Interesting story from Defense News. I have mixed feelings on this. The Military helping corporations sell their products at these events is somehow....unseemly. It helps blur the line between the two and I'm sure this helps senior Officers make the transition from the military to civilian positions in these same companies. I feel the same way regarding the military and participation with certain think tanks....read the whole thing but this part caught my eye...
Save me the line about foreign military sales lowering the price of the aircraft for the US military. I realize that but I'm also concerned about a Colonel....A Colonel in the US Marine Corps sounding like a used car salesman.“One of the reasons we’ve come to Farnborough is export opportunities,” said U.S. Marine Corps Col. Harry Hewson... “We’re more than willing to start talking about possible FMS [Foreign Military Sales] cases.”....
Just my two cents.
Disgraceful...but really not that surprising. Eisenhower knew way back when...why are we surprised now when it comes out into the open.
ReplyDeleteGlad you agree with me here especially since you're owning me on the Super Cruise thread.
ReplyDeleteSorry If I am naive but is not a good thing for our country if we made foreing military sales?
ReplyDeleteoh its very good Elgatoso but i just find the idea of a senior Officer in the Marine Corps playing salesman kinda pathetic.
ReplyDeleteBell Helicopter has all kinds of salesmen. Professionals that do that type of thing for a living.
why would a professional warrior lower himself to doing that job. nothing wrong with salesmen but it would seem that he chose a different occupation with more responsibility.
I get your point
ReplyDeleteOff topic
ReplyDeleteWhat you think of this
http://defensetech.org/2010/07/23/huzzah-for-the-humbletech-logistic-support-vessel-lsv/
Just so you know FMS is a Government to Government thing. Technically, Bell has nothing to do with it. It's somewhat about reducing own cost through volume, but more importantly, it's about politics. Making friends and influencing people, as it were.
ReplyDeleteIf Bell were to sell the Cobras themselves, they would have to go through a lot of hoops to be able to export (the State Department controls that), and the US Government would have final say on how the aircraft are configured. That might make them less attractive without the offsets the US Government often provides in FMS. I truly have no idea if FMS is solely a Government Op, or if it's just a Manufacturer sales pitch with a Government fig leaf. In this case our good Colonel there.
The first case I'm ambivalent about. The second would make me as disgusted as you are.