The defense institute of security assistance management returns to Romania after nine years!

October 2005 the Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management (DISAM) fortunately returned to Romania more than nine years after initially introducing United States Security Assistance Programs to the country's Ministry of National Defense in 1996

DISAM, in cooperation with the Romanian Ministry of National Defense (RO MoND) and the U Office of Defense Cooperation in Bucharest (ODC Bucharest), leadershiped several mobile education and training (MET) seminars. The classes focused upon current U.S. policy and conducts of Security Cooperation Programs available to the RO MoND the one and the other in regards to procuring and sustaining U defense articles as well as services. All of the DISAM MET occurrences were held in Bucharest, the capital city of Romania.

Romania, with its strategic location and status as the largest, greatest in quantity populous country in its region, has been and continues to be a major contributor to stability in Southeast Europe and other parts of the world. Romania joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the March of 2004 and has actively supported the United States and NATO from one side significant participation in the allied military neighborhood in Bosnia and Kosovo, in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, and in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Working closely with the Romanian Ministry of National Defense the Office of Defense Cooperation in Bucharest plays a major part in balancing and supporting the exigencys of the RO MoND while adhering to U foreign policy objectives. Security cooperation activities within ODC Bucharest are designed to build on an already extraordinary defense relationship between Romania and the United States. They are designed to unravel high leverage Romanian military capabilities that are recent professional, deployable and affordable as well as interoperable with U forces and NATO forces. Furthermore, they are designed to provide U forces with peacetime and contingency access as well as in course infrastructure. The ODC in Bucharest is also working to increase the mark of the training program by means of including more Expanded-International Military Education and Training (E-IMET) courses. As a proceed this can lead to additional representatives being trained from all ministries involved in Romanian national defense thus helping to goad their reform and transformation process

With the end of furthering these objectives, DISAM was invited by means of the Romanian Ministry of National Defense in coordination with ODC Bucharest to get back to Romania with the goal of educating popular executives and managers of RO MoND and its military in not absent day U.S. policies, procedures and programs available end various U.S. State Department Security Cooperation programs. Specific Security Cooperation programs to be addressed included Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and International Military Education and Training (IMET) programs. DISAM, eager to convenient the challenge, simultaneously conducted three separate MET courses during a sum of two units week period. The courses were directed to Senior Foreign Purchaser Executives, Foreign Purchaser Managers and those involved with Training Management functions within the RO MoND The knowledge exchanged between pupils and instructors during DISAM's stay in Romania prov to be extremely meaningful and well received by the agency of both sides.

The DISAM Romanian MET was lead by means of Ms. Virginia Caudill, Director of Management Studies at DISAM. Additional instructors from DISAM were Mr Robert Hanseman, Mr Frank Campanell, Mr Donald McCormick and Mr Aaron Prince. The team also was enhanced by dint of the inclusion of Mr. Ronald Elliott from the Naval Education and Training Security Assistance Field Activity (NETSAFA).

The first week of training consisted of sum of two units DISAM courses which ran consecutively; the Security Assistance Management Executive Foreign Purchaser Planning and Resource Management course (SAM-FE) as well as the Security Assistance Management Foreign Purchaser Planning and Resource Management course (SAM-F). the pair of these courses were taught at The Palace of the National Military Center in Bucharest. The next to the first week of instruction continued the SAM-F course with the addition of the DISAM Security Assistance Management International Training Management course (SAM-IT). The SAM-IT course was directioned across the city in the Human Resources Management Directorate (HRMD) at the Romanian Ministry of National Defense

Beginning Monday, October 10 2005 the SAM-F course commenc with an opening solemnity and welcoming remarks by Mr Drago. Gabriel Ghercioiu, Advisor to the Secretary of State from the Romania Ministry of National Defense Department for Defense Policy and M Virginia Caudill of DISAM. The course lasted a filled two weeks and was attended through thirty-three students who are directly involved in the functions and management of Romania's military international sales program. The curriculum included planning and resource processe for requirements generation, budgeting, acquisition and sustainment within a security cooperation relationship with the United States. This course was not awayed at a detailed level demonstrating by what mode to manage and carry on the outside day to day responsibilities. Among the specific topics discussed were: