Tinker SATOP office hosts global workshop

Security Assistance Technical Order Programs, or SATOP, that’s headquartered out of Tinker Air Force Base, hosted the second workshop for Foreign Military Sales Technical Order Distribution Officers (FMS TODO).

A workshop facilitated by a Tinker office, the FMS TODO training garnered attendance from 100 representatives from several program offices, and 25 partnering countries around the globe.

Over three days, attendees listened to various briefings and presentations, serving primarily as an overview to what SATOP provides in service and to support their customers. Briefings were also conducted by representatives from the Navy, AFSAC, Foreign Disclosure Office, AFMETCAL and USAF.

“This is huge,” Rebel Thompson, SATOP chief, remarked. “We have people flying in from all over the world. This workshop is specific to [technical order distribution officers], those folks who manage and run their tech libraries in their respective countries.”

TODOs are active duty military, so turnovers and reassignments occur regularly, Mr. Thompson explained, which is why the workshops are biennial. “It is a constant challenge to keep them up to date and know exactly what their job entails.”

The purpose of the workshop training is three-fold: to provide technical order support through Security Assistance Technical Order Data Systems to facilitate global reach with foreign customers; to provide technical order support through SATODS to facilitate global reach with foreign militaries; and to provide the technical support to pave the road for foreign military sales through the 21st century. Making the SATOP office more accessible to customers, and letting them know how they can be assisted on a day-to-day basis, is also an important facet of the workshop.

Establishing and maintaining relationships is key, Mr. Thompson explained, and the ability to engage on a face-to-face level with foreign military sales customers ensures that the job is executed efficiently, accurately and respectfully. This kind of communication also allows for full assessments and more effective question-and-answer sessions, which can alleviate concerns and avoid other potential issues. Putting a face to a name and building that trust allows SATOPs to properly serve its function, Mr. Thompson said.

“We can’t do business otherwise,” he said.

Travel teams are available upon request to provide training in-country, but trends have shown that lack of funds have resulted in ill-equipped TODOs. A workshop is a safety net, in a sense.

Being the only foreign military sales office in the Air Force, SATOP has produced better results by hosting training workshops for technical order distribution officers. 

The installation benefits from this event, and others like it, by promoting the SATOP team, Tinker AFB and the U.S. Air Force as a unified group, working together to encourage growth in foreign military sales through partnerships and teamwork.

SATOP provides technical order support to 66 worldwide customers to help facilitate the desired progression of Air Force FMS programs. The office provides a system to number, identify, catalog, requisition and document FMS customers. This supports all combat weapons systems in the Air Force inventory, authorized for release by the State Department.

The launch of the foreign military sales workshop first occurred in 2014. Teressa Kelley, the lead for SATOP, described the inaugural year as a workshop which focused primarily on the Security Assistance Technical Order Program. This year, Ms. Kelley said, they invited other relevant programming teams to attend and provide briefings in order to expand the reach and information available to attendees. Mr. Thompson said this year’s training was a vast improvement from its inaugural year, and hopes the next one will garner even more attention, and any kinks will be ironed out. The SATOP office will host the next FMS TODO workshop in Oklahoma City, in 2018.

In addition to the informational briefings and presentations of functions within foreign military sales, the three-day event also included a social event in Bricktown to show off a little Tinker and Oklahoma City hospitality.