Congress responded in the fiscal  year 2003 National Defense Authorization Act by authorizing the Secretary  of Defense to provide administrative services and support to those liaison  officers of countries involved in a coalition with the United States and to  pay the travel, subsistence, and personal expenses of those liaison officers  from developing countries. DOD Has Not Issued Guidance to Implement This Legislation

Although it is the responsibility of the Secretary of Defense to formulate  general defense policy and policy related to all matters of direct and  primary concern to DOD, we could find no evidence of guidance issued by  DOD to combatant commanders on how to implement the legislation  allowing DOD to provide support to coalition liaison officers. Also, we  could not identify any office within DOD that has responsibility for  implementing the legislation and, therefore, may have promulgated  guidance on the legislation. To determine what guidance has been provided to the commands, we  contacted offices within DOD, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and  the Joint Staff to determine which office has responsibility for  implementing this legislation. Awareness and Use of the Legislation by Combatant Commands Vary Widely

Although the legislation was inspired by the needs of the coalition  assembled for the Global War on Terrorism, its authority is available  through the Secretary of Defense to all combatant commanders. However,  according to the results of our research, the awareness of and need to use  the legislation by combatant commands vary widely. CENTCOM and one of its subordinate  commands were the only commands both aware of and using the  legislation. CENTCOM is providing administrative services and support to more than  300 foreign coalition liaison officers from over 60 countries fighting the  Global War on Terrorism with the United States. In addition, CENTCOM is  paying travel, subsistence, and personal expenses to over 70 liaison  officers from more than 30 developing countries that are included in the  larger number. They also stated that without the presence of the liaison  officers at CENTCOM, they could not accomplish the coalition integration  planning and coordination important to the Global War on Terrorism as  effectively or efficiently as they are doing.
Why GAO Did This Study

In the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003, Congress authorized the Secretary of Defense to provide administrative services and support to foreign coalition liaison officers temporarily assigned to the headquarters of a combatant command or any of its subordinate commands. Congress required GAO to assess the implementation of this legislation. Specifically, GAO's objectives were to determine (1) what guidance the Department of Defense (DOD) has provided on the implementation of this legislation, (2) the extent to which the commands are aware of and are using this legislation, and (3) the level of support being provided by commands using this legislation and the benefits derived from it.

What GAO Found

GAO could find no evidence that DOD had issued any guidance to combatant commanders on how to implement this legislation. In addition, GAO was unable to identify an office within DOD that has responsibility for implementing this legislation. The DOD Office of the Inspector General, as GAO's focal point within DOD, was also unable to identify a responsible office. Although the legislation was inspired by the needs of the coalition assembled for the Global War on Terrorism, its authority is available through the Secretary of Defense to all combatant commanders. According to the results of GAO's research, the combatant commands' awareness of and need to use the legislation varied widely with Central Command being the only command using the authority to support liaison officers. Central Command, spent $17 million in fiscal year 2003 to provide administrative services and support to more than 300 coalition liaison officers from over 60 countries. As allowed by the legislation, the command also paid the travel, subsistence, and personal expenses of over 70 of these officers from more than 30 developing countries. Central Command officials stated that they could not accomplish the coalition integration planning and coordination important to the Global War on Terrorism as effectively or efficiently as they are doing without the liaison officers. They also commented that the legislation helps facilitate the participation of a developing country in the coalition if the command can pay for travel and subsistence.