From Belgium Today (Vol 12, Issue 4) - Belgium's size and need for interoperability with EU and NATO Forces will always make it somewhat dependent on foreign procurement to meet it military goals. Some of Belgium's defense materiel comes from the US and Canada and most purchases made in these countries go through the BMSO.
For 50 years the BMSO has been an effective conduit for providing information, for procuring and freight forwarding. Two or three times a month, on average, the staff loads hundreds of purchases onto pallets and ships them to Belgium via military plane or sea container.
The administrative side of the work has become more challenging over the years. Since 9/11, the US has been imposing more Customs and end-use related checks on all military shipments and BMSO staffers have to provide complete traceability of everything they purchase, describing where the materiel is going, how it will be used and how it will be disposed of.
The BMSO performs a vital service to Belgium and it has become an important link in Belgian-Amercian relations.