Navy 'builds bridges' with international supply officers

Photo By Matthew Jones | NAVSUP WSS Logo  

PHILADELPHIA, PA, UNITED STATES

10.27.2021

Story by Matthew Jones 

NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support

NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support hosted 16 military officers from 12 partner nations as part of the Navy Supply Corps School’s International Officer Supply Course, Oct. 26-27, at Naval Support Activity Philadelphia.
The International Officer Supply Course helps international supply officers learn the culture of the United States and share best practices for conducting military logistics in a complex global environment. The course is modeled after training provided to U.S. defense personnel working in the supply and maintenance communities. It is designed to familiarize students with the organizational structure of the U.S. government, U.S. Navy, Naval Supply Systems Command, Defense Logistics Agency and their relationships to the foreign military sales process.
Rear Adm. Ken Epps, commander, NAVSUP WSS, spoke to the students about the importance of the class and the visit to NAVSUP WSS.
“This class enables you to leverage your nations’ relationships with the United States as our allies, partners and friends,” Epps said. “As military officers in the supply and sustainment world, we need to learn about one another and work together to strengthen and extend our relationships.”
Subject-matter experts from across the command briefed the students and held discussions on several topics including: Foreign Military Sales operations and transportation, engineering, contracting, performance-based logistics, reporting of discrepancies and deficiencies, the Enhanced Freight Tracking System, the Repair of Repairables management system WebRoR, and an overview of the country program teams within Foreign Military Sales.
A Security Assistance Foreign Representative from Canada, Warrant Officer Stephan Clark, also shared his experiences working within the U.S. Navy at NAVSUP WSS, which currently hosts 44 SAFRs from 20 countries. SAFRs work side by side with NAVSUP WSS employees and perform an integral role in supporting Foreign Military Sales programs.
“We’re here to build bridges,” said Clark. “Through our working relationships, we can find cooperative solutions to everyone’s challenges instead of working through problems separately.”
The visit to Philadelphia is part of a three-week tour starting at the Navy Supply Corps School in Newport, Rhode Island, with trips to various military bases and cultural sites in and around Philadelphia; Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; Norfolk, Virginia; and Washington, D.C. The tour was preceded by six weeks of primarily classroom-based instruction in Newport.
NAVSUP WSS is one of 11 commands under Commander, NAVSUP. Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and employing a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel, NAVSUP's mission is to provide supplies, services, and quality-of-life support to the Navy and joint warfighter. Learn more at www.navsup.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/navsupwss and https://twitter.com/navsupsyscom.

• Date Taken: 10.27.2021
• Date Posted: 11.01.2021 17:33
• Story ID: 408473
• Location: PHILADELPHIA, PA, US