Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) contribute to the alliance in various ways. The most significant means by far is through funding, in their individual national defense budgets, the deployment of their respective armed forces in support of NATO missions. As the alliance has undertaken enlargement in the post-Cold War period, current member countries have been providing bilateral assistance to prospective future members to assist them in modernizing their forces and making them interoperable with other NATO militaries. Defense analysts point out that the NATO allies also contribute to mutual security in many other ways. Several NATO activities, however, are coordinated and conducted by the alliance's headquarters in Brussels. These operations are directly funded by three common accounts: the NATO Military Budget, the NATO Civil Budget, and the NATO Security Investment Program (NSIP). The funds are maintained by direct contributions from NATO's member states. Individual shares of the civil and military budgets remained unchanged for decades, while NSIP shares were adjusted every few years based upon relative gross domestic product (GDP), per capita GDP, and several other factors. In 2005, members negotiated new burdensharing arrangements for all three funds—for all countries except the United States. Twice a year, ministers of NATO member countries provide guidance on general use of NATO resources. But the actual management of the accounts is conducted by various separate committees. As their names imply, the three funds are responsible for separate, but often complementary, activities. The NATO civil budget supports the alliance's Brussels headquarters and its international civilian staff, which is responsible for policy planning of operations and capabilities, liaison with non-alliance partner countries, and public diplomacy aimed at building international support for the alliance. NATO's international staff is headed by the Secretary General's office, and consists of civilian employees of member countries, often provided to NATO on three- to four-year details. Among other activities, this staff supports the work of the North Atlantic Council (the governing body of the alliance) and its more than two dozen committees. The civil budget covers standard administrative tasks, such as personnel, travel, communications, utilities, supplies and furniture, security, and the NATO headquarters project, for which construction began in 2010. In addition, this budget is used for several program activities, including public information, civil emergency planning, and the work of the science committee. The civil budget also has funded the non-military aspects of structures related to enlargement, including the Partnership for Peace (PfP) program and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC). The civilian side of these bodies sponsors activities intended to strengthen European security through creating stronger political and economic systems in former communist countries. In addition, the civil budget funds activities related to the Mediterranean Dialogue, the NATO-Russia Founding Act, the NATO-Ukraine Charter, as well as relations with the European Union. NATO's civil budget is financed by all member states, usually through their ministries of foreign affairs. The U.S. contribution is provided through the State Department's budget (Contributions to International Organizations). The U.S. current assessment is 21.7394%. In FY2010 through FY2012, the U.S. contributed $81.9 million, and $79.7 million, and $82.4 million, respectively. The Obama Administration requested a total of $68.8 million in its FY2013 budget. NATO's military budget is, in most years, the largest of the three accounts. More than half of this fund is used to pay for operational and maintenance costs of the international military staff, its headquarters in Mons, Belgium, and subordinate commands in different NATO geographical areas, including the Allied Command Operations (ACO) in Casteau, Belgium, and the Norfolk, VA-based Allied Command Transformation (ACT). This budget also covers the cost of administering the alliance's military-related activities and organizations, including the international military headquarters; the Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) fleet operations, which accounts for a significant portion of the U.S. share; the NATO pipeline (referred to as the Central European Operating Agency); and the Maintenance and Supply Agency. The level of the NATO military budget is reviewed and approved annually by the North Atlantic Council. Individual member state contributions to the budget are based on a cost-sharing formula. According to DOD, "The U.S. Ambassador to NATO and the Office of the Secretary of Defense are responsible for negotiating the cost share with NATO." The U.S. contribution to NATO's military budget is provided through the Department of the Army's Operations and Maintenance account (Support for Other Nations). The U.S. share is approximately 25%. In FY2010 through FY2012, the U.S. contributed $425.3 million, $462.5 million, and $449.9 million, respectively. The