AFSAC provides facility support to partners

  • Published
  • By Daryl Mayer, AFLCMC Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio (AFLCMC) – An Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation Directorate team recently changed their name to the Global Facilities Support Division to better define the full spectrum level of service they provide for international partner nations supporting foreign military sales programs.      
 
“We want to be the expert or the go to office for any facility requirements that supports foreign military sales programs and our earlier title was just the Construction Division,” said Jeff Todd, Branch Chief.  “I think that was just too limited and too distinct.”
 
With more than 26 years’ experience in the Civil Engineers career field supporting US Air Force requirements, Todd offers a wealth of expertise to international partners on identifying and supplying infrastructure needed for military systems.  
 
“It’s important to talk about the general requirement and make sure that the partner nation customer understands when they buy a weapon system, especially aircraft, it comes with facility requirements from shelters or maintenance shops to planning shops -- everything that might have to do with it,” Todd said.
 
He added traveling to the site for a survey early in the process is a key to success. 
 
“In some instances they may have existing hangers that are large enough to accommodate the new aircraft, but they may require other kind of structural improvements or maybe fire suppression systems or things like that are unique to the new system,” Todd said.
 
The team will advise, guide and assist with contracts, but they do not fly in crews to build bases like an Air Force Red Horse team. 
 
“As much as possible they're going to hire local construction contractors and labor to actually do the work,” Todd said.  “We've had some customers think that we were going to bring in the entire construction workforce.  We had to explain that we're going to use local companies, local labor and a lot of times, local material supplier, so that a lot of that cost of construction is going back into their economy.”    
 
To hear the full conversation, you can watch Leadership Log on YouTube at https://youtu.be/A5S0CZZNciw.  You can also listen by searching “Leadership Log” on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, Overcast, Radio Public or Breaker.