Home | Education & Distance Learning Articles | Article

Fourth International Acquisition/Procurement Seminar—Pacific : concepts for developing defense industry - IAPS-P - International Acquisition

Program Manager - January 1, 2003

The Fourth International Acquisition/Procurement Seminar-Pacific (IAPS-P), was originally scheduled for September 2001. Regrouping after the events of 9/11, the fourth seminar was held Sept. 23-26, 2002, at the Defense Acquisition University/Defense Systems Management College (DAU/DSMC), Fort Belvoir, Va. The 2002 seminar focused on cooperative programs and international acquisition practices and training.

"Concepts for Developing Defense Industry"

Sponsoring this year's event were DAU/DSMC, the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA), the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), the Korea Association of Defense Industry Studies (KADIS), and the Singapore Ministry of Defense (MINDEF).

Participation was by invitation only, and extended to Defense Department/Ministry and defense industry employees from the sponsoring nations who are actively engaged in international defense acquisition programs. For the first time, Japan participated and provided a national presentation delivered by a representative of the Japan Defense Agency

The theme for the 2002 conference was "Concepts for Developing Defense Industry" with a concentration on global suppliers, offsets, commercial technology, assurance of supply, and residual capability Presentations included "The Future Security Environment in the Pacific," "Trans-Pacific Cooperation," "Acquisition Training," and "Promoting/Restricting Arms Exports."

Keynote Address

The keynote speech was to be delivered by E.C. "Pete" Aldridge Jr., Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (USD[AT&L]). Due to a last-minute scheduling conflict, Aldridge was unable to attend. Aldridge's speech, delivered in absentia by Alfred Volkman, Director, International Cooperation, USD(AT&L), centered on the acquisition challenges facing all countries--the globalization of industry and technology, the demands of 21st Century warfare, and defense industry consolidation.

Volkman stressed the increasing importance of emerging technology, classifying the war against terrorism as "techno-centric," meaning technology is mandatory in finding and exploiting the weaknesses of terrorists. "The war on terror is most assuredly a coalition effort," he said, "and collective efforts have already led to a safer world."

To continue the effort, Volkman emphasized the need to share access to high technology among nations in the coalition to reduce costs and lay the groundwork for interoperability

The Joint Strike Fighter was cited as a successful example of international cooperation from a systems development level. The project involved research and development money from several countries and resulted in the finest strike fighter in the world at a fraction of the cost for each country involved. This type of multilateral cooperation was called "a blueprint for missile defense development cooperation."

Volkman also stressed the importance of "in-kind" commitments in addition to monetary cooperation in the form of training, testing facilities, radar sites, etc.

Observing that rapid deployment was a must for 2lst Century warfare, Volkman noted the existing interoperability gap between the United States and coalition countries, and insisted that now is the time to unify efforts to create lighter, faster, interoperable systems. He went on to say that 2lst Century warfare won't be fought in countries with large standing armies; that there is now a mandate to create light, fast, flexible defense. "No one can do it alone," he said. "A coalition is necessary for logistics."

DAU Welcome

DAU President Frank J. Anderson Jr., welcomed those assembled, noting that he looked forward to hearing the national presentations. He talked about how the University is participating in the fundamental transformation of the Department of Defense. "Our transformation has already begun," said Anderson, "by taking steps to become more agile, quicker to respond to the customer, and increasing the University's outreach programs by using high-tech tools like distance learning."

The skill sets required by the new business environment of the 21st Century, he said, "can no longer be served by the traditional training methods of the 2Oth Century."

DAU, Anderson noted, is looking to the future and has re-engineered the University organizational structure to increase emphasis on speed and accuracy of course development; collocated DAU teaching facilities where the DoD AT&L workforce is concentrated; provided job-specific performance support; and deployed e-Learning initiatives.

"We have rapidly incorporated modernization initiatives," he said, "to add value to our learning products for our customers."

National Presentations

On the first day of the seminar, policy-level presentations were given by representatives from each of the sponsoring countries and Japan concerning their respective national policies on international acquisition/procurement. A panel discussion with the presenters ended the day, including a question-and-answer session.

Taken as a whole, the presentations reveal a group of countries with militaries that differ greatly in size, budget, mission, and strengths, yet all share many overriding concerns: interoperability, technological advancement, commercialization, budget constraints. Additionally, emerging from the presentations was a newly focused concentration on uniting efforts to combat the war against terrorism.