Obama Administration requested $443.0 million in its FY2013 budget. Formerly known as the NATO Infrastructure Fund, this program in the past was responsible chiefly for funding military installations and construction projects. In May 1993, the functions of the program were changed significantly to reflect the alliance's post-Cold War security policy. Known since December 1994 as the NATO Security Investment Program (NSIP), the fund's activities have been steered away from a static defense posture, appropriate to countering a possible Warsaw Pact invasion, toward crisis control, anti-terrorism, and other tasks that require more rapid force mobility and flexibility. Accordingly, the NSIP budget now involves the collective financing of a wide variety of NATO support functions, including, for example command, control, communications, and information hardware and software; surveillance and intelligence capabilities; logistics activities; harbors and airfields; training installations; transportation; and storage facilities for equipment, fuel, and munitions. Its work is managed by the NATO Infrastructure Committee, and individual projects are implemented by host countries or NATO agencies or commands. In light of fiscal constraints being experienced by all nations in the wake of the global financial crisis, "NATO has had to postpone many long-term defense investment requirements, focusing instead on requirements for Active operations and Missions (notably Afghanistan)." The Alliance Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance aircraft being used in Afghanistan is one such priority project. Because NSIP projects may be located in any of the member countries, this program has tended to be somewhat more politically sensitive than the other two. Infrastructure and other NSIP projects are decided upon through a priority planning process. Specific projects are generally awarded on the basis of competitive bidding, and, once completed, undergo NATO-controlled inspection and auditing. According to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), the focus on new NATO missions and the resultant redirection of NSIP activities have been relatively advantageous for the United States. Among other benefits, a change made in May 1993 to the "program's funding criteria for facilities construction and restoration all but eliminates NATO facility funding for the European allies but continues full support for U.S. requirements at European bases." NSIP also helps fund U.S. storage facilities in Europe, as well as U.S.-based facilities for American reinforcement forces assigned to NATO. DOD has noted that the United States has benefitted from NATO infrastructure support for several military operations, including the 1986 air strike on Libya, Desert Storm, Provide Comfort, Deny Flight, peacekeeping activities in the Balkans, as well as military operations in Afghanistan and training in Iraq. Finally, the Pentagon notes that U.S. companies have been successful in bidding on NSIP contracts. In the 1990s, NSIP funding shortfalls were an issue. According to DOD, Congress had "substantially reduced the Department's budget request ... [and] a large number of U.S.-unique projects could not be considered for NATO funding." Pentagon officials state that in the post-9/11 defense budget environment, this has ceased to be a problem. NSIP is used in support of out-of-area NATO military missions. The U.S. Department of Defense notes that "the highest Alliance priority [for the program] is to support on-going military operations in Afghanistan, the Balkans, and Iraq." Defense officials note further that NSIP pays for projects that would otherwise be paid for by the United States alone, or be cancelled for lack of funds. They emphasize that "U.S. credibility, as well as the ability for NATO to make payments to U.S. contractors for NATO-awarded projects and urgently needed U.S. operational support facilities, is directly related to the [U.S. Defense] Department's ability to secure appropriations that will satisfy its prorated share of NATO contributions." With the addition of two new members (Albania and Croatia), and the reappearance of France in the alliance's integrated military command structure in 2009, the current U.S. share of the NSIP projects is 22.2%, which represents a slight decrease from earlier years. The United States provides funds to NSIP annually through the military construction appropriations. According to the U.S. Department of Defense Budget Justification for FY2013, Based on the existing cost sharing agreement and budgeted exchange rates, the U.S. cost share of the NSIP for FY2013 is $264.4 million. Approximately $10.2 million of the total FY2013 program is expected to be available from recoupments of prior year work funded by the U.S. Applying this amount toward the requirement of $264.4 million decreases the need for appropriation in FY2013 by a corresponding amount since this is an alternate source of funds. The FY2013 request for new appropriation is $254.2 million. The majority of NATO-related expenses incurred by member states arises from the deployment of their own armed forces.