1). 2). Detailed Plans Did Not Apply to Operation Allied Force

According to EUCOM officials, there was no prepared plan that could be used for executing Operation Allied Force because it was a combination of peacetime and combat operations. NATO had detailed plans only for what it considered wars in defense of its member partners or for peacetime operations. No One Organization Directed and Coordinated Combat Aircraft Basing

Despite EUCOM’s role as the U.S. focal point in the European theater, EUCOM officials told us that they had neither the resources nor the responsibility to work out detailed combat aircraft basing arrangements for the individual services. As a result, the services, for the most part, planned their own deployments and worked out individual arrangements with the host countries. However, during Operation Allied Force, the United States did not have such agreements worked out in advance with many of the countries involved. A USAFE official believes that the United States could have paid excessive prices for supplies and services purchased “in the heat of battle” during Operation Allied Force because the United States had not negotiated supplemental agreements with countries in Europe where the United States based combat aircraft and purchased logistical support. The program was successfully used to provide parts and services to allies and to the United States. Scope and Methodology

To determine what plans were in place to determine where and how to deploy combat aircraft for Operation Allied Force and how combat aircraft basing decisions were coordinated among the services and allied nations, we visited the U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, and interviewed officials who had participated in the operation. To determine whether the United States had the necessary international agreements in force to enable it to quickly execute plans for Operation Allied Force, we interviewed officials in the Operations Law Division of the Judge Advocate General’s Office at the U.S. Air Forces, Europe. 3. We agree that U.S. European Command’s (EUCOM) combat basing plans should consider existing North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) basing plans and have included this wording in our recommendation (see p. 15).
Why GAO Did This Study

Following the failure of peace talks and escalating violence against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, the United States provided military support to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) combat operations against Yugoslavia in March 1999. This report reviews how well the United States was prepared for basing its combat aircraft during this operation, called Operation Allied Force. Specifically, GAO determines (1) whether plans were in place to determine where and how to deploy combat aircraft for an operation like Allied Force, (2) how combat aircraft basing decisions were coordinated among the services and allied nations, and (3) whether the United States had the necessary international agreements in place to enable it to quickly execute plans for such an operation.

What GAO Found

GAO found that the United States had no specific and detailed advanced plans that could be used to determine where and how to deploy its combat aircraft during Operation Allied Force because it was a combination of peacetime and combat operations. Overall plans for operations in defense of NATO members did not apply to this conflict. Although part of the U.S. European Command's mission is to plan for NATO conflicts, the Command had no prepared plan that could be applied to the conflict in Kosovo. Neither the U.S. European Command nor any U.S. military service coordinated combat aircraft basing decisions for all the U.S. service components and for all allies. The U.S. European Command serves as the focal point for American support to NATO, but the services generally planned their own deployments. Finally, the United States had general agreements with most countries involved in Operation Allied Force to cover the legal status and protections of U.S. citizens. However, the United States did not have more specific agreements with many countries on such issues as which host countries would provide what airfield access and what rates would be charged for the logistics services provided.