AFSAC Finalizes $4 billion FMS Construction Division

  • Published
  • By Jonathan Tharp
  • Air Force Security Assistance & Cooperation Directorate

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – Over the past two years, there’s been tremendous growth in construction services for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) with United States Air Force (USAF) Partner Nations, led by the Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation (AFSAC) Directorate.

Fiscal Year 2020 (FY2020) ended with a construction portfolio worth over $4 billion. This growth is a strong testament to success of the Total Package Approach (TPA) for U.S. weapon sales with international partners and allies worldwide.

A Multi-Billion Dollar Full-Service Construction Engineering Firm

To accommodate this growth, the AFSAC Directorate finalized the transition of expanding its Construction Team from a branch within its Central FMS Case Development division to its own division. It’s essentially a multi-billion dollar full-service construction engineering firm inside of the AFSAC Directorate. The division is referenced as AFLCMC/WFE with three branches: WFEA, WFEB, and WFEC.

On the acquisition side, there’s a Requirements Branch (WFEA) to support Partner Nations and USAF FMS case development staff with clearly specifying all infrastructure needs for a desired aircraft weapon system. Discussing infrastructure needs in the case development process ensures a more cost-effective construction plan for the Partner Nation. The branch supports the development of Letters of Offer and Acceptance (LOAs) to make sure the right infrastructure details are included.

On the program management side, the branches WFEB and WFEC consist of civil engineers, program managers, logisticians, and security specialists who work closely with local contractors in USAF Partner Nations building all infrastructure needs for aircraft weapon systems. Here’s a brief list of common infrastructure being built:
 

  • Air Force Bases
  • Airfields
  • Runways
  • Training Facilities
  • Dining Halls
  • Living Quarters
  • Aircraft Hangars
  • Maintenance Facilities

Due to the volume and uniqueness of FMS work in the Middle East region, branch WFEB focuses on construction in Middle Eastern countries. Branch WFEC handles construction program management in all other countries.

Less Bureaucracy, More Direct Communication, Better Customer Relationships

As a division of AFSAC, the Construction Team has less bureaucracy and more direct communication with FMS stakeholders. This change is a huge benefit for building long-term relationships with USAF Partner Nations.

In construction, every country job site is unique from cultural, legal, geographical, political, and technical perspectives. At the division level, the AFSAC Construction Team is able to work directly with the Partner Nation and provide construction services tailored to its unique needs.

Beyond the Air Force

Another benefit of the AFSAC Construction team becoming a division is a simpler ability to work directly with external organizations to the Air Force. When the Construction Team was just a branch, it was much harder to work with organizations external to the Air Force because it had to “move up the chain” to the division level.

Now, it’s simpler for the team to work directly with external organizations like the U.S. Naval Facilities and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for more streamlined construction management.

For more information about the FMS Construction Division of AFSAC, please email the division workflow inbox: aflcmc.wfe@us.af.mil.