Theater Security Cooperation (TSC)

The activities a US geographic combatant commander conducts with partner nations to build their capacity, gain access, and strengthen alliances, planned in a theater campaign plan. Maritime TSC includes combined exercises, port visits, officer exchanges, foreign military sales and training, and capacity-building for partner navies and coast guards. The goal is to shape the security environment before crisis: deterring adversaries, assuring allies, and securing basing and overflight. It is a steady-state engagement effort, distinct from combat operations, owned by the combatant commander.