Introduction (required)

Foreign Military Sales data is always measured by the number of agreements signed and the values associated with the agreements. Also, the financial value per fiscal year that the program brings in to the government and the private sector are measured quantitatively. On the other hand, the benefits of Foreign Military Sales are often measured intangibly by international relationships that were forged and the lasting non-military programs that come along after an agreement is signed. This is why a hybrid of quantitative and qualitative approach will be used for the study.

One would think that benefits such as the number of jobs created are plentiful, but the reality is that they are not easy to locate. Foreign Military Sales is not typically put in a positive light, but is rather marred with negative news and suspicion. This is because many have limited or no knowledge of the Foreign Military Sales process and its benefits. This lack of knowledge about the program is the root of the issues that the International Programs Division or Foreign Military Sales of the Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support- Philadelphia is facing. Many of its requisitions are ignored or deleted, and its contracts delayed or unprocessed. The fact that its processing priority status is behind that of the United States Navy and Marine Corps already put all FMS activities behind a few days, but this is a procedure that is enforced by the Command and is understood. The real issue is the lack of motivation to work Foreign Military Sales order and contracts, which is more than often is because of the negative perception of many towards FMS and their political views about supporting foreign war fighters.

Typology (required)

The chosen typology is a Program Evaluation.

Assumptions (required)

The study assumes that educating Item Managers and Contract Specialists of the basic function of Foreign Military Sales within the Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support – Philadelphia will motivate him or her to process his or her FMS workload in a timely and proper manner. It is also assumed that educating non-FMS personnel about the benefits of Foreign Military Sales to the workforce will motivate him or her to cooperate with the International Programs Division. Another assumption made is that informing the staff of Codes 02 and 03 of the positive impact of Foreign Military Sales to the micro and macro economy will lessen their negative perception and ignore their own political views about Foreign Military Sales when processing FMS requisitions or sales orders and contracts. In addition, positive assumptions such as FMS’s role in new job creation and sustainment of existing ones is highlighted in this study; that interns and trainees of the Integrated Weapon Support Teams and Contracts Specialists are more willing to adapt to changes. Addressing negative assumptions about FMS are also important such as the negative perception of people who have limited or no knowledge of the subject matter; and the resistance to change which exist amongst seasoned Item Managers ad Contract Specialists.

Research (required)

The study’s primary focus was on the delays of FMS sales order and contract initiation at the Integrated Weapon Systems Team divisions (Code 03) and the Contracts division (Code 02). The research also focused on the effectiveness of having information about the Foreign Military Sales program readily available to non-FMS employees to provide them a better understanding and appreciation of the benefits of U.S. arms sales and the reason why the United States Government is involved with foreign government allies in which some are perceived by the public as questionable.

Data Collection (required)

Pre-existing data and studies were used to gather all necessary information since surveys were not permitted by the International Programs Directorate due to the sensitivity of information pertaining to international arms sales and foreign military security. Also, a survey conducted and published by the University of California- Irvine was used in place of a self conducted survey. Some non-sensitive personal correspondences were used since qualitative data was needed as information regarding the non-FMS employees’ perception of the FMS program. Scholarly journals and supported by reputable news articles were also heavily used to capture current events related to the subject matter. The majority of journal and news articles were from 2010 and 2012 which mainly focused on the tangible benefits of FMS such as sales figures and jobs created. The oldest data came from 1994 which focused on the basic facts and history about Foreign Military Sales and focused more on the qualitative information of the program. The DISAM Journal, a publication by the Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management (DISAM) and the DISAM agency itself has been numerously consulted due to its role as the educational wing of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency- a Department of Defense agency that handles all FMS activities liaised by the Department of State. Various military journals, as well as some online business news agencies were referenced to capture the business portion of the program.

Data Gathering Techniques (optionl)

Pre-existing data was gathered from scholarly studies conducted by the University of California- Irvine, George Mason University and the United Nations as well as scholarly journals such as the DISAM Journal. Government agency data that is accessible to the public were also used to extract both qualitative and quantitative data. Data concerning current events and figures that were recently released were gathered from U.S. Government agencies’ and U.S. private contractors’ press releases as well as reputable news agencies such as CNN and Bloomberg. Personal correspondence was also used to gather some qualitative data such as employee perception.

Data Analysis and Synthesis (required)

Chapter 1 stated that the objective was to determine the availability of information on the Foreign Military Sales program can change the negative perception of the employees of the Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support- Philadelphia. Also, the research evaluates the different types of methods available to effectively and efficiently delivery the information. Finally, the research looks at long term ways to prevent the problem from reoccurring by using different types of employee motivational approach. The decrease in FMS order delays and contract initiation will serve as a way to measure the relationship between the study and the improvement on FMS metrics for Codes 02 and 03.

Reliability and Validity (required)

Qualitative data such as NAVSUP-WSS employees’ perception of Foreign Military Sales is subjective and its reliability is based solely on the perception by each individual and groups. Individual perception itself is a variable factor that can change and fluctuate based on many situations such as change in the IWST’s or Contracting division’s focus from domestic to FMS programs or an IWST’s position in the supply cycle where a new weapon systems program may not pay as much attention to FMS as much as a stable or a program that is sun-downing or ending. The reliability of the qualitative data is sensitive to these situational factors and the surrounding environment plays a big role in the swing of an individual or a group’s perception so it is valid to question the reliability of a qualitative data.

Quantitative data such as yearly Foreign Military Sales figures and the number of jobs created were all gathered from various United States Government sources and websites such as the Department of Defense, Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management and the Department of State. These figures were further validated by the data acquired from articles from independent news agencies such as CNN and Bloomberg that reported the same figures.

Scope and Limitations (required)

The study focused on finding an alternative to the process desk guides and procedure manuals provided by the NAVSUP WSS – Philadelphia Green Belt Project which are both useful, but only served as instructions rather than the final solution to the real issue. The study will also focus on finding a solution only for the Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support – Philadelphia’s International Programs or FMS Division but due to the lack of quantitative information about the problem and the proprietary and legal limitations of releasing government data as well as the limitations of doing a survey within the Command, pre-existing data was used. The absence of NAVSUP WSS quantitative data supporting the problem limited the research as well, which is why a macro to micro view (using pre-existing data gathered from industry, the greater Department of Defense and its sub-departments due to its availability and larger population) is used to fill-in the missing information not available for extraction from the Command. Finally, the study will only tackle the stated issues via disbursement of information and access to the necessary information that non-FMS employees will need through various forms of delivery.

Summary of chapter-3 (required) 2-3 sentences

The limited availability data due to restrictions on data extraction from various U.S. Government agencies has been a challenge. The Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management was able to release information through their scholarly journal and public access archives which became the base that lead to the research to other organizations, educational institutions and watch groups that follow arms sales. Pre-existing data gathered from these scholarly journals, news articles, studies and a survey conducted by the University of California- Irvine were used complete the quantitative portion. On the other hand, perception as a subjective and qualitative data is also challenging to measure; and personal correspondence from various non-FMS employees and the general knowledge of the negative perception regarding FMS is used to measure this factor.

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