Have you heard? SCO-299 popularity is growing! Since the course inception in June 2019, SCO-299 enrollment has been increasing. A recent course participant said, “For me this course has been a lifesaver, it has changed my perspective about how to see things differently and how to confront things differently. I will highly encourage to make this course mandatory for the spouses because otherwise they will go to the assignment basically blind folded.”

When accompanied, spouses can support fast-paced and demanding SCO assignments and contribute to mission success. Spouses will sometimes perform voluntary and direct services to support the SCO or other embassy offices – in a unique overseas environment, without typical support systems present. SCO Spouse training is valuable for SCO mission success and family safety (SCO assignments have risks for which the typical family is not prepared). We want to ensure that all understand that DSCU funding will be provided for SCO spouses who attend the course any time prior to the initial arrival date to the DoD member’s country-of- assignment. Spouses are encouraged, but not required, to attend the course at the same time that their husband or wife attends the Overseas Course. We understand that family situations exist that may preclude both the member and the spouse being away from home/family at the same time.

Please join us for an upcoming SCO Spouse Orientation Course. Additional course details and course dates can be found at the SCO-299 course page.

DoD desiring to redouble effort to protect research integrity and intellectual capital while seeking a long-term competitive advantage and premier innovation enterprise. Click here to read the letter.

The Defense Security Cooperation University (DSCU) is partnering with the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) to provide Technology Transfer and Acquisition training to the Security Cooperation Workforce (SCW). The DAU international acquisition classroom courses ACQ 230 (Intermediate International Acquisition Integration) and ACQ 380 (Advanced International Acquisition Management) will soon be available for SCW student registration and funding via the DISCS Course Catalog Registration website. Both of those instructor led classes are required for applicable levels of SCW Acquisition Area of Concentration (AOC) Certification. In the interim, there are seats available in 1QFY20 in the DAU classroom for the DAU ACQ 230 course which is required for a level 2 certification for the Security Cooperation Acquisition Area of Concentration (AOC). Recommend those students requiring that certification, plus any others that want to broaden their international acquisition education knowledge, register for the ACQ 230 (Intermediate International Acquisition Integration) course via the DAU Registration Website (https://www.dau.edu/training/p/apply-for-a-course). DSCU DISCS will update this announcement once the DISCS Course Catalog, student registration, and funding changes discussed above are complete. Contact either DSCU DISCS or DAU if you have any questions about the courses or registration processes.

Lieutenant General Charles Hooper, Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) presided over the ceremony and ribbon cutting to officially open the university at its new campus collocated with DSCA. DSCU is to serve as the DoD’s center of excellence for Security Cooperation education and training. Ms. Cara Abercrombie is DSCU’s first President. Also attending were the Honorable John C. Rood, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and The Honorable James H. Anderson, Performing the Duties of Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. DISCS is a school within DSCU.

The Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), enacted in 10 United Stated Code (U.S.C), Section 384, c, requires the Secretary of Defense establish and execute the DoD Security Cooperation Workforce Development Program to oversee the development and management of a professional workforce supporting SC programs and activities of the DoD.

The purpose of this program is to improve the quality and professionalism of the SC workforce (SCWF) in order to ensure it has the capacity, in both personnel and skills, needed to properly perform its mission, provide appropriate support to the assessment, planning and monitoring, execution, evaluation, and administration of security cooperation programs and activities. It will also ensure that personnel assignments match the appropriate level of expertise and experience required security cooperation programs and activities of the DoD and the execution of security assistance programs and activities.

To fulfill these requirements, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) is developing a security cooperation workforce (SCW) Certification program. The SCW certification program contains three major components: SC competencies based training, SC experience requirements and continuous learning requirements. DSCA is finalizing the program requirements and will publish guidance in due course. While the details of this program are being finalized, the training courses to support that certification program are currently under Alpha testing. The updated curriculum is DoD SC competency based and support Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Expert levels of certification.

All new courses will have equivalency legacy courses identified for certification purposes (when applicable courses previously existed), providing workforce members the ability to use most courses previously completed at DISCS to meet the new certification requirements. All DISCS courses completed during the transition phase can be used to fulfill these new certification requirements. Details on each course will be added to the DISCS online catalog as they are completed and prior to implementation of the certification program.

Please see our online catalog for further details on each course. We will continue to add course information as the courses are developed.