Their mission is to enhance the long-term  bilateral defense relationship between the United States and the host  nation. To better support the combatant commands and be globally responsive  and regionally engaged, the Army is in the process of aligning its total  force to geographic combatant commands—including the Active  Component, Army National Guard, and Army Reserves. AFRICOM Identifies and Synchronizes Security Cooperation Activities, but the Allocated Brigades Sometimes Lack Key Information about the Activities

The brigades have conducted a range of security cooperation activities  identified and synchronized through AFRICOM’s campaign planning  process. Further, while USARAF’s fiscal year 2015 Operation Order identifies the  need to coordinate activity concepts with the Offices of Security  Cooperation, it does not specify a clear mechanism for doing so and  USARAF, the Offices of Security Cooperation, and the brigades lack a  collective venue for coordination, which they would need in order to  respond to dynamic activity requirements and to ensure a shared   For instance, officials said that  understanding of critical information.USARAF planners and the Offices of Security Cooperation informally  contact one another on an individual basis to discuss proposed activities,  but they do not consistently and formally meet to discuss upcoming  activities. Without a formal and consistent mechanism for stakeholders to  coordinate upcoming activities and ensure that information about the  activities is timely and complete, the brigades’ ability to effectively  conduct security cooperation activities may be challenged and the  resources invested may not have the anticipated effect. The Brigades Have Generally Been Prepared to Meet Requirements in Africa, but Limitations Exist With Regard to Mission-Specific Training, Equipping, and Access to Passports

The brigades have been trained and equipped for their core decisive- action missions, which has generally prepared them to meet requirements  in Africa. The brigades develop training programs to  address these requirements, but Army stakeholders have identified some  concerns about how brigade training is being conducted, supported, and  funded. Brigades Develop Decisive- Action and Mission-Specific Training

To date, three brigade combat teams have conducted both decisive- action and mission-specific training for deployments to Africa in support of  AFRICOM and based on Army Forces Command guidance. Army and brigade  officials estimated that decisive-action training also addresses about 90 to  95 percent of the training required to support security cooperation and  other activities in Africa. The brigades have experienced capability gaps, because the Army has  not fully identified the mission-essential equipment required for the  brigades to operate in Africa as allocated forces throughout their period of  employment and has not provided this equipment to the brigades in a  timely manner. Challenges and Delays in Obtaining Official Passports Have Affected Brigades’ Ability to Meet Requirements

The brigades have experienced challenges and delays in obtaining official  passports that have affected their ability to deploy to meet requirements  in Africa because, in part, AFRICOM activity timeframes do not always  facilitate timely compliance with Department of State passport  procedures. As a result of these issues, the  Department of State determined that it needed to be more stringent in  reviewing passport applications, to ensure that the applicants had a  validated requirement for official passports. To help ensure that the allocated brigades have timely and complete  information to enable them to prepare for and execute security  cooperation activities, direct the Commander of AFRICOM in  conjunction with the Commander of USARAF, to develop a formal  mechanism—such as regularly scheduled, country-specific meetings  that include USARAF desk officers, the Offices of Security  Cooperation, and the brigades—to review and discuss upcoming  security cooperation activities to ensure that key stakeholders are  aware of critical information, have an opportunity to shape the activity,  and can gather additional information if necessary. To identify opportunities to enhance brigade mission-specific training,  direct the Secretary of the Army, in coordination with the Commander  of Army Forces Command and the Commander of Army Training and  Doctrine Command, to conduct an assessment of the Army’s  approach to providing mission-specific training to regionally aligned  forces, including the brigades allocated to AFRICOM, and determine  whether any adjustments are needed. GAO staff members who made key contributions to  this report are listed in appendix V.

Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

To determine the extent to which U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has  clearly identified and synchronized security cooperation activities for the  brigades in Africa, we reviewed key security cooperation activity planning  documentation such as theater- and country-level plans, briefings and  information on AFRICOM’s and U.S. Army Africa’s (USARAF) planning  processes, and operations orders. Defense Management: Improved Planning, Training, and Interagency  Collaboration Could Strengthen DOD’s Efforts in Africa.
Why GAO Did This Study

In support of the Department of Defense's (DOD) increasing emphasis on strengthening partner nations' security forces, the Army is aligning its forces with geographic combatant commands to provide tailored, trained, and responsive forces to meet the commands' requirements. In 2013, AFRICOM became the first combatant command to be allocated an Army regionally aligned brigade combat team—the first of three to date—which was tasked to the command primarily to support security cooperation.
The House Report accompanying a bill for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 included a provision that GAO assess DOD's efforts to plan for and employ these brigades in Africa. This report assesses, among other things, the extent to which (1) AFRICOM has clearly identified and synchronized security cooperation activities for the brigades in Africa and (2) the brigades have been prepared to meet mission requirements in Africa. The term ‘synchronize' refers to coordination efforts by AFRICOM and its components to achieve unity of effort across the command. GAO reviewed documents and data and interviewed DOD and Department of State officials.

What GAO Found

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) identifies and synchronizes security cooperation activities through various planning processes, but the brigades allocated to AFRICOM sometimes lack key information about these activities. The brigades have conducted hundreds of security cooperation activities, such as exercises with partner nations, throughout Africa. As part of AFRICOM's planning processes, the Offices of Security Cooperation—located in U.S. embassies in Africa—work with U.S. Army Africa (USARAF) to identify and develop security cooperation activities based on the needs of the host nation and AFRICOM's objectives. The brigades are tasked to conduct many of these activities, but they sometimes lack timely and complete information about the activities, such as activity objectives, which can compromise their effectiveness. While personnel from USARAF and the Offices of Security Cooperation coordinate informally, they do not always have a shared understanding of the activity objectives or involve the brigades in planning. Furthermore, USARAF does not have a formal mechanism that includes both the Offices of Security Cooperation and the brigades to shape activities and address information gaps. As a result, the brigades' ability to conduct activities may be challenged, and the resources invested may not have the anticipated effect.
The brigades have been trained and equipped for their core missions, which has generally prepared them to meet requirements in Africa, but opportunities exist to enhance their mission-specific preparation. The brigades' core training is estimated to cover 90 to 95 percent of the skills needed to support activities in Africa. The brigades have developed regionally-focused, mission-specific training programs to cover the remaining skills. Some Army officials identified concerns about how this training is being supported, but the Army may not have the information it needs to address these concerns, because it has not completed an Army-directed assessment of training for regionally aligned forces. In addition, the brigades have experienced some equipment gaps, particularly in communications systems, because the Army has not fully identified mission-specific equipment requirements or established, or applied, a mechanism to ensure that brigades have the necessary equipment. Furthermore, the Army and the Department of State have not agreed on a process for providing official passports to brigade personnel before their employment period. As a result, the brigades have faced challenges in obtaining passports that have limited their ability to deploy the appropriate personnel to Africa. Without action on these issues, the brigades' ability to fully support the mission in Africa may be affected.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that DOD develop a coordination mechanism to improve planning for activities, assess mission-specific training for aligned forces, identify and provide mission-specific equipment for the brigades, and that DOD and the Department of State coordinate on providing passports to the brigades. Both concurred with the recommendations.