This is the accessible text file for GAO report number GAO-10-376 
entitled 'Operation Iraqi Freedom: Actions Needed to Facilitate the 
Efficient Drawdown of U.S. Forces and Equipment from Iraq' which was 
released on April 19, 2010. 

This text file was formatted by the U.S. Government Accountability 
Office (GAO) to be accessible to users with visual impairments, as 
part of a longer term project to improve GAO products' accessibility. 
Every attempt has been made to maintain the structural and data 
integrity of the original printed product. Accessibility features, 
such as text descriptions of tables, consecutively numbered footnotes 
placed at the end of the file, and the text of agency comment letters, 
are provided but may not exactly duplicate the presentation or format 
of the printed version. The portable document format (PDF) file is an 
exact electronic replica of the printed version. We welcome your 
feedback. Please E-mail your comments regarding the contents or 
accessibility features of this document to Webmaster@gao.gov. 

This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright 
protection in the United States. It may be reproduced and distributed 
in its entirety without further permission from GAO. Because this work 
may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the 
copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this 
material separately. 

Report to Congressional Committees: 

United States Government Accountability Office: 
GAO: 

April 2010: 

Operation Iraqi Freedom: 

Actions Needed to Facilitate the Efficient Drawdown of U.S. Forces and 
Equipment from Iraq: 

GAO-10-376: 

GAO Highlights: 

Highlights of GAO-10-376, a report to congressional committees. 

Why GAO Did This Study: 

The drawdown from Iraq is a complex operation of significant 
magnitude. Established drawdown timelines dictate a reduction in 
forces to 50,000 troops by August 31, 2010, and a complete withdrawal 
of U.S. forces from Iraq by December 31, 2011. While DOD has made 
progress toward meeting these goals, a large amount of equipment, 
personnel, and bases remain to be drawn down. Moreover, escalating 
U.S. involvement in Afghanistan may increase the pressure on DOD to 
efficiently execute the drawdown. 

Due to broad congressional interest in drawdown issues, GAO performed 
this work under the Comptroller General’s Authority. GAO examined (1) 
the extent to which DOD has planned for the drawdown from Iraq in 
accordance with set timelines, and (2) factors that may impact the 
efficient execution of the drawdown. To evaluate these efforts GAO 
reviewed documents and interviewed officials from over 20 DOD 
organizations in the U.S., Kuwait, and Iraq. 

What GAO Found: 

Several DOD organizations have issued coordinated plans for the 
execution of the drawdown and created new organizations to oversee, 
synchronize, and ensure unity of effort during the drawdown. To date, 
DOD reports that its drawdown efforts have exceeded its goals. For 
example, in January 2010, DOD reported that it had exceeded its target 
figure for withdrawing wheeled and tracked combat vehicles in Iraq, 
among other items, by over 2,600 pieces, yet a large amount of 
personnel, equipment, and bases remain to be drawn down. However, DOD 
has not (1) fully included contracted support in its operational 
planning for the drawdown, (2) allowed sufficient time in its guidance 
to ensure that all contracted services can be put on contract in a 
responsible manner, or (3) clearly defined the roles and 
responsibilities of various contract validation review boards. 

Figure: Drawdown Progress Since May 2009 and What Remains to Be Drawn 
Down through August 31, 2010, and December 31, 2011: 

[Refer to PDF for image: stacked horizontal bar graph] 

U.S. Forces[A]: 
Drawn down since May 2009: 27%; 
To be drawn down through Aug. 31, 2010: 36%; 
To be drawn down through Dec. 31, 2011: 37%. 

DOD Contractor Personnel[B]: 
Drawn down since May 2009: 20%; 
To be drawn down through Aug. 31, 2010: 36%; 
To be drawn down through Dec. 31, 2011: 44%. 

Rolling Stock[C]: 
Drawn down since May 2009: 25%; 
To be drawn down through Aug. 31, 2010: 34%; 
To be drawn down through Dec. 31, 2011: 41%. 

Containers[B]: 
Drawn down since May 2009: 34%; 
To be drawn down through Aug. 31, 2010: 38%; 
To be drawn down through Dec. 31, 2011: 28%. 

Bases[A]: 
Drawn down since May 2009: 33%; 
To be drawn down through Aug. 31, 2010: 28%; 
To be drawn down through Dec. 31, 2011: 39%. 

Source: GAO analysis based on DOD data. 

[A] Data current as of February 2010. 

[B] Data current as of December 2009. 

[C] Data current as of January 2010. 

[End of figure] 

Several other issues may impede the efficient execution of the 
drawdown from Iraq. First, challenges associated with the planned 
simultaneous transition of several major contracts may lead to the 
interruption of vital services. Second, DOD has not determined whether 
the benefits of transitioning its major base and life support contract 
in Iraq outweigh the costs and risks of doing so. Third, shortages of 
contract oversight personnel may increase the risk of fraud, waste, 
and abuse. Fourth, key decisions concerning equipment that will be 
retrograded from Iraq have yet to be made. And finally, DOD lacks 
precise visibility over its inventory of equipment and shipping 
containers. While DOD has begun to address some of these issues, GAO 
has not fully assessed DOD’s actions. 

