It is my honor to be named the new Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). This appointment is a homecoming, having served at DSCA in the early part of my career, when it was known as the Defense Security Assistance Agency (DSAA). As an employee back then, I contributed to various programs including the Excess Defense Articles and Foreign Military Financing programs. After my time at DSCA, I moved to the Office of European Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and then on to the Defense Technology Security Administration, where I eventually became the Director. I moved to Belgium to assume duties as the Deputy Defense Advisor at the U.S. Mission to NATO in 2013. I served as the Acting Defense Advisor and the Acting Secretary of Defense Representative in Europe during two Presidential transitions. All of these experiences have taught me the value of our alliances and partnerships, which remain a key American advantage in this era of strategic competition.
Since I left the Agency in 1996, DSCA’s mission has expanded substantially. In addition to absorbing oversight of Department of Defense (DoD) security assistance programs, the agency has also expanded to include new components such as the Defense Security Assistance Development Center (now known as DSCA Mechanicsburg), the Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management (now known as the Defense Security Cooperation University (DSCU), the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies (DIILS), and the Institute for Security Governance (ISG). The agency also now oversees the DoD Humanitarian Assistance program and Humanitarian Assistance component, the Humanitarian Demining Training Center. And, DSCA is now the Executive Agent of the DoD Regional Centers for Security Studies, including the new Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies.
All of these missions allow DSCA to play a crucial role in supporting the national security and foreign policy of the United States, whether through Arms Sales, International Military Training and Education (IMTE), Humanitarian and Disaster Assistance, or Institutional Capacity Building (ICB) programs.
In FY 2021, the agency oversaw over 15,000 FMS cases worth more than half a trillion dollars, and executed over $35 billion in FMS sales, with a three-year rolling average of $47 billion.
DSCA also:
-Trained over 35,000 foreign military students;
-Conducted 383 advisory, education & training engagements through DIILS and ISG;
-Deployed 65 Ministry of Defense Advisors to 17 countries;
-Oversaw over 30 international competitions of various types of which 22 are being directly managed by the agency; and
-Under DSCU, registered approximately 13,000 security cooperation personnel for online courses.
I hope to build upon DSCA’s successes in this the 50th year of the agency’s service to our country.
One area that I am particularly excited about is DSCA’s leadership of the Congressionally-mandated Security Cooperation Workforce Development Program (SCWDP) through DSCU. SCWDP supports training, certification, and career paths for the thousands of DoD civilian and military employees executing SC programs and activities around the globe. Beyond the SCWDP, DSCU’s International School of Education and Advising and IMTE portfolios will continue with its critical ICB and training programs.
I am confident that DSCA will continue to lead our community in the execution of the U.S. Security Cooperation portfolio. I look forward to leading our workforce in engaging with representatives from the U.S. government and Congress, as well as our allies and partner nations, defense industry, and the wider SC community of stakeholders.