“The role of the SAPM is to be the single focal point for your [foreign military sales] partner for a systems acquisition,” Koontz said. “For a sale, such as an F-15, that includes not only your aircraft but also items such as weapons, construction, ancillary equipment and training. While there is also a program manager for all those, the FMS partner looks to the SAPM as their focal point. So when something goes wrong, it’s your problem to fix.”
Different parts of a system are often located in different directorates and have different program managers. For instance, training systems will be in one division, while the weapons are in another. The SAPM is expected to be on top of all elements, all the time.
“The whole concept of a SAPM is you are to deliver a total package approach as part of the FMS process,” Wilson said. “It’s not just the airplane or the training or the support equipment, we are there to deliver a capability to our partner.”
Smith, who is currently working a non-FMS program in the F-22, credits her time in FMS as making her a better acquisition professional.
“I believe FMS helped me become a better program manager as in being able to juggle multiple aspects at one time,” she said. “You do have to multi-task, you have to juggle competing aspects at one time when you’re a SAPM. Whereas if you’re in a non-FMS position you don’t have that total responsibility, those responsibilities are broken out to other [teams].”
To hear the full conversation, you can watch Leadership Log on YouTube at https://youtu.be/cWYaf_fxpc8. You can also listen by searching “Leadership Log” on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, Overcast, Radio Public or Breaker.
About the Author