DSCA Organizational Structure

"Good will can make any organization work; conversely, the best organization chart in the world is unsound if the men [and women] who have to make it work don’t believe in it."

– James Forrestal,
First Secretary of Defense; regarding Department of Defense unification, 1946

The focus of Goal 3 is to enhance DSCA’s operating model.  To improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the SC enterprise’s business operations, DSCA reorganized its operational structure to align its leadership team and the processes they own with the Strategic Plan.

The Organizational Chart below depicts the DSCA Front Office, the Director’s Action Group, and five core functional Offices: 1) Defense Security Cooperation University (DSCU); 2) Office of Strategy, Plans, and Policy; 3) Office of International Operations; 4) Office of Business Operations; and 5) Office of Administration.  Each of these Offices will be led by an Assistant Director (AD) and supported by Deputy Assistant Directors (Deputy ADs).

The new model organizes the Agency around planning and execution, and integrates the staff’s efforts across U.S.C Title 10 and Title 22 authorities.  This model supports full-spectrum Security Cooperation planning and program execution, thus providing all SC stakeholders the optimum programmatic approach to meet their requirements.

FRONT OFFICE:
The Front Office is composed of the Executive Front Office (EFO) and the Director’s Action Group (DAG).  Broadly speaking, the EFO focuses on direct support to the Director and Deputy Director, whereas the DAG handles agency-wide issues and interactions with OSD-Policy.  The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) remains in a direct advisory role to the Director, as does the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Director. 

DEFENSE SECURITY COOPERATION UNIVERSITY: 
This Office consolidates all Education, Training, Advising, and Security Cooperation Workforce Development Program functions under a single AD, who is dual-hatted as the DSCU President.  DSCU is organized in three functional areas, each of which is led by a Deputy AD who also holds an academic title:

  1. the Enterprise Support Directorate, led by the Provost,
  2. the School of Security Cooperation Studies (SSCS), led by a Dean, and
  3. the International School of Education and Advising (ISEA), which unites the Institute for Security Governance (ISG) and the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies (DIILS), also led by a Dean.

OFFICE OF STRATEGY, PLANS, AND POLICY: 
SPP centralizes all planning functions, including strategic planning, program design, and administrative and execution policy across all authorities and programs for full-spectrum Security Cooperation planning. This Office is responsible for all strategic planning functions – including the Regional Planning and Program Design (RPPD) Directorate, the Strategy and Initiatives (SI) Directorate, and the Execution Policy and Analysis (EPA) Directorate.  The regional structure under the Deputy AD for Regional Planning and Program Design is similar to other Directorates for consistency and regional/country-aligned teaming.  This regional structure unifies functional tasking and supervisory lines.

OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS: 
This Office brings together all operational, or execution-based functions, including the Regional Execution (REX), the Global Execution (GEX), and Weapons (WPNS) Directorates – each led by a Deputy AD.  The International Operations staff is organized in the same regional structure as the planners in SPP.  The Deputy AD for Global Execution handles all functions that span across every region.  Programs such as End Use Monitoring (EUM), Excess Defense Articles (EDA), or operations such as 36(b) Congressional Notifications also fall within the Office of International Operations.

OFFICE OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS: 
The Office of Business Operations includes Deputy ADs for Information, Management and Technology (IMT), Comptroller (CMP), Financial Policy and Regional Execution (FPRE), and Security and Facilities (SF).

OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATION:
The Chief Performance Office (CPO) and Talent Management (TM) make up the two discrete Directorates in the Office of Administration.  CPO is the clearinghouse for all internal data, as well as internal controls, audit management, and functional requirements.  CPO incorporates both the AM&E function and continuous improvement mandates.  TM provides a full-range of human capital services Agency-wide and implements human capital management, to include organizational and professional development, to attract and retain a diverse workforce.  

SUMMARY OF BENEFITS 
This organizational structure enables the Agency to build partner full-spectrum capabilities aligned to our strategic objectives and in service of our stakeholders.  With this integrated functional structure, DSCA fosters an enhanced stakeholder experience through clear points of entry for specific functions and regions.  Finally, this functional model aligns employees and supervisors for optimal performance and brings additional workforce development opportunities for both civilian and military personnel.