A DOD agency has administered those funds under the Secretary of State's direction and oversight. After the attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001 (9/11), policymakers have increasingly come to view the United States as facing new military threats and challenges to which the State Department authorities could not appropriately respond. As a result, Congress has increasingly provided DOD with the means to provide such assistance under its own Title 10 U.S. Code (Armed Services) and the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authority and funding under the DOD budget. It includes
information on the historical evolution and current status of State Department and DOD responsibilities, an overview of current State Department, DOD, and joint State-DOD authorities, and a discussion of key oversight questions. Key Concepts and Terminology

Two concepts merit emphasizing as they are key to understanding the legal and institutional framework governing U.S. assistance (i.e., weapons, supplies, training, and other support) to and engagement with foreign military and other security forces: 
U.S. assistance to and engagement with foreign forces is often a shared responsibility among two or more U.S. government agencies, principally between the State Department and DOD, but also with others. Legal and Institutional Framework

The current legal and institutional framework for assistance to foreign militaries and other security forces has its origins in congressional documents, legislation, and executive orders that, beginning in the late 1940s, established the respective roles and responsibilities of the Department of State and DOD. Beginning in the 1980s, Congress began providing DOD with authority in Title 10 of the U.S. Code and annual National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAAs) (often referred to collectively as "Title 10 authorities") to conduct a wide range of programs and activities funded by DOD appropriations. Under its own Title 10 and NDAA authorities, DOD provides assistance to equip, train, and educate foreign military and other security forces, as well as to provide humanitarian relief and health assistance. Some of these authorities contain a specific provision requiring the "concurrence" (i.e., approval) of the Secretary of State. State Department and DOD Security Assistance Authorities

