gentlemen and many of the

55:49.308 --> 55:51.475
people in this audience are gonna make

55:51.475 --> 55:53.530
that happen . So , thank you all for

55:53.530 --> 55:55.697
attending . Have a wonderful continued

55:55.697 --> 55:57.697
a USA annual meeting . Um And let's

55:57.697 --> 55:59.641
keep our army and our relationship

55:59.641 --> 56:00.665
strong . Thank you all very much .