Military Operations: DOD Needs to Provide Central Direction for Supporting Coalition Liaison Officers
Released: 2004-04-09T00:00:00

Letter

Background

The United States prefers to conduct operations as part of a coalition when possible. In prosecuting the Global War on Terrorism, the United States, through the U. S. Central Command (CENTCOM), has acted in concert with a number of other countries as part of a coalition to conduct Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. Most of these countries have sent officers to CENTCOM headquarters—located at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida—to act as liaisons between their countries and CENTCOM commanders and assist in planning and other operational tasks.

As coalition liaison officers began arriving to assist in Operation Enduring Freedom, CENTCOM officials established a secure area with trailers outfitted as offices for the officers to use. As the coalition expanded and Operation Iraqi Freedom started, the number of liaison officers grew, as did the need for more trailers and administrative support. CENTCOM officials initially paid for the support from Combatant Commander’s Initiative Funds earmarked for short-term initiatives identified by the commander. However, as the coalitions for both operations grew and were expected to continue into fiscal year 2003, CENTCOM requested that Congress allow the command to use funds from its budget to pay for the support provided to the liaison officers. Congress responded in the fiscal year 2003 National Defense Authorization Act by authorizing the Secretary of Defense to provide administrative services and support to those liaison officers of countries involved in a coalition with the United States and to pay the travel, subsistence, and personal expenses of those liaison officers from developing countries. This legislation expires September 30, 2005. The legislation does not direct us to assess whether it should be renewed and we did not do so.

DOD Has Not Issued Guidance to Implement This Legislation

Although it is the responsibility of the Secretary of Defense to formulate general defense policy and policy related to all matters of direct and primary concern to DOD, we could find no evidence of guidance issued by DOD to combatant commanders on how to implement the legislation allowing DOD to provide support to coalition liaison officers. Also, we could not identify any office within DOD that has responsibility for implementing the legislation and, therefore, may have promulgated guidance on the legislation. Guidance for issues that affect all the components originates at the DOD level. Typically, DOD will issue a directive—a broad policy document containing what is required to initiate, govern, or regulate actions or conduct by DOD components. This directive establishes a baseline policy that applies across the combatant commands, services, and DOD agencies. DOD may also issue an instruction, which implements the policy or prescribes the manner or a specific plan or action for carrying out the policy, operating a program or activity, and assigning responsibilities. In our opinion, this guidance is important for consistent implementation of a program across DOD.

To determine what guidance has been provided to the commands, we contacted offices within DOD, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Joint Staff to determine which office has responsibility for implementing this legislation. After calls to the Offices of Legislative Affairs and Comptroller within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, as well as the Joint Staff’s Plans and Policy Directorate and Comptroller, neither we nor the DOD Inspector General, our focal point within DOD, were able to locate any office having this responsibility.

In the data collection instrument we sent to the combatant commands, we asked whether the commands had received any guidance on how to implement the legislation. All commands replied that they had received no guidance from any office within DOD.

Awareness and Use of the Legislation by Combatant Commands Vary Widely

Although the legislation was inspired by the needs of the coalition assembled for the Global War on Terrorism, its authority is available through the Secretary of Defense to all combatant commanders. However, according to the results of our research, the awareness of and need to use the legislation by combatant commands vary widely. To determine the extent to which the combatant commands are aware of and using this legislation, we created a data collection instrument and e-mailed it to representatives at each combatant command. In responding to this instrument, representatives from Northern Command, Southern Command, European Command, Transportation Command, and Strategic Command stated that they were not aware of nor did they have a need to use the legislation, while representatives of Joint Forces Command, Special Operations Command, and Pacific Command were aware of, but had no need to use, the legislation. CENTCOM and one of its subordinate commands were the only commands both aware of and using the legislation.

CENTCOM is providing administrative services and support to more than 300 foreign coalition liaison officers from over 60 countries fighting the Global War on Terrorism with the United States. In addition, CENTCOM is paying travel, subsistence, and personal expenses to over 70 liaison officers from more than 30 developing countries that are included in the larger number.

CENTCOM Support to Liaison Officers Benefits Global War on Terrorism

In the absence of guidance from the Office of the Secretary of Defense or the Joint Staff, CENTCOM officials established internal operating procedures to provide the administrative and travel related support that the foreign coalition liaison officers needed. These procedures are not written, but they are based on existing criteria defining developing countries, federal regulations governing travel, economies of scale, and what appears to be prudent fiscal management.

In providing administrative services and support, CENTCOM officials determined that each country’s delegation (limited to no more than five foreign coalition liaison officers) would be provided a trailer for office space with furniture, telephone, computer, printer, copier, and shredder. Some of the smaller delegations share office space. CENTCOM pays for the furniture, shredders, copiers, telephones, and part of the custodial expense. MacDill Air Force Base, which is host to CENTCOM, pays for trailer leases, utilities, external security, and part of the custodial expense. These trailers are located on MacDill property in a fenced compound with security guards on duty. We toured some of the trailers and determined that CENTCOM was providing the space and equipment typical of a small office for the coalition officers. However, CENTCOM officials told us that some countries have spent their own funds to upgrade the office space provided.

