	Planning for the Use of Operational Contract Support

Future overseas contingencies are inherently uncertain, but effective  planning—at both the strategic and operational levels—can help DOD  reduce the risks posed by those uncertainties. DOD has recognized the need to improve its planning for operational  contract support. In addition to the Secretary’s January 2011  memorandum, DOD has communicated and emphasized the importance  of operational contract support at the strategic level through the issuance  of new policy and guidance and ongoing efforts. This board is drafting an  Operational Contract Support Action Plan to outline steps the  department plans to take to close identified gaps in operational  contract support capabilities. Nevertheless, we found that DOD still risked not fully  understanding the extent to which it would be relying on contractors to  support combat operations and being unprepared to provide the  necessary management and oversight of deployed contractor personnel. One way to help address this risk is to ensure military commanders and  senior leaders are cognizant of the roles contractors have in supporting  DOD’s efforts, as well as the role that DOD military personnel have in  managing and overseeing contractors. However, we have previously reported that commanders and senior  leaders are not required to take these courses before assuming their  contract management roles and responsibilities. These  individuals—whether acquisition professionals or non-acquisition  personnel, including military commanders—play critical roles in defining  requirements, managing and overseeing contracts and contractors, and  helping to ensure that the warfighter receives the goods and services  needed in a timely manner while serving to mitigate the risks of fraud,  waste, and abuse. Our work, as well as the work of others in the accountability community,  has identified numerous instances in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere  where these individuals were in short supply, were not properly trained, or  were not fully aware of their responsibilities. DOD leadership has recognized the need to rebuild, train, and support a  highly qualified and knowledgeable acquisition workforce as a strategic  priority. DOD continues to  face challenges in strategic workforce planning for its acquisition  workforce. However, earlier this year, we reported that DOD has experienced  challenges ensuring that (1) it has a sufficient number of CORs and (2)  the CORs have the subject-matter expertise and training needed to  perform their contract management and oversight duties, in particular for  construction projects. DOD has taken some actions to enhance training  programs to prepare CORs to manage and oversee contracts in  contingency operations. Improving DOD’s Ability to Account for Contracts and Contractors

DOD’s ability to effectively leverage operational contract support in  contingency environments not only depends on having effective plans in  place and having a skilled acquisition and oversight workforce, but also  on having appropriate tools to account for contracts and contractor  personnel. These tools can provide information that DOD can use to help  mitigate risks associated with relying on contractors in contingency  environments, including tracking which contracts DOD has awarded,  where contractor personnel are located, and whether potential vendors or  contractor personnel may pose a risk to U.S. interests. DOD has made efforts to develop tools to improve its ability to account for  contracts and contractors, but it is not certain that these efforts will result  in long-term solutions that will be available at the start of future  contingencies. For example, in 2008, DOD designated the Synchronized  Predeployment and Operational Tracker (SPOT) as its system for  tracking specific information on certain contracts and associated  personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. While recent efforts have been made  to improve SPOT’s tracking of contractor personnel, in reports issued  annually since 2008, including in a report we plan to issue today, we have  consistently found that DOD has lacked reliable data and systems to  report on its contracts and contractor personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. Without attention to improving the tools needed to effectively account for  contracts and contractor personnel, DOD may continue to face similar  challenges in future contingencies. Concluding Observations

For the past 10 years, DOD has focused its attention on contingency  operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. As  DOD’s current efforts in Afghanistan draw closer to a conclusion and  DOD turns its attention to other challenges, DOD needs to guard against  allowing the lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan to be forgotten. Operational Contract Support: Management and Oversight Improvements  Needed in Afghanistan. Acquisition Workforce: DOD’s Efforts to Rebuild Capacity Have Shown  Some Progress. Warfighter Support: Cultural Change Needed to Improve How DOD Plans  for and Manages Operational Contract Support. Warfighter Support: Continued Actions Needed by DOD to Improve and  Institutionalize Contractor Support in Contingency Operations.
Why GAO Did This Study

DOD has relied heavily on contractors to support its operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and is likely to continue to depend on contractors in future operations. For over 15 years, GAO has made recommendations intended to improve DOD's ability to manage and oversee operational contract support in deployed locations, which DOD has taken some actions to address. GAO has called for a cultural change within DOD to emphasize the importance of institutionalizing operational contract support across the department. As DOD's current efforts in Afghanistan draw closer to a conclusion and DOD turns its attention to other challenges, the department needs to guard against allowing the lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan to be forgotten.
This testimony addresses three areas where sustained leadership is needed if DOD is to effectively prepare for the next contingency. These areas pertain to (1) planning for the use of operational contract support, (2) ensuring that DOD possesses the workforce needed to effectively manage and oversee contracts and contractors, and (3) improving DOD's ability to account for contracts and contractors.
This statement is drawn from GAO's broad body of work on DOD's efforts to plan for operational contract support and manage and account for contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan--including work reflected in GAO's February 2011 high-risk update, GAO's related testimonies, and GAO's recent reports on operational contract support and other contracting issues.

What GAO Found

Future overseas contingencies are inherently uncertain, but effective planning for operational contract support can help reduce the risks posed by those uncertainties. The Department of Defense (DOD) has made an effort to emphasize the importance of operational contract support at the strategic level through new policy and guidance and ongoing efforts. For example, in January 2011, the Secretary of Defense issued a memorandum outlining actions and indicating a need to influence a cultural shift in how the department manages contracted support in a contingency environment. DOD has also recognized the need to translate strategic requirements into plans at the operational level, but GAO's past work has shown that DOD's progress in anticipating contractor support in sufficient detail in operation plans has been slow. As a result, DOD has risked not fully understanding the extent to which it will be relying on contractors to support combat operations and being unprepared to provide the necessary management and oversight of deployed contractor personnel. One way to help address this risk is to ensure military commanders and senior leaders are cognizant of the roles contractors have in supporting DOD's efforts and the role that military personnel have in managing and overseeing contractors. While DOD has taken steps to develop additional training, we have reported that commanders and senior leaders are not required to take these courses before assuming their contract management roles and responsibilities.
In contingencies, DOD relies on a wide range of individuals to play critical roles in defining requirements, overseeing contractors, and helping to ensure that the warfighter receives the goods and services needed in a timely manner. GAO and others have identified numerous instances in Iraq and Afghanistan where these individuals were in short supply, were not properly trained, or were not fully aware of their responsibilities. DOD leadership has recognized the need to rebuild, train, and support a highly qualified and knowledgeable acquisition workforce. While DOD has made some progress in growing the workforce, it continues to face challenges in its strategic planning efforts. Further, in March 2012, GAO reported that although DOD had taken steps to enhance training for oversight personnel, the department continued to experience challenges ensuring that it had a sufficient number of oversight personnel with the subject-matter expertise and training needed to perform their contract management and oversight duties in Afghanistan.
DOD's ability to effectively leverage operational contract support in contingency environments also depends on having appropriate tools to account for contracts and contractor personnel. These tools can provide information that DOD can use to help mitigate risks, including tracking which contracts DOD has awarded, where contractor personnel are located, and whether potential vendors or contractor personnel may pose a potential risk to U.S. interests. DOD has made efforts to develop such tools, but it is not certain that these efforts will result in long-term solutions. For example, while DOD has designated a system for tracking specific information on certain contracts and associated personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, the department lacks reliable data sources to report on its contracts and contractor personnel. Without attention to improving the tools needed to effectively account for contracts and contractor personnel, DOD may continue to face challenges in future contingencies.