For the purposes of this review, we use the term “contingency construction” to describe any construction, alteration, development, conversion, or extension of any kind carried out with respect to a military installation in support of contingency operations. Different organizations and personnel within DOD would consider different categories of projects to be contingency construction, reflecting the project type or categorization that is most relevant to their function. Although DOD does not have a consistent definition for what constitutes a “contingency construction” project, officials from various DOD entities identify and describe contingency construction projects based on criteria including location, funding source, statutory authority, construction standards, and a facility’s intended use. Specifically: Location. Contingency construction projects may be identified by their geographic location (such as a country or region) or as those occurring at contingency locations, which DOD defines as non- enduring locations outside of the United States that support and sustain operations during named and unnamed contingencies or other operations as directed by the appropriate authority and are categorized by mission life-cycle requirements as initial, temporary, or semi-permanent. Funding Source. Contingency construction projects may generally be identified by the source of funding, such as the “overseas contingency operations” portion of the budget, which may include MILCON and O&M appropriations. Statutory Authority. Contingency construction projects may be identified by the statutory authority used to undertake the construction project. For example, Contingency Construction Authority is a statutory authority specifically associated with contingency construction operations. Construction Standards. Contingency construction projects may be identified by the construction standard used, such as those construction standards specified for contingency locations in CENTCOM guidance. Facility’s Intended Use. The purpose of the construction—whether specifically for contingency operations or for some degree of use for contingency operations—might be considered when identifying contingency construction projects. DOD uses various statutory authorities to carry out military construction projects, including contingency construction projects, and uses MILCON and O&M appropriations to fund the construction. The statutory authorities for military construction projects, several of which DOD has used for contingency construction in the CENTCOM area of responsibility to support contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, are outlined in table 1. Appendix II provides further details on these authorities. Table 1 shows that DOD may use MILCON appropriations under five of the six statutory authorities and may use O&M appropriations under two of the six authorities. Depending on a project’s cost, DOD may use either MILCON or O&M appropriations for unspecified minor military construction. In addition to using O&M appropriations for unspecified minor military construction, DOD may also use O&M appropriations for projects under the Contingency Construction Authority. To distinguish between the two statutory authorities that may use O&M funding, for the purposes of this review we refer to O&M-funded projects undertaken using section 2805 of Title 10, U.S. Code (Unspecified Minor Military Construction authority) in support of contingency operations as “O&M- funded unspecified minor military construction projects” and to O&M- funded projects using Contingency Construction Authority as “Contingency Construction Authority projects.” CENTCOM and its component commands have key roles and responsibilities for contingency construction within CENTCOM’s geographic area of responsibility. CENTCOM is one of six combatant commands that have a defined geographic area of responsibility, which is a specific region of the world where the combatant commanders plan and conduct operations. Figure 1 shows CENTCOM’s area of responsibility, which includes Iraq and Afghanistan. CENTCOM is responsible for assessing the operational environment at critical milestones to determine contingency basing requirements and designating or recommending to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff the lead service component for managing a contingency location. CENTCOM, through the command engineer, is also responsible for coordinating with service components to develop construction project priorities and for establishing theater contingency construction standards. CENTCOM provides its plans for activities and operations in theater (e.g., an engineer support plan, a theater campaign plan, etc.) to its service component commands, such as the Army Central Command and the Air Force Central Command. Under the Joint Lessons Learned Program, CENTCOM is also responsible for providing and maintaining support for theater-specific joint and interoperability lessons learned activities. Military Departments. The military departments develop, review, approve, and submit proposed construction projects identified by the combatant commands and service component commands in their annual budget justification materials. The lead service component command for a contingency location is to ensure that the location’s construction projects support the mission and tenants, which are driven by the plan CENTCOM provides. According to Army Central Command and Air Force Central Command officials, in developing the needed footprint for a contingency location, the service component commands identify construction projects and define level-of-construction requirements to provide the shelter and space needed to conduct planned operations. Once developed, according to Army Corps of Engineers officials, the lead service submits those projects to CENTCOM for review and validation. After CENTCOM and its component commands have validated a construction project, the service component command conveys project details, including the level of construction needed, to the Army Corps of Engineers for projects exceeding $1 million. The Army and Air Force have delegated approval for unspecified minor military construction projects below that level to the service component commanders and subordinate commands, including the installation commander in the case of the Air Force. Once appropriations are received, the military departments provide funds to DOD construction agents to be used for approved construction projects. Army Corps of Engineers. The Army Corps of Engineers is the designated DOD construction agent for CENTCOM’s area of responsibility. As such, it is responsible for performing design and construction services for MILCON-funded projects and service component-requested O&M-funded projects. Additionally, it is responsible for obligating, expending, and accounting for MILCON and O&M funds for assigned projects. According to Army Corps of Engineers officials, when performing design and construction services, the functions of the construction agent include estimating the cost of construction projects in the CENTCOM area of responsibility to meet level-of-construction requirements determined by the service component commands. When the volume of construction projects exceeds the Army Corps of Engineers’ personnel capacity for managing projects, it may call upon the Air Force Civil Engineer Center to manage the design and construction for some projects in the CENTCOM area of responsibility. Various Office of the Secretary of Defense organizations and the Joint Staff also have roles and responsibilities related to contingency construction. The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics exercises general oversight of the military construction program and has been delegated certain statutory authorities of the Secretary of Defense. The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment is, among other things, responsible for administering the provisions of DOD Directive 4270.5, regarding military construction, including issuing implementing guidance. Additionally, it is to monitor the execution of the military construction program to ensure the most efficient, expeditious, and cost-effective accomplishment of the program by DOD construction agents. Furthermore, it is responsible for developing DOD-wide master planning policy; facilities and construction standards; and real property accountability policy for contingency basing. The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) submits budget justification materials annually to Congress, identifying construction projects to be funded and their cost. For major military construction projects specified in the National Defense Authorization Act, the Comptroller also reports on the status of funds appropriated for each project, including obligations and disbursements. Additionally, the Secretary of Defense has delegated approval authority for the use of Contingency Construction Authority to the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller). The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in coordination with the combatant commanders, is responsible for assigning priority among competing requests from the combatant commands for military construction projects using certain authorities. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also reviews combatant command recommendations for the designation of a lead service for each semi- permanent contingency location and provides a recommendation to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. Since contingency operations began in Iraq and Afghanistan, DOD has not tracked the universe and cost of all CENTCOM contingency construction projects supporting operations there. Although DOD does not track all contingency construction projects separately from all other DOD projects in the CENTCOM area of responsibility, DOD maintains consolidated financial records of all MILCON projects and has been able to generate more specific data on contingency construction projects when requested. DOD was until recently required to track the universe and cost of O&M-funded projects supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan using the Contingency Construction Authority—one of two statutory authorities using O&M funding. However, senior DOD officials stated that they do not track and so were unaware of the magnitude of their use of O&M funds for projects under the other statutory authority—section 2805 of Title 10, U.S. Code—projects that we found constituted a substantial segment of overall contingency construction. According to senior DOD officials, DOD is not required to track the universe and cost of those projects. DOD has routinely used O&M funding for these projects to more quickly meet requirements because the MILCON review process can take up to 2 years. However, in some instances, DOD's use of O&M funding has posed financial, operational, and duplication risks. The department does not track MILCON-funded contingency construction projects separately from other MILCON-funded construction projects. According to senior department officials, DOD is not required to track contingency construction projects separately from all other DOD projects and any MILCON projects supporting contingency operations are managed sufficiently within the standard DOD processes used for all military construction.