	Background

The United States provides military equipment and training to partner  countries through a variety of programs. Agreement Development. Acquisition. DOD Reforms Address Many Challenges, but More Comprehensive Acquisition and Delivery Information Is Needed

DSCA has undertaken reforms to address challenges associated with (1)  training and workforce structure, (2) defining partner country  requirements, and (3) obtaining information on the acquisition and  delivery status of assistance agreements.addressing the first two challenges in the short term, reforms to address  information system gaps are more long-term focused and are expected to  take years to complete. DOD Efforts Underway Will Not Provide Comprehensive Information on Acquisition and Delivery Status until 2020

DOD officials participating in focus groups at all six combatant commands  and officials at 16 of the 17 SCOs we interviewed reported difficulties  obtaining information from DSCA and the implementing agencies of the  military departments—the Army, Navy, and Air Force—on the status of  assistance agreements throughout the security assistance process. Security cooperation officers in  three SCO reported discovering equipment at ports and airports that had  arrived without advance notice. In addition to receiving reports of challenges encountered by officials  using the various DOD information systems, we analyzed the extent to  which data were available in the delivery tracking information system. However, we found that DOD is not ensuring that  entities charged with carrying out deliveries are fully providing data for  this system. Equipment deliveries for traditional security  assistance programs are often executed by partner country freight  forwarders. DSCA Data Indicate Improved Timeliness in the Initial Phases of the Security Assistance Process, but Provide Limited Information on Other Phases

DSCA has collected data that show improved timeliness in processing  security assistance requests and developing security assistance  agreements. However, assessing the timeliness of the entire security  assistance process is difficult, because DSCA lacks timeliness  performance measures for the other phases and for the overall process.For example, the agency does not measure the timeliness of assistance  acquisition, delivery, and case closure, which usually comprise the most  time-consuming activities. Aggregate DSCA data for all  agreements indicate a reduction in the average, or mean, number of days  for an assistance agreement to be fully developed and offered to partner  countries from 124 days in fiscal year 2007 to 109 days in fiscal year  2011, with a fiscal year 2009 low of 103 days (see fig. Without original estimated delivery dates and actual delivery  receipt dates, DSCA cannot fully assess the timeliness of deliveries. While DOD’s reforms are addressing  several challenges, existing information systems are not consistently  populated with needed data. A lack of timely and accurate information for  partners, combatant commands, and SCO staff on agreement and  delivery status can delay assistance, impact the costs of fielding  equipment and training, and may adversely affect U.S. relationships with  partner countries. To improve the ability to measure the timeliness and efficiency of the  security assistance process, we recommend that the Secretary of  Defense take the following actions: establish a performance measure to assess timeliness for the  acquisition phase of the security assistance process; establish a performance measure to assess timeliness for the delivery  phase of the security assistance process; and establish a performance measure to assess timeliness for the case  closure phase of the security assistance process. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

In response to a Senate Armed Service Committee mandate to review the  Defense Security Cooperation Agency’s (DSCA) program implementation  processes, this report assesses the extent to which (1) Department of  Defense (DOD) reforms address challenges that security cooperation  officials face in implementing assistance programs and (2) DSCA  performance measures indicate improvement in the timeliness of security  assistance. To identify challenges to the implementation of security assistance, we  conducted focus groups or interviews with security cooperation officials in  the six geographic combatant commands and interviewed security  cooperation officers in Security Cooperation Organizations (SCOs) in 17  countries. Persian Gulf: U.S. Stabilizing Iraq: DOD Cannot Ensure That U.S.-Funded Equipment Has  Reached Iraqi Security Forces.
Why GAO Did This Study

Congress appropriated approximately $18.8 billion in fiscal year 2012 for various security cooperation and assistance programs that supply military equipment and training to more than 100 partner countries. Amid concerns that traditional security assistance programs were too slow, Congress established several new programs in recent years. DSCA oversees the security assistance process, with key functions in agreement development, acquisition, and equipment delivery performed by U.S. military departments. DOD has undertaken a variety of management reforms since 2010 to improve the security assistance process. GAO assessed the extent to which (1) DOD reforms address implementation challenges faced by security cooperation officials and (2) DSCA performance measures indicate improvement in the timeliness of security assistance. GAO analyzed DOD data and performance measures, conducted focus groups and interviews with security cooperation officials at all six geographic combatant commands, and interviewed SCO staff for 17 countries.

What GAO Found

Security cooperation officials report three major types of challenges--training and workforce structure, defining partner country requirements, and obtaining acquisition and delivery status information--in conducting assistance programs. Ongoing Department of Defense (DOD) reforms address challenges that DOD security cooperation officials reported in meeting staff training needs and achieving the optimum workforce structure. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has also initiated efforts to respond to challenges in developing assistance requests resulting from the limited expertise of partner countries and U.S. Security Cooperation Organization (SCO) staff in identifying country assistance requirements and the equipment that can meet them. However, according to DOD security cooperation officials, information gaps in the acquisition and delivery phases of the security assistance process continue to hinder the effectiveness of U.S. assistance. Nearly all of GAO's focus groups and interviews reported persistent difficulties obtaining information on the status of security assistance acquisitions and deliveries because information systems are difficult to access and contain limited information. DOD's existing delivery tracking system provides only limited data on the status of equipment deliveries because partner country agents and DOD agencies are not entering the needed data into the system. Without advance notice of deliveries, SCO staff have been unable to ensure that addresses were correct and that partner countries were ready to receive and process deliveries, resulting in delays or increased costs. DOD is developing a new information system to address information gaps, but it is not expected to be fully implemented until 2020.
DSCA data indicate that DOD has improved timeliness in the initial phases of the security assistance process, but these data provide limited information on other phases. The average number of days spent developing a security assistance agreement has improved from an average of 124 days in fiscal year 2007 to 109 days in fiscal year 2011. However, assessing the timeliness of the whole security assistance process is difficult because DSCA has limited timeliness measures for later phases, which often comprise the most time-consuming activities. For example, DSCA has not established a performance measure to assess the timeliness of acquisition, which can take years. In addition, DSCA does not consistently measure delivery performance against estimated delivery dates. Without such performance measures, DSCA cannot assess historical trends or the extent to which reforms impact the timeliness of the security assistance process.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that the Secretary of Defense (1) establish procedures to ensure that DOD agencies enter needed acquisition and delivery status data into security assistance information systems and (2) establish performance measures to assess timeliness for additional phases of the security assistance process. DOD concurred with GAO's recommendations.