One of the missions of the Research, Development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM) Forward Element Command – Americas (RFEC-AME) is to foster military-to-military collaboration with the countries in the Americas. To that effect, the Commander Lieutenant Colonel Hector Gonzalez, recently provided a series of presentations aiming at fostering military-industrial-academia collaboration in Chile.
The first event took place on August 26th 2015 at the U.S. Embassy in Santiago de Chile. It had the participation of 20 Chilean Army Officers. The main topic discussed was the United States Department of Defense (DoD) Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS), as well as a Basic Contracting discussion. The purpose was to introduce Chilean Army officers to the requirements-generation process utilized by DoD, and to discuss the process and techniques applied when conducting Analysis of Alternatives, Request for Proposals, and Source Selection activities prior to awarding a contract.
The event was conducted at the request of the Chilean Army, based on their need for standardization of acquisition processes, and better resolution on acquisition decisions. The seminar was very interactive, and it included participation from 5 different organizations related to the acquisition of capabilities of the Chilean army.
A week later, on September 2nd 2015, LTC Gonzalez provided a presentation on the RDECOM-Industry Integration. This event was also requested by the Chilean Army as part of a series of professional presentations sponsored by the Chilean Army Engineering and Military Industry Command (CIMI in Spanish) to foster the military-industrial-academia collaboration in Chile and to learn from the US and RDECOM practices.
The presentation was conducted at the Chilean Army’s Academia Politécnica Militar. Over 100 attendees participated in this event representing academia, university deans, Ministry of Defense, Chilean Army organizations, as well as Chilean Air Force and Carabineros de Chile.
These events support the increasing collaboration between US and Chilean military, and enhance the level of understanding between the two countries.
About RFEC Americas
RFEC-Americas is the international representative of the U.S. Army’s Research, Development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM), and its purpose is to find international collaborative research opportunities in science and technology development, that would close capability gaps of the U.S Army. RFEC Americas is located at the U.S. Embassy in Santiago de Chile.
