Office of Defense Cooperation

Mission

To enhance the overall U.S.-Israel security relationship through cooperation in defense technology and equipment, training, and education.

Organization

The Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) is a joint DoD office within the United States Embassy, Israel led by the Senior Defense Official (SDO) with responsibilities delegated to the ODC Chief. It is comprised of U.S. military, DoD civilian, and host nation staff responsible for advancing U.S. bilateral security and defense policy objectives. The organization consists of: Security Cooperation, Defense Cooperation in Armaments, and Support sections.

Security Cooperation (SC) Section: Security Cooperation Officers interface with the Israeli Defense Forces and Ministry of Defense Mission to the United States to establish and administer government-to-government sales of U.S.-origin defense articles via the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.  This includes significant military equipment, follow-on technical assistance, and logistics support. The SC Section also facilitates Israeli access to U.S. professional military education, pilot training, management training, and technical courses.  Finally, the SC Section helps organize and authorize formal and informal bilateral exercises and other military-to-military engagements.

Defense Cooperation in Armaments (DCA) Section: ODC’s DCA Section facilitates defense cooperation between the U.S. and Israeli governments and industries via cooperative research, development, testing & evaluation (RDT&E) and acquisition programs; engineer and scientist personnel exchanges; data exchange agreements; and industrial cooperation.  Additionally, the DCA Section serves as the Embassy’s focal point for U.S. defense industry representatives marketing defense equipment in country.

Support Section: ODC’s Support Section provides administrative solutions for the office, such as budget analysis, procurement, contracting, information technology infrastructure management, and formal correspondence with the Government of Israel.  The Support Section also performs several additional functions, including statutory End Use Monitoring (EUM) of U.S. defense articles and services that have been sold, leased, or exported under the Foreign Assistance Act of the Arms Export Control Act, and English language testing.

Responsibilities

A. Enhance the long-term bilateral defense relationship between the United States and Israel via:

Security Assistance Programs
Defense Cooperation in Armaments
Individual Training and Professional Education

B. Support U.S. national security policy objectives.

C. Advise the Ambassador, Chief of Mission leadership, and SDO on all security cooperation matters.

D. Serve as primary U.S. Central Command liaison office in Israel.

Contact Information

Lt Col James Henline, ODC Chief
U.S. Embassy Jerusalem – Tel Aviv Branch Office
Email: HenlineJR@state.gov