DOD Continues to Face Challenges in Providing Management and Oversight of Contractors in Ongoing Operations

Based on preliminary observations from our ongoing work in Iraq and  Afghanistan, we found that DOD continues to be faced with five challenges  related to providing management and oversight of contractors in ongoing  operations. While DOD has acknowledged shortages of personnel and has made some  efforts to address them, these efforts are in the early stages of  implementation. Second, training non-acquisition personnel such as CORs  and unit commanders to work with contractors continues to be a problem. Challenges in Providing an Adequate Number of Contract Oversight and Management Personnel in Deployed Locations Are Likely to Continue to Hinder DOD’s Oversight of Contractors

As we noted in several of our previous reports, having the right people  with the right skills to oversee contractor performance is crucial to  ensuring that DOD receives the best value for the billions of dollars spent  on contractor-provided services supporting contingency operations. Additionally, as our previous work has shown, poor contract oversight and  the poor contractor performance that may result can negatively affect the  military’s mission. In July 2009 we reported that  DOD had not developed department-wide procedures to screen local  national and third-country national contractor personnel, in part because  two offices within the department—–that of the Under Secretary of  Defense for Intelligence and that of the Under Secretary of Defense for  Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics—could not agree on the level of  detail that should be included in background screening for third country  and local national employees, and therefore lacked assurance that all  contractor personnel were properly screened. However, in Afghanistan, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR- A) has not established a command-wide policy for screening and badging  contractors. DOD Lacks Reliable Data on the Number of Contractor Personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan

Since 2002, we have reported on the challenges faced by commanders and  other leaders to obtain accurate information on the number of contractors  and the services they are providing in contingencies and have made  recommendations to improve DOD’s ability to obtain contractor  information. Challenges in Identifying Operational Contract Support Requirements in Iraq and Afghanistan

DOD guidance highlights the need to plan for operational contract support  early in an operations planning process because of the challenges  associated with using contractors in contingencies. These challenges  include overseeing and managing contractors in contingency operations. Our  preliminary observations from ongoing work continue to show that DOD  has not fully planned for the use of contractors in support of ongoing  contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. While DOD Has Taken Some Actions to Institutionalize Operational Contract Support, Much Remains to Be Done

In response to congressional direction and GAO recommendations, DOD  has taken some actions to institutionalize operational contract support,  however much remains to be done. In addition, the department needs to take  additional actions to improve its planning for operational contract support  for future operations. DOD Has Taken Some Department-wide Steps to Institutionalize Operational Contract Support

In October 2006, the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Logistics and  Materiel Readiness established the office of the Assistant Deputy Under  Secretary of Defense (Program Support) to act as a focal point for leading  DOD’s efforts to improve contract management and oversight at deployed  locations. We also noted that DOD  was developing an Expeditionary Contracting Policy to address the  requirement to develop a joint policy on contingency contracting, and was  revising the October 2005 version of DOD Instruction 3020.41, Contractor  Personnel Authorized to Accompany the US Armed Forces, to meet the  congressional direction to develop a joint policy on requirements  definition; program management, including the oversight of contractor  personnel supporting a contingency operation; and training. Until the DOD instruction is revised and issued, the  department’s overarching policy document will not reflect the  department’s current approach to operational contract support.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Department of Defense (DOD) relies greatly on contractors to support its current operations and is likely to continue to depend on contractors in support of future operations. As of December 2009, DOD estimated that over 207,000 contractor personnel were supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. DOD expects to increase the number of contractors as more troops deploy to Afghanistan. The use of contractors in contingencies has challenged DOD in overseeing and managing contractors. This testimony addresses (1) the challenges DOD faces when trying to provide management and oversight of contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, and (2) the extent to which DOD has made progress in institutionalizing a department- wide approach to managing and overseeing operational contract support. Today's testimony is based on GAO's ongoing audit work in Iraq and Afghanistan, looking at planning for operational contract support and at DOD's efforts to manage and oversee contractors, as well as on recently published related GAO reports and testimonies.

What GAO Found

DOD continues to face a number of challenges overseeing and managing contractors in ongoing operations. These challenges include: (1) Providing an adequate number of personnel to conduct oversight and management of contractors. (2) Training personnel, including non-acquisition personnel such as unit commanders, on how to work effectively with contractors in operations. (3) Ensuring that local and third-country nationals have been properly screened, given the lack of standardized documents, the lack of national police agencies in many countries, and poor record keeping in many countries. (4) Compiling reliable data on the number of contractor personnel supporting U.S. forces in contingencies. (5) Identifying requirements for contractor support in ongoing operations, although GAO notes that some steps have been taken at the individual unit level.

What GAO Recommends

GAO has made many recommendations in the past aimed at addressing each of these challenges. While DOD has implemented some of our recommendations, it has been slow to implement others. For example, DOD has not developed agency-wide procedures to screen foreign national contractor personnel. In addition, the department has not fully addressed congressional direction to include operational contract support in predeployment training. Until DOD has fully implemented GAO's recommendations and congressional direction, it will not be in a position to ensure adequate management and oversight of contractors in contingency operations. Furthermore, inattention to these challenges may negatively affect the military's mission through the inefficient use of personnel, may increase the risk to U.S. personnel through inadequate background screenings, and may result in increased waste of taxpayer dollars. While DOD has taken some actions to institutionalize operational contract support, significant work remains to be done. For example, in 2006 DOD established the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Program Support) to act as a focal point for DOD's efforts to improve contract management and oversight at deployed locations. In addition, the department has issued a variety of contractor-related guidance, including the Joint Contingency Contracting Handbook and a Joint Publication that establishes doctrine for operational contract support; however, other guidance, including an Expeditionary Contracting Policy and an update of the DOD Instruction on Contractors Accompanying the Force, has yet to be finalized. Our ongoing work has also shown that the department continues to face challenges identifying contractor requirements in its plans for future operations. Until DOD institutionalizes operational contract support by incorporating it into its guidance, training, and planning, the department may continue to confront the challenges it faces in Iraq and Afghanistan in future operations.