The information available from the online database includes the recipient country; the item(s) to be transferred and the quantity of each; the implementing agency for each transfer (Army, Navy, Air Force, DLA transfer via grant or sale); the notified acquisition value and current value of the equipment, based on the price at which the equipment would be sold through Foreign Military Sales (FMS) if it was not being granted; the status of the transfer and the date of the latest status change.

Each year, the U.S. government releases a list of EDA-eligible nations. Typically, if a nation is eligible for FMS, it is also eligible for EDA, although there are some exceptions. Representatives from partner nations seeking EDA should contact their U.S. Embassy, in most cases through the SCO or military attaché.

The process places a responsibility on the requesting nations, in their contacts with the SCOs, to identify not only why something is needed, but also how that nation can and will sustain the item, both financially and technologically.

That contact should include an explanation of the requirement to be met, justification for that requirement and a desired mechanism to fulfill it – EDA, direct commercial sale, or FMS. Some items could be transferred under Humanitarian Assistance or Disaster Relief, depending on which countries have a need for them, potential end users, and how a military service plans to divest itself of excess items.

The process places a responsibility on the requesting nations, in their contacts with the SCOs, to identify not only why something is needed, but also how that nation can and will sustain the item, both financially and technologically. It is in the United States’ interest to ensure U.S. items transferred to foreign partners will continue to reflect favorably on the U.S. for some time after the transfer. The SCO can provide help on that during the initial dialogue, drawing on both information provided in the request and the embassy’s knowledge of that nation’s budget, existing systems, capability to handle something newer, etc.

As the U.S. services downsize, consolidate, and, in some instances, relocate, the volume of excess equipment will grow, as will the need to align its disposition with partner-nation requirements and capabilities.

In order to officially request EDA, a partner nation must submit an LOR. The LOR must provide enough information to allow the implementing agency to take action, including a description of the item’s intended use. (While weapons are not excluded from EDA transfer, they follow a path that includes compliance with the AECA and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) rules governing significant military equipment.) The LOR goes to the service that owns the items being sought (EDA acquisitions almost always cover multiple items, rarely single pieces). A courtesy copy of the letter also goes to DSCA. The service then determines what plans it has for that equipment, including whether to make it available for security assistance. That equipment then could go directly to DLA or be made available through FMS as an EDA sale. The vetting process typically does not move quickly and, even if approved at other levels, the State Department and Congress both have veto rights.

The most significant change in EDA in the past year or so has been the development of a tool allowing SCOs to enter partner nation interest and LORs into the online Security Cooperation Management System. That tool will become more robust as it is built out through 2014. The summer 2014 release was to make it available to all SCOs, eventually enabling them to look at their host nation’s data as DSCA works through requests and follow requests in real-time.

As the U.S. services downsize, consolidate, and, in some instances, relocate, the volume of excess equipment will grow, as will the need to align its disposition with partner-nation requirements and capabilities. While some elements of the process are being improved for visibility and speed, the basic steps are unlikely to change in the foreseeable future:

• A military service determines something in its inventory is excess and how they will divest themselves of it.

• A survey message is sent out to all relevant U.S. Embassy SCOs, identifying what is being made available and establishing a timeline for request submissions.

• Interested partner countries must ask for that specific item to be transferred to them as EDA

• That LOR to the service involved and DSCA must include a valid requirement for the article(s) in question, a valid sustainment plan and the ability to pick it up from wherever in the world it is, move it, and fix it, all at their own cost.

• LORs also may be filed on their own, and not in response to a survey message, identifying items the requesting nation wants to acquire through the EDA process, but all requirements for the request must be met.

• Policy offices in the Pentagon and departments of State and Commerce review the request.

• Commerce ensures that EDA sales or grants do not interfere with the ability of U.S. companies to sell new products.

• State to verify the requesting nation is eligible to receive defense items or services, that any transfers are consistent with both diplomatic and military policies and goals for that nation and region; and to ensure no other nation has a higher need for the item(s) in question.

Congress is notified consistent with the Arms Export Control Act and the Foreign Assistance Act. If approved, the requesting nation should conduct a joint visual inspection of the item(s) to ensure it is what was expected, then arrange for PCH&T as quickly as possible, at that nation’s expense.

EDA is an important part of U.S. security cooperation. It recently has become even more important due to global economic conditions influencing the way partner nations view EDA as a means to maintain or enhance their own security forces.

Additional assistance and information can be acquired from an Embassy SCO, via DSCA-EDA@DSCA.mil or LPA-Web@dsca.mil or by calling 01-703-601-1646.

First published in Defense Security Cooperation Agency: Defense Solutions for America’s Global Partners.