{"id":59064,"date":"2018-12-11T15:21:18","date_gmt":"2018-12-11T15:21:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/12\/11\/boosting-arms-sales-shouldnt-be-the-only-goal-for-the-us-air-forces-international-affairs-office\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:26:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:26:04","slug":"boosting-arms-sales-shouldnt-be-the-only-goal-for-the-us-air-forces-international-affairs-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2018\/12\/11\/boosting-arms-sales-shouldnt-be-the-only-goal-for-the-us-air-forces-international-affairs-office\/","title":{"rendered":"Boosting arms sales shouldn\u2019t be the only goal for the US Air Force\u2019s international affairs office"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Air Force International Affairs \u2014 known as SAF\/IA, the acronym for secretary of the Air Force, international affairs \u2014 is a unique organization, essential to building relationships between the U.S. Air Force and partner air forces and the interoperability that enables them to fly and fight together to achieve victory. While SAF\/IA oversees and coordinates foreign military sales \u2014 as well as direct commercial sales, by the way \u2014 of relevant aerospace platforms and systems, the organization also has important responsibilities in orchestrating cooperative armaments development programs with our partners. (Does anyone think that we, the U.S., have a lock on all good ideas and beneficial technologies?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SAF\/IA is responsible for technology transfer and export control activities of the Air Force, for training of our international partners, for programs of professional development of our airmen \u2014 officer, enlisted and civilian \u2014 in political, military and foreign affairs, and, not to be overlooked, the management of the Air Force attache program, to ensure that our attaches \u2014 our full-time, on-the-ground airmen in capitals around the world \u2014 are qualified and ably carry out their mission. All of this is \u2014 and must be \u2014 guided by a sound understanding of strategy and policy, ultimately derived by the strategy and policy set by the administration, including the president and the secretaries of defense and state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the deputy undersecretary of the Air Force (SAF\/IA) from 2003-2010, I have some relevant perspective and knowledge of this. When I was selected to be the next leader of Air Force International Affairs, following careers as a naval officer and international negotiator, the secretary of the Air Force, Dr. James Roche, a very wise man, told me that he thought that SAF\/IA had become too FMS-centric and had drifted away from its policy roots. The secretary gave me a charter to transform SAF\/IA. And we did just that.<\/p>\n\n\n\t