For foreign vendors and businesses, the difficulty of contracting with the U.S. Government, particularly with military personnel, transcend problems with language and culture. Often times a foreign vendor may not be familiar with the nuances of the American way of contracting for the procurement of goods and services. Ours is a very sophisticated and complex system, just as the commercial customs and practices foreign nations are at first beyond our comprehension. It is through time and experience that we begin to understand each other’s customs and norms. Hence, in due time, foreign vendors learn that not every green-suiter (terminology for military personnel) has the authority to enter into contracts on behalf of the U.S. Government.
The division of contract authority and funding authority was established as a sophisticated system of checks and balances to prevent fraud and abuse of power. Thus, in our system, contracting authority, command authority, resource management, and disbursing authority runs along separate pipes, if you will. The following diagram provides a general framework for understanding the flow of funds and authority in military contracts:
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