The State Department and DOD "shared responsibility" for security assistance is exercised in diverse ways. This section provides information on how the two departments share responsibility for State Department security assistance programs and a representative sample of programs conducted under Title 10 authority. They include the following: 
how to assess effectiveness; whether and how to modify or change the statutory framework to better reconcile foreign policy concerns with at times competing perceived security needs; how to reconcile institutional roles and available resources; and how to provide appropriate transparency for oversight. Some analysts believe that responding to such threats may benefit from new approaches. Proponents of using Title 22 authority for most DOD security cooperation authorities recognize that an expanded use of these authorities might require modifications to provide the utility, flexibility and speed that DOD seeks through Title 10 authority, as well as changes in traditional practices. Some policymakers would prefer to transfer DOD funds to State Department security assistance accounts for such DOD security cooperation activities conducted under State Department authority. 2282, with DOD in the lead. A related inquiry may be whether DOD should create a security cooperation career path and assign general purpose forces to a dedicated security cooperation unit. Although Congress receives many State Department and DOD reports on these agencies' security assistance and cooperation programs and expenditures, the expansion of DOD activities has prompted concerns that reporting requirements are not sufficient to provide a full and authoritative accounting of U.S. funding for security assistance activities around the world. also charged the U.S. ambassadors to those countries with the responsibility to direct assistance activities within Greece and Turkey "under the guidance and instructions of the Secretary of State...." It instructed the Secretary of State to make "appropriate arrangements" with other departments, including the Department of the Navy and the Department of War, to enable ambassadors to fulfill their responsibilities under the act. The interim report discussed two elements to improve the working relationship: (1) "strengthening of the position of the State Department on the policy level of military assistance planning and an increased assurance of the conformity of the Military Assistance Program to foreign policy and to related assistance programs" and (2) "the focusing of responsibility on the Department of Defense for the planning, programming and execution of military assistance within the framework of policy guidance laid down in the National Security Council and by the Department of State." Over the years, as Congress added new security assistance authority through amendments to the 1961 FAA and other legislation, the division of responsibility between the Secretaries of State and Defense for security assistance became more complex. Addition of Title 10 Security Cooperation Authority
Beginning in the 1980s, Congress expanded the scope and character of the statutory framework by authorizing DOD to directly train, equip, and otherwise assist foreign military and other security forces through new provisions in annual National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAA), some codified to Title 10 of the U.S. Code (Armed Services). Most stockpiled defense articles are sold to partner nations or provided to them through U.S. building partner capacity programs. The Global Security Contingency Fund authority is a pilot project scheduled to expire in FY2017. Appendix H. Title 10 Authorities: Exercises, Training, and Military-to-Military Contacts
The Department of Defense (DOD) has several authorities to train and otherwise engage with foreign military forces.
The Department of State and the Department of Defense (DOD) have long shared responsibility for U.S. assistance to train, equip, and otherwise engage with foreign military and other security forces. The legal framework for such assistance emerged soon after World War II, when Congress charged the Secretary of State with responsibility for overseeing and providing general direction for military and other security assistance programs and the Secretary of Defense with responsibility for administering such programs. Over the years, congressional directives and executive actions have modified, shaped, and refined State Department and DOD roles and responsibilities. Changes in the legal framework through which security assistance to foreign forces—weapons, training, lethal and nonlethal military assistance, and military education and training—is provided have responded to a wide array of factors.
Legal Authorization and Funding
For most of the past half-century, Congress has authorized U.S. security assistance programs through Title 22 of the U.S. Code (Foreign Relations) and appropriated the bulk of security assistance funds through State Department accounts. DOD administers programs funded through several of these accounts under the Secretary of State's direction and oversight. Beginning in the 1980s, however, and increasingly after the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 (9/11), some policymakers have come to view the State Department authorities, or the funding allocated to them, as insufficient and too inflexible to respond to evolving and emerging security threats.
As a result, Congress has increasingly provided DOD with the means to offer security assistance under authorities in either Title 10 of the U.S. Code (Armed Services) or the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), both funded as part of the DOD budget. (These are collectively known as "Title 10" authorities and referred to by DOD as "security cooperation.")
DOD security assistance and other security cooperation programs conducted under Title 10 authority and established prior to 9/11 include counternarcotics, counter-proliferation, humanitarian assistance, and assistance for training and equipping NATO forces. Title 10 statutes also provide authority for DOD to pay the expenses of foreign forces to enable them to participate in exercises, exchanges, and other military-to-military contacts. Post-9/11 DOD security cooperation authorities focus on counterterrorism assistance, and assistance to foreign forces in areas of conflict. Much of this assistance is for "building partner capacity" (BPC) to enable foreign forces to take greater responsibility for their own defense and for achieving mutual security goals in order to reduce U.S. costs. As part of the BPC effort, recent legislation provides DOD with authority to help strengthen foreign Ministries of Defense and related defense institutions. (Some of these DOD authorities require the concurrence [i.e., approval] of the Secretary of State.) Post-9/11 innovations include Congress's establishment through NDAA authority of two joint State Department-DOD authorities with a lead role for the Secretary of State: (1) an Afghanistan Infrastructure Fund established in FY2011 and (2) the Global Security Contingency Fund (GSCF), a pilot project established in FY2012 to address emerging threats. In FY2006, Congress created a DOD "joint formulation" BPC authority to address emerging counterterrorism threats, with DOD in the lead.
To some analysts, the increase of Title 10 authorities and funding to DOD for BPC support to foreign military and other security forces contributes to the perceived "militarization" of U.S. foreign policy. For others, the increase of Title 10 authorities emerged from perceived gaps in existing authorities but has resulted in a confusing, inefficient "patchwork" of authorities and coordination arrangements that are not sufficient to meet all needs.
Issues Covered in This Report
Since the late 1940s, Congress has played an active role in shaping the legal and institutional construct for security assistance activities. As Congress continues to consider legislation governing security assistance and cooperation, and to conduct oversight of such programs, some Members may seek new ways to improve program effectiveness and address inefficiencies in planning and implementation.
This report provides an overview of U.S. assistance to and engagement with foreign military and other security forces, focusing on Department of State and DOD roles. It lays out the historical evolution and current framework of the Department of State-DOD shared responsibility. It concludes with a brief overview of salient issues:
how to assess effectiveness; whether and how to modify or change the statutory and institutional framework; how to reconcile institutional roles and available resources; how to provide appropriate transparency for oversight.
This discussion is relevant to current FY2017 NDAA proposals. S. 2943, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) version of the FY2017 NDAA, contains broad proposals to consolidate many DOD security cooperation authorities under a new Title 10 chapter dedicated to security cooperation authorities, expanding some, and codifying some NDAA statutes. The House-passed version of that Act, H.R. 4909, would also consolidate a number of existing Title 10 and NDAA statutes under a new Title 10 chapter, but it does not expand existing nor propose new authority.
The appendixes provide information on the history of the State-DOD shared responsibility, as well as details of selected State Department and DOD security assistance and cooperation statutes.
Additional information on the DOD "Building Partner Capacity" programs and activities may be found in CRS Report R44313, What Is "Building Partner Capacity?" Issues for Congress, coordinated by [author name scrubbed].