T his year, the U.S. Coast Guard’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program is pro- jected to reach a major milestone: execution of more than $1 billion in ag- gregated total case value in support of national security objectives. While the U.S. Government’s FMS
program is massive, with annual sales averaging $30 billion and deliveries that include the latest cutting-edge military hardware, the Coast Guard’s contribution is often overshadowed. The Coast Guard’s location within the Department of Homeland Secu- rity (DHS), the small size of the of- fice that manages the program, and the off-the-shelf nature of its pro- curements are a few reasons why the Coast Guard’s FMS efforts rarely generate the same attention as those within the DoD. That said, nearing the $1 billion milestone proves that the Coast Guard is moving past its historic supporting role in the FMS enterprise toward global prominence. The Coast Guard’s presence is ubiquitous throughout offshore, coastal, and inland waterways. The Service’s iconic blue and orange rac- ing stripe and logo are recognized around the globe. The Service now is the first point of contact and often the first responder for maritime emer- gencies across the entire country, an impressive achievement given its rela- tively small size. With an authorized strength of just over 44,500 active- duty personnel, the Coast Guard has fewer active-duty members than the number of employees in the New York City Police Department. The organization’s mission in- cludes both local law enforcement and traditional military missions with a much smaller budget than those of DoD Services. The Coast Guard’s ability to maintain its op- erational relevance alongside the larger military services is an apt re- flection of the Coast Guard FMS’ role in the U.S. Government’s Security Cooperation enterprise. Every acquisition professional is intimately familiar with the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the formal rules that establish processes for all
Lee Fleming, a contractor with the U.S. Coast Guard Office of International Acquisition, works on one of four 110- foot Island class patrol boats that were transferred to the Hellenic Navy as Excess Defense Articles. Work on the boats was done at a shipyard in Greece. Source: U.S. Coast Guard photo
government procurements. Similarly, the Security Assistance Management Manual provides formal direction for the Coast Guard’s Security Coopera- tion programs. These two sets provide legally binding guidance for every of- fice conducting FMS procurement. Each DoD Service has numerous program offices that operate within this structure in supporting FMS ef- forts across the globe. Within the Coast Guard, however, the mission of only one office is at the nexus of these two parallel sets of guidance: CG-922. CG-922, formally the Office of In- ternational Acquisition, manages the Coast Guard’s FMS program. CG-922 was established during an organiza- tional overhaul in the late 1990s. As part of that reorganization, the Coast Guard’s FMS program was separated from the office tasked with shap- ing the Service’s global engagement strategy on behalf of the commandant and incorporated into CG-9, the Coast Guard’s Acquisition Directorate. This
realignment more accurately reflected the reality that the FMS program is, at its core, an acquisition office tasked with furthering U.S. Security Coopera- tion goals by equipping operational maritime forces, even if the forces in question necessarily belong to foreign partners. While CG-922’s placement in the Acquisition Directorate reflects the fact that the FMS program’s funda- mental mission is procurement of goods and services, it obscures the re- ality that the International Acquisition team’s mission is unique within CG-9. The rest of the directorate is tasked with equipping the Coast Guard’s organic operational forces, but CG- 922 is externally focused, providing equipment, services, and resources exclusively to foreign partners. From an FMS perspective, while the Coast Guard is organizationally part of DHS, CG-922 actually func- tions as an extension of the U.S. Navy. The Navy International Program
July-August 2025 | DEFENSE ACQUISITION | 19
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