U.S Foreign Military Assistance

Early Days

The United States military entered the international military assistance game following World War II. Congress had “declared that U.S. freedom, security, and prosperity are best sustained in a community of free, secure, and prospering nations.” Military programs such as foreign assistance and foreign military sales were instituted to deter the growing communist threat. It was believed that to best counter that threat, a climate defined by individual liberty and political freedom was best suited for this purpose. In order to build this free community, the US military has concentrated on providing equipment, training, and support functions to the armed forces of friendly countries. [Brigadier General Blake]

Post WWII

One of the first moves in this effort was the Marshall Plan. Western Europe was in rambles, both politically and economically after WWII, and the Marshall plan was instituted to address this crisis. Although, the Marshall Plan was only aimed at economic measures, it set the stage for developing a strong military posture for free world. The main objective was to build self-defense by laying an economic foundation in order to provide for Allied rearmament. Most of the rearmament was accomplished by military support given from the US Military Assistance Program (MAP) which focused on providing equipment, services, and training. [Brigadier General Blake].

Military Assistance Program (MAP)

The US Military Assistance Program is a crucial part of US foreign policy that performs as an extension of the US defensive posture. Even though this program is mostly in the self-interest of the US, it does provide the governments of friendly nations with equipment, training, and support functions for their defense. MAP is not a form of economic aid, nor is it a handout of money or a food for peace program. [Brigadier General Blake]. MAP is first and foremost a program to assist foreign governments in providing for self-defense which in turn produces a more stable and secure world environment.

Types of Military Assistance Programs

In general, there are five types of military assistance programs. These include Foreign Military Sales, Foreign Military Financing, International Military Education and Training Programs, Excess defense Articles, Drawdowns, and Humanitarian Assistance Programs. Each of these programs contribute to the overall goal of military assistance programs which is to provide for the self-defense of allies and friendly nations of the US and to allow them the opportunity and ability to participate in multinational security efforts. These programs were designed with the goal of enhancing the capabilities of friendly national forces which in turn increases the regional stability of the world. In turn, this will likely reduce the need for US forces to be deployed around the world. [DSCA website]

Foreign Military Sales (FMS)

This type of military assistance is “the government-to-government method for selling US defense equipment, services, and training.” The recipient foreign government will provide reimbursement for the defense articles that are transferred. This type of military assistance is a contract between the US government and the government of the foreign country [DSCA website] Eligibility for prospective purchasers is made by Presidential determination based on factors such as continued security is provided for the purchased item, the prospective purchaser agrees not to transfer the item to another entity, and the act of transferring the articles will strengthen the security of the US and promote peace worldwide. [SAMM, Chapter 4, p. 93].

Direct Commercial Sales (DCS)

DCS is similar to FMS in many ways as it is another vehicle for a foreign government to acquire weapon systems from the US government and they both require US government approval for the sale to occur. Unlike FMF, in DCS transactions the foreign government will make the deal directly with a US private contractor. The US government in this case is not a party to the contract. The foreign government has the responsibility to chose the source (contractor) with which they will deal with and to manage the contract itself. In fact this method may be a faster and/or cheaper method for procuring the items than to go through the sometimes lengthy FMS process. [DSCA website] The basic difference between FMS and DCS is the contracting method, although both methods require government approval before the transaction can be accomplished. [“Why FMS? Why DCS?” p.1]

Foreign Military Financing (FMF)

In this type of foreign assistance, the US provides financing for the sale of defense articles through vehicles such as grants or loans. These funds are provided in congressional appropriations through the International Affairs Budget. The Department of State will then allocate the funds to qualified foreign governments and the Department of Defense will execute the programs. [DSCA website]

International Military Education and Training Programs (IMET)

“Training is the foundation on which all modern militaries are built.” [Taylor and Ibarra, p.1] IMET is a military assistance program that provides vital military training to allied forces and friendly foreign nations, usually on a grant basis. This training provides foreign military members with exposure to US military training, procedures, and leadership training. Included in the program is technical military training and more overarching concepts such as civilian control of the military, democratic values, respect for human rights, professional military education activities, and exposure to the American civilian community just to name a few. The vehicles for these educational opportunities include formal training at military institutions and schools, on the job training, orientation tours, and courses in their home country provided by mobile training teams. [DSCA website]

Excess Defense Articles (EDA)

EDA is a type of International Agreement that was established under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act of 1976. This program centers on articles that are declared to be excess by the Department of Defense (DoD). These items may then be offered for sale to interested foreign government or international organizations. Sales of these types are made in support of US national