Photo By Richard Bumgardner | Sarah Bean, from U.S. Army Security Assistance Command's office in New Cumberland, PA,...... read more read more
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Supporting a foreign military sales case from 7,000 miles away comes with many challenges.
Weekly video conferences are useful but doesn’t really close the gap when tasked with helping the Royal Saudi Arabia Land Forces Aviation Corps in sustaining, as well as modernizing their fleet.
That’s why the face-to-face meetings are absolutely critical, according to Col. Mark Aitken, the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command’s chief advisor to the Royal Saudi Land Forces.
This year’s Logistics Coordination Meeting, held Feb. 24-28 in Huntsville, Alabama, allowed U.S. program managers and Saudi customers to discuss complex details of the multibillion dollar cases, face-to-face.
“When you are dealing with two distinct languages—English and Arabic—sometimes things are lost in translation. It’s important to have the Saudis here with us because you’re able to tell if they don’t understand something,” said Aitken. “It’s also very good for our people here to understand some of the cultural nuances in dealing with our Saudi Arabia customer.”
Maj. Abdullah Alkhayat, Maintenance Company commander for the Royal Saudi Land Forces Aviation Corps, agrees.
“The LCM is a very important meeting to us,” said Alkhayat. “We received a lot of information, and we saw our cases developing. We discussed training seats we will have and know the exact dates our aircraft will reach us.”
The LCM provided an overview of the Royal Saudi Land Forces Aviation Corps portfolio that currently supports active requirements for the AH-64 D/E, CH-47F and UH-60A/L/M platforms, but it encompassed more than just the aircraft. The meeting drilled down into the life cycle management of the case(s). Sustainment support—from spare parts to maintenance and logistical support—can make or break a case.
“It’s also about the survivability of equipment, the training of pilots and repair parts,” said Aitken, referring to USASC’s Total Package Approach. “These are absolutely invaluable to the programs.”
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the United States’ largest FMS partner, with more than $100 billion in active FMS cases. With one of the world’s highest military expenditures and as the world’s largest arms importers, Saudi Arabia plays a vital role in preserving the stability, security and prosperity of the Gulf region.
The kingdom has worked closely with the United States for over half a century to safeguard both countries’ national security interests, and is the recipient of U.S. technical support in education, trade and economic development.
The LCM is a precursor to the annual U.S.-Saudi Grand Security Assistance Review held in Washington, D.C.
USASAC leads the Army Materiel Command's Security Assistance Enterprise managing more than 6,000 FMS cases valued at $190 billion. With support from AMC, Department of Defense agencies and U.S. industry, the command provides materiel, training and other services to help over 150 friendly countries and multinational organizations strengthen their defensive capabilities, achieve regional stability and bolster U.S. national security. For more information about USASAC’s security assistance mission and how it supports U.S. foreign policy, visit https://www.army.mil/usasac.
| Date Taken: | 02.27.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 03.16.2020 12:17 |
| Story ID: | 365290 |
| Location: | REDSTONE ARSENAL, AL, US |
| Web Views: | 67 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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