{"id":36506,"date":"2017-10-16T14:51:22","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T14:51:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/10\/16\/army-to-push-allies-to-focus-more-on-sustainment\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:02:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:02:32","slug":"army-to-push-allies-to-focus-more-on-sustainment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2017\/10\/16\/army-to-push-allies-to-focus-more-on-sustainment\/","title":{"rendered":"Army to push allies to focus more on sustainment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2013 The Army is set to push allies to focus more on sustainment of equipment, the service\u2019s top foreign relations officer says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maj. Gen. Stephen Farmen, commander at U.S. Army Security Assistance Command, told Defense News that he plans to \u201cdouble down and put emphasis on sustainment\u201d when talking with partners abroad, beginning the discussions early enough to potentially change how allies invest their dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs I\u2019ve traveled the globe, what I\u2019ve noticed is countries tend to under invest in sustainment. That creates a whole host of problems,\u201d he told Defense News in an Oct. 11 interview. \u201cWhat we don\u2019t want is for Apaches or Black Hawks to turn into bird nests in five years or a paperweight, and the only way that we can fix that is by making sure we\u2019re having good, candid conversations up front.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Major General Stephen Farmen, the commander of U.S. Army Security Assistance Command, sits down with Defense News Weekly\u2019s Jeff Martin to discuss the other side of foreign military sales\u2014sustainment.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

\u201cIn other words, you may think you need 20 Black Hawks, but if you buy 18 then you can buy the sustainment for the next 10-15 years,\u201d he continued. \u201cSo we\u2019re trying to have these meaningful discussion early.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t