Security Cooperation during Crisis
In times of crisis, our allies and partners count on the United States to be a steadfast partner and to deliver on the security cooperation commitments and relationships we’ve established over years of engagement. Especially during tough times, allies and partners require continued engagement, clear communication, training, and dependable supply chains to sustain their forces and capabilities. Meanwhile, partners offer the U.S. valuable experience, lessons-learned, and interoperable capabilities and capacity. This article highlights security cooperation activities during crisis.
During crisis, our allies and partners first look for assurance in the relationship with the U.S., including assurance that the U.S. will deliver on the commitments that our senior leaders have promised in the past. This requires early engagement at senior levels of leadership, even if initial engagement is via the Defense Attaches and Air Attaches that are stationed at each nation’s embassy. During the current crisis, Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force for International Affairs (SAF/IA) reached out to Air Attaches to emphasize the importance of the relationships, communicate ongoing USAF actions regarding training of international students, and establish a reliable battle-rhythm for effective communications.
Next, allies and partners look for continued engagement through reliable and credible communications at all levels of the organization. From senior leaders, partners look for effective communication of policy changes that may affect them, and leadership engagement to help them move complex issues quickly through bureaucracy. At base level, partners look for the same level of communications from line-level leaders. Meanwhile, partners also look for base-level actions that validate senior leader commitments. Mirroring our words with line-level actions assures our partners that we can truly be counted on, and what our partners will see at base-level will align with commitments made by U.S. political and senior military leaders. Examples of alignment in the current crisis include partner access to U.S. bases for critical movements of supplies, continued deliveries of Foreign Military Sales (FMS) equipment and supplies, active multi-level engagement to share techniques for Aeromedical Airlift of COVID-affected patients, and partner access to COVID-related medical assessments that partner-leaders need for their own risk management.
Partners also depend on clear communications to assess how crisis conditions will impact their U.S.-origin training and sustainment. Partners depend on U.S.-based Department of Defense-led training through FMS for the skills they need to operate advanced U.S.-origin weapons systems. Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, partners trained over 5,000 foreign International Military Students (IMS) from 153 countries in the United States in DOD-led security cooperation-related training across all military services. The U.S. Air Force continues its critical training pipelines with appropriate risk mitigation measures, and partners continue to meet training requirements provided through FMS. Where required training is complete or can’t begin due to travel restrictions, we closely communicate the impacts with partners and plan for alternative opportunities in the future.
Similarly, partners depend on U.S. supply chains to sustain their advanced capabilities purchased through FMS. In the current situation, partners have noted localized bottlenecks to logistics movements which slowed the flow of FMS supplies. We’ve worked to restore these movements by providing Department of Defense guidance that allows movements to state and local officials, which restored supply chain throughput. Effective communication and active engagement with partners have been essential to rapidly resolve supply-chain issues and sustain partner capabilities purchased through FMS.
Conversely, U.S. forces and leaders also benefit from active engagement, including how partners have adapted their forces to crisis and the lessons they’ve learned in similar experiences. Partner nations have shared with our senior leaders and mobility forces how they’ve adapted their airlift, medical, and command and control enterprises to support civil leaders during COVID crisis, and U.S. forces have integrated these lessons into their operational approach.
The U.S., our allies, and our partners are experiencing an exceptional period of rapid change. In this time, allies and partners depend on continued engagement, clear communication, training, and dependable supply chains provided by the US. Through effective communication and collaboration, we’ll be best postured to support our nations with the capabilities needed during crisis.
