The Defense Security Cooperation University’s new Defense Security Cooperation Organization Institute (DSI) hosted the inaugural Security Cooperation Organization (SCO) Operations Refresher Course in Arlington, Va. from May 13-17, 2024. Eighteen joint officers explored policy updates, reviewed security assistance programs, renewed security cooperation procedures, considered applications for these procedures overseas, and viewed strategic competition opportunities through a security cooperation lens.

Along with classroom instruction, the students spoke with security cooperation enterprise leaders and visited stakeholders from the service implementing agencies, the Joint Staff, the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy, and the Department of State’s Political Military and Regional Bureaus.

The SCO Operations Refresher Course is intended for SCO Chiefs and Senior Defense Official/Defense Attachés (SDO/DATTs) to implement, integrate, design, and manage security cooperation programs at the country and regional levels.  This course is designed for previously trained SCO personnel, primarily at the O-5 and O-6 level, who have attended the SCO Operations Course, or predecessor courses with DSCU, and have two years successful service in an Embassy SCO.