Regional Security Divisions and Functions

The Regional Security Division (RS) manages bilateral and multilateral political-military relations, and its four regional teams roughly mirror the Department's six regional bureaus. RS action officers serve as a key link between the Pentagon and other bureaus in the Department, and are often the first point of contact in the bureau for staff from other bureaus seeking PM clearances. Action officers also monitor and analyze political-military developments, alerting U.S. policymakers to implications on U.S. security and foreign policy objectives. RSAT also manages periodic high-level bilateral consultations with allies and partners, and action officers develop proposals addressing regional security issues and coordinate their implementation.

Foreign Military Sales is a government-to-government program through which the U.S. Government sells conventional military weapons, equipment, and services to friends and allies to assist them in meeting their legitimate defense requirements. Although the Department of Defense, through the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), is responsible for implementing individual FMS cases, the Department of State must first review and approve them. DSCA forwards all FMS cases to RSAT, which is responsible for ensuring that they are properly reviewed within the Department for consistency with U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives. RSAT often briefs the staff of the Department's Congressional oversight committees on contentious FMS cases.

The Regional Security Division is about to establish a Cross-Cutting Issues Team to handle issues that transcend any one geographic area. An example is Coalition-Building efforts to recruit, integrate and maintain foreign contributions to current coalitions, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as to future ones. The team also has the lead in the Department for coordinating with the Pentagon and other U.S. Government agencies on the ongoing U.S. Global Defense Posture Review (GDPR), including force levels, overseas presence and deployment, provisions for access and basing, and command arrangements. Until the team is fully established, Team Leader, David Glancy, is overseeing RSAT's cross-cutting issues portfolio.

Division Chief: Hank Tucker, 647-9750