Since that time DOD has considered  several courses of action for the permanent placement of the  headquarters. Initially DOD’s goal was to locate AFRICOM headquarters  in Africa, but that goal was later abandoned, in part because of what DOD  described as significant projected costs and sensitivities on the part of  African countries to having such a presence on the continent. Finally,  in January 2013, the Secretary of Defense decided to keep AFRICOM’s  headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. The  study, which presented the costs and benefits of maintaining AFRICOM’s  headquarters in Stuttgart and of relocating it to the United States, stated  that the AFRICOM commander had identified certain operational  concerns as critical and that even though the operational risks could be  mitigated, it was the AFRICOM commander’s professional judgment that  the command would be less effective in the United States. In announcing  the decision to keep AFRICOM’s headquarters in Stuttgart, the Secretary  of Defense noted that the commander had judged that the headquarters  would be more operationally effective from its current location, given  shared resources with the U.S. European Command. In 2008, the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Office of Program  Assessment and Evaluation conducted an analysis that considered other  locations in Europe as well as in the United States for the permanent  location of AFRICOM headquarters. It also  concluded that relocating the headquarters to the United States would  result in significant savings for DOD. The purpose of  the CAPE study was to present the strategic and operational impacts, as  well as the costs and benefits, associated with moving AFRICOM  headquarters from its current location to the United States. Relocating AFRICOM to the continental United States could create up  to 4,300 additional jobs, with an annual impact on the local economy  ranging from $350 million to $450 million. DOD’s Decision to Keep AFRICOM Headquarters in Stuttgart Is Not Supported by an Analysis That Balances Operational Costs and Benefits for a Full Range of Options

DOD’s decision to keep AFRICOM headquarters in Stuttgart was made  following the issuance of CAPE’s 2012 study, although the extent to  which DOD officials considered the study when making the decision is  unclear. The decision, however, was not supported by a well-documented  economic analysis that balances the operational and cost benefits for the  options open to DOD. Specifically, the CAPE study does not conform with  key principles GAO has derived from a variety of cost estimating,  economic analysis, and budgeting guidance documents, in that (1) it is  not well-documented, and (2) it does not fully explain why the operational  benefits of keeping the headquarters in Stuttgart outweigh the benefit of  potentially saving millions of dollars per year and bringing thousands of  jobs to the United States. DOD’s Decision Did Not Fully Explain Why Having a Forward Presence Could Not Mitigate the Disadvantages of Having a U.S. Headquarters

In its 2012 study, DOD tasked CAPE with analyzing two options—keeping  AFRICOM’s headquarters in Stuttgart or moving it to a generic location in  one of the four U.S. time zones. Conclusions

DOD’s letter describing the January 2013 decision to maintain the  command in Stuttgart was based on operational benefits that are not  clearly laid out, and it is unclear how cost savings and economic benefits  were considered in the decision. Until the costs and benefits of maintaining AFRICOM in  Germany are specified and weighed against the costs and economic  benefits of moving the command, the department may be missing an  opportunity to accomplish its missions successfully at a significantly lower  cost. Recommendation for Executive Action

To enable the department to meet its Africa-related missions at the least  cost, GAO recommends that the Secretary of Defense conduct a more  comprehensive and well-documented analysis of options for the  permanent placement of the headquarters for AFRICOM, including  documentation as to whether the operational benefits of each option  outweigh the costs. Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

In written comments on a draft of this report, DOD stated that the 2012  CAPE study met the requirements of the House Armed Services  Committee report accompanying the National Defense Authorization Act  for Fiscal Year 2012. DOD partially concurred with our recommendation. If any of these options  require additional analysis of the location of AFRICOM headquarters,  DOD said that it will conduct a comprehensive and well-documented  analysis. We continue to believe that such an analysis is needed.
Why GAO Did This Study

A House Armed Services Committee report accompanying a bill for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 mandated GAO to conduct an analysis of options for the permanent placement of AFRICOM headquarters. While GAO's work was ongoing, DOD announced its decision to keep AFRICOM's headquarters at its current location in Stuttgart, Germany. This report addresses the following questions: (1) What courses of action did DOD consider for the permanent placement of AFRICOM headquarters? and (2) To what extent was DOD's decision to keep AFRICOM headquarters in Stuttgart based on a well-documented analysis of the costs and benefits of the options available to DOD? To meet these objectives, GAO analyzed documents provided by and interviewed officials from the Office of the Secretary of Defense; the Joint Staff; and AFRICOM and other combatant commands.

What GAO Found

The Department of Defense (DOD) has considered several courses of action for the placement of the headquarters for U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) but decided in early 2013 to keep it in Germany. When AFRICOM was created in 2007, DOD temporarily located its headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, with the intent of selecting a permanent location at a later date. DOD's initial goal was to locate the headquarters in Africa, but this was later abandoned in part because of significant projected costs and sensitivities on the part of African countries. Subsequently, in 2008, DOD conducted an analysis that found that several locations in Europe and the United States would be operationally feasible and less expensive than keeping the headquarters in Stuttgart. A final decision, however, was deferred until 2012, when the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office completed its analysis. Subsequent to this analysis, in January 2013, the Secretary of Defense decided to keep AFRICOM's headquarters in Stuttgart. In announcing the decision, the Secretary noted that keeping AFRICOM in Germany would cost more than moving it to the United States but the commander had judged it would be more operationally effective from its current location, given shared resources with the U.S. European Command.
GAO's review of DOD's decision to keep AFRICOM headquarters in Germany found that it was not supported by a comprehensive and well-documented analysis that balanced the operational and cost benefits of the options available to DOD. The 2012 study that accompanied the decision does not fully meet key principles for an economic analysis. For example, the study is not well-documented and does not fully explain the decisions that were made. Although details supporting DOD's cost estimates were not well-documented, the analysis indicated that moving the headquarters to the United States would accrue savings of $60 million to $70 million per year. The 2012 study also estimated that relocating the headquarters to the United States could create up to 4,300 additional jobs, with an annual impact on the local economy ranging from $350 million to $450 million, but it is not clear how this factored into DOD's decision. Beyond costs and economic benefits, the study lists several factors to be considered when determining where to place a headquarters. It ranks two of these factors--access to the area of responsibility and to service components--as critical. However, little support exists showing how the factors were weighted relative to each other. Moreover, the study describes how a small, forward-deployed headquarters element such as the ones employed by other U.S.-based combatant commands might mitigate operational concerns, but the study is silent about why this mitigation plan was not deemed a satisfactory option. In discussions with GAO, officials from the Central and Southern Commands stated that they had successfully overcome negative effects of having a headquarters in the United States by maintaining a forward presence in their theaters. In sum, neither the analysis nor the letter announcing the decision to retain AFRICOM headquarters in Stuttgart explains why these operational factors outweighed the cost savings and economic benefits associated with moving the headquarters to the United States. Until the costs and benefits of maintaining AFRICOM in Germany are specified and weighed against the costs and benefits of relocating the command, the department may be missing an opportunity to accomplish its missions successfully at a lower cost.

What GAO Recommends

To meet operational needs at lower costs, GAO recommends that DOD conduct a more comprehensive and well-documented analysis of options for the permanent placement of the headquarters for AFRICOM, including documentation on whether the operational benefits of each option outweigh the costs. DOD partially concurred with GAOs recommendation, stating that the decision was based primarily on military judgment but that it will perform additional analysis of the location of the headquarters if the Secretary deems it necessary. GAO continues to believe such analysis is needed.