In determining how to pay the travel, subsistence, and personal expenses for coalition liaison officers from developing countries, CENTCOM officials told us they used existing criteria and federal regulations to guide their decisions. Absent a DOD or Department of State list of what would be considered developing countries, CENTCOM officials told us they use a list of countries generated by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, an international organization to which the United States belongs, and defined by that organization as “Least Developed: Other Low Income and Lower Middle Income.” According to the officials, this list is recognized by the Joint Staff. To determine the appropriate amounts to provide for travel, subsistence, and personal expenses, CENTCOM officials use the Joint Federal Travel Regulations.

CENTCOM officials established some basic standards for authorizing travel, subsistence, and personal expenses for the coalition liaison officers from developing countries. CENTCOM pays for one round-trip airplane ticket from an officer’s country of origin to Tampa, Florida, where CENTCOM is headquartered, and return during a tour of duty. Other trips home are at an officer’s or his or her country’s expense. Meals and incidental expenses are based on the Joint Federal Travel Regulations’ rate for Tampa ($42 per day in fiscal year 2003) paid monthly based on the number of days the officer actually spends in Tampa. CENTCOM provides housing for foreign coalition liaison officers through contracts it has negotiated with gated apartment complexes offering on-site security. Because of the number of officers needing housing (including those officers not from developing countries, who pay for their own housing), CENTCOM officials told us that they were able to negotiate rates for housing between $58 and $65 per day, which are less than Joint Federal Travel Regulations’ per diem rate for the Tampa area ($93 per day in fiscal year 2003). CENTCOM does not pay any expenses incurred for family members of the coalition liaison officer who might accompany the officer to the United States. In fiscal year 2002, the first year the coalition was formed, coalition liaison officers had to find their own housing, which was more expensive than the contracts currently in place.

CENTCOM officials also told us that they rent cars for the coalition liaison officers from the General Services Administration at a cost of $350 per car per month, which is less expensive than renting from a commercial car leasing company at a cost of $750 per month. Again, because there are so many officers who require transportation, CENTCOM was able to negotiate a lower rate. Officers are allowed one car for each three members of a delegation. The officer whose name is on the car rental agreement is allowed $60 per month for gas. The officers assigned to the car must pay for any additional gas.

CENTCOM and MacDill Air Force Base spent a total of almost $30 million between fiscal year 2002 and 2003 to support coalition liaison officers (see table 1). In fiscal year 2002, CENTCOM and MacDill Air Force Base spent $12.4 million to provide the administrative services and support and pay travel, subsistence, and personal expenses for the coalition liaison officers assigned to CENTCOM headquarters. The money came from Combatant Commander’s Initiative Funds and MacDill Air Force Base funds. The amount spent in fiscal year 2003—nearly $17.1 million—included $898,000 in Commander’s Initiative Funds to pay for travel, subsistence, and personal expenses, which was used until the legislation to provide support to coalition liaison officers was passed and the funds became available. The remaining amount came from CENTCOM and MacDill funds.

In addition to CENTCOM, the Coalition Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, a CENTCOM subordinate operating command, reported spending over $300,000 to provide administrative support and pay travel, subsistence, and personal expenses to 13 liaison officers assigned to the task force headquarters. No other subordinate operating command or component command reported spending funds to support coalition liaison officers.

CENTCOM officials stated that this legislation has benefited the coalition by providing maximum communication and coordination for the deployment of those forces committed to fighting the Global War on Terrorism. They also stated that without the presence of the liaison officers at CENTCOM, they could not accomplish the coalition integration planning and coordination important to the Global War on Terrorism as effectively or efficiently as they are doing. CENTCOM officials stated that the legislation’s authority to pay for travel, subsistence, and personal expenses for developing countries’ liaison officers also has given the command a tool to use in negotiating with developing countries for their participation in the coalition force.

Conclusions

DOD-wide guidance provides uniform direction throughout the department on how to implement programs and policies. While CENTCOM has developed procedures for managing support to coalition liaison officers and has taken steps to provide the support authorized by the legislation in the least costly way, in the absence of DOD-wide guidance, there can be no assurance that prudent procedures will always be followed. Moreover, without DOD guidance, should other commands choose to use the authority granted by this legislation, there is no assurance that they will implement it in a uniform and prudent manner. As of January 2004, there was no DOD office responsible for the implementation of the legislative authority allowing commands to pay for support for coalition liaison officers and no DOD-wide guidance on its use.

Recommendations for Executive Action

We recommend that the Secretary of Defense take the following two actions: (1) designate an office within DOD to take responsibility for this legislation and (2) direct this designated office to promulgate and issue guidance to the combatant commands and their component and subordinate commands on how to implement this legislation.

Agency Comments

In official oral comments on a draft of this report, DOD concurred with the report. DOD stated that it would designate the Joint Staff as the office responsible for implementing the legislation and issuing appropriate guidance.

We are sending copies of this report to interested congressional committees; the Secretary of Defense; and the Director, Office of Management and Budget. We will also make copies available to others on request. In addition, the report will be available at no charge on the GAO Web site at http://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff have any questions, please contact me on (757) 552-8100 or by e-mail at curtinn@gao.gov. Major contributors to this report were Steven Sternlieb, Ann Borseth, Madelon Savaides, David Mayfield, and Renee McElveen.