Australia Department of Defence National Presentation

The national presentations began with "Conclusions for Developing an International Defence Industry" by Wendy Steele, Defence Materiel Attache from the Embassy of Australia in Washington. Steele focused on the importance of implementing industrial partnerships to ensure defence capabilities and readiness. "You can play policy until the cows come home," she said, "but implementation is the key."

Since a significant reform effort in the 1990s, the Australian Department of Defence has implemented a strategic approach to developing industry relationships, including relocating closer to the support teams and industry and performing sector studies. In order to adhere to a policy that dictates its Department of Defence remain largely self-reliant, Australia has increased reliance on local industry, linking procurement needs and long-term demand to industry sustainable outcomes by ensuring industry retains key production capabilities and critical skill sets, regardless of the current economic trend.

"A project-by-project approach doesn't work," stated Steele. "A strategic approach is needed in setting industrial policy."

Republic of Korea, Ministry of Defense National Presentation

Army Colonel Won Mo Jung, Director of Acquisition Policy Division, Republic of Korea, Ministry of Defense (ROK MND), delivered a talk on "ROK Weapons Acquisition Policy" Of particular concern to the ROK MND is the increased need for high-technology systems, creating escalating costs at a time of decreasing budgets.

To address the problem, the MND has focused on 78 areas of critical technology, and increased their Research and Development (R&D) allotment from 4.5 percent of the defense budget to 10 percent. By prioritizing an R&D capability, the MND hopes to improve domestic production of technology When local procurement is not feasible, adopting principles of open competition and ensuring that the acquisition process is transparent and fair are also strategies currently being employed to capture more efficient and economical results.

Singapore Ministry of Defense National Presentation

The Singapore representative, Director of Defense Procurement Quek Pin Hou, presented "Defense Procurement in Singapore: Value Creation and Enhancement." Based on its geo-political situation and the country's stable economy the small Southeast Asian country--"somewhat smaller at high tide," said Quek--has focused on developing and nurturing their defense capabilities. Technology, he emphasized, is viewed as the force multiplier to compensate for Singapore's size and space limitations. "While technology advances us to a leading edge," stated Quek, "procurement advances give us a competitive edge."

The Ministry of Defense (MINDEF) has combined technology with business initiatives to create new procurement methods such as the online reverse auction, introduced in January of 2001. Using this system, the government buys from suppliers with the lowest bid in a live, online auction (in contrast with a traditional, formal auction starting with the highest bid).

Up to 12 percent in savings have been realized through this method. Other examples include online e-catalogs and the enterprise e-procurement systems to facilitate Web-based online sourcing.

United States Department of Defense National Presentation

1 2 Next »

If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this article with hundreds of other Education & Distance Learning enthusiasts from around the world, please feel free to visit the discussion forums & post a message.

Discuss this article in the discussion forums now.

Popular Education & Distance Learning Discussions From The Past

Questions for Dr. Bear (7 posts)
by Roy Tumak - Last post on: 11-22-03 20:13
Dr. Bear, It must have been very painful for you to consider writing to the newsgroup founder, when unaccredited mill operators lied about you being jailed. I am sure the pain was probably like being burned alive, slowly. Even though you were an unaccredited mill operator yourself, I've a... (Read More)

Re: BARRELS OF INFIDEL BLOOD (6 posts)
by Hotblack Desiato - Last post on: 08-05-03 16:42
"Binky Dawkins" wrote in message news:bgel24$o0ig6$1@ID-58803.news.uni-berlin.de... > > "Hotblack Desiato" wrote in message > news:bgegeg$pmo$1@news6.svr.pol.co.uk... > > > > "Binky Dawkins" wrote in message > > news:bgefcm$o0u64$1@ID-58803.news.uni-berlin.de... > > > > > > "Chris X" ... (Read More)

"Your degree is useless," RC Cries... (2 posts)
by Douglas the Clown - Last post on: 03-13-04 07:13
Let's look at RC's royalties before we believe his statement.... 1)Regents College credit-by-testing facility, not a real college. Mr. Douglas got his two quickie bachelors degrees there, the combo deal. Low rank. 2)National University was on probation by the WASC accreditor. Low rank. ... (Read More)

Another Priceless quote from Expert Douglas (1 posts)
by Douglas the Clown - Last post on: 03-06-04 21:51
How come all these "experts" always have some kind of connections with diploma mills one way or the other??? http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=BtV2b.22398%24uh6.21913%40lakeread05 From: Rich Douglas (hrpro365@yahoo.com) Subject: Re: RA institutions View: Comp... (Read More)

You must register before posting in the Education & Distance Learning discussion forums. It's free & only takes a few seconds. Please also remember that no advertising is allowed...
Enter The Forums Here