What GAO Recommends: 

GAO makes several recommendations to the Secretary of Defense 
regarding operational planning, the management and transition of 
contracts, the cost and benefits of transitioning contracts, contract 
oversight, and DOD’s plans for the disposition of equipment. DOD 
concurred with all but one of GAO’s recommendations. GAO revised the 
last recommendation accordingly. 

View [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-376] or key 
components. For more information, contact Bill Solis at (202) 512-8365 
or solisw@gao.gov. 

[End of section] 

Contents: 

Letter: 

Results in Brief: 

Background: 

Coordinated Plans and New Organizations Have Facilitated Progress in 
the Drawdown from Iraq, but DOD Has Yet to Plan for All Contracted 
Support Needed During the Drawdown: 

Several Additional Challenges May Affect the Efficient Execution of 
the Drawdown: 

Conclusions: 

Recommendations: 

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation: 

Appendix I: Scope and Methodology: 

Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Defense: 

Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments: 

Figures: 

Figure 1: Breakdown of U.S. Army Equipment in Iraq as of February 2010: 

Figure 2: Drawdown Progress Since May 2009 and What Remains to Be 
Drawn Down through August 31, 2010, and December 31, 2011: 

[End of section] 

United States Government Accountability Office: 
Washington, DC 20548: 

April 19, 2010: 

Congressional Committees: 

On November 17, 2008, the United States and the Government of Iraq 
signed a Security Agreement that took effect on January 1, 2009, which 
includes a timeline and requirements for the drawdown of U.S. forces 
from Iraq. In addition, on February 27, 2009, President Obama 
announced that by August 31, 2010, the U.S. military mission will 
change from combat to supporting the Iraqi government and its security 
forces. In light of these developments, Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-
I) issued a phased plan aligned with goals and time frames set forth 
by the Security Agreement and the President, including a transition in 
mission, the reduction of U.S. troops to 50,000 by August 31, 2010, 
and a complete withdrawal of forces by the end of 2011. 

The drawdown is one of several tasks U.S. forces in Iraq are 
conducting concurrently in a continuously evolving environment during 
a period of Iraqi political uncertainty. For example, besides 
overseeing operations in Iraq, MNF-I and its subordinate headquarters 
merged into a single headquarters called United States Forces-Iraq 
(USF-I) in January 2010.[Footnote 1] In addition, brigade combat teams 
are being replaced by relatively new Advise and Assist Brigades that 
will focus less on combat operations and more on advising and 
assisting the Iraqi security forces, providing force protection for 
U.S. military and civilian personnel and facilities, conducting 
targeted counter-terrorism operations, and supporting civilian 
agencies and international organizations in their capacity-building 
efforts. Moreover, although the Department of Defense (DOD) reported 
that enemy activity decreased markedly since its highest point in June 
2007, the insurgency in Iraq remains dangerous.[Footnote 2] For 
example, according to the USF-I commanding general, Al Qaeda in Iraq 
retains the capability to execute high-profile attacks. And finally, 
on December 1, 2009, the President announced his decision to send an 
additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, a decision that may impact 
efforts to draw down U.S. forces from Iraq. 

In addition to its military forces, DOD relies on thousands of 
contractor personnel in Iraq and Kuwait to perform a wide range of 
tasks essential for the drawdown including repairing military 
vehicles, providing trucks and drivers for logistics convoys, and 
maintaining airfields necessary for the retrograde of equipment. 
According to DOD, there were over 110,000 contractor personnel in Iraq 
as of fourth quarter fiscal year 2009.[Footnote 3] According to DOD 
data, approximately 52 percent of these contractor personnel are 
working under the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP), the 
largest single contract supporting operations in Iraq and Kuwait. 
[Footnote 4] 

When we reported in September 2008 on the progress of planning for the 
drawdown from Iraq, we concluded that DOD had not adequately 
delineated roles and responsibilities for executing the drawdown, 
resulting in a variety of disparate teams engaged in retrograde 
operations without a unified or coordinated chain of command.[Footnote 
5] In light of the findings presented in that report, we recommended 
that the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with U.S. Central 
Command (CENTCOM) and the military departments, take steps to clarify 
the chain of command over logistical operations in support of the 
retrograde effort. DOD generally concurred with this recommendation, 
and took steps to remedy the unclear chain of command. Since the 
publication of our September 2008 report, we have continued to monitor 
DOD's progress in planning for and executing the drawdown and have 
communicated our preliminary findings in briefings to several 
congressional committees. We also communicated our preliminary 
findings during testimony before the Commission on Wartime Contracting 
in Iraq and Afghanistan in November 2009.[Footnote 6] This report is 
based upon our continued analysis and observation of DOD's progress in 
planning for and executing the drawdown from Iraq. Our specific 
objectives were to determine (1) the extent to which DOD has planned 
for the drawdown from Iraq in accordance with timelines set by the 
Security Agreement and presidential direction and (2) factors that may 
impact the efficient execution of the drawdown. 

The planning for and execution of the drawdown has and may continue to 
change rapidly due to evolving logistics considerations, new rules for 
the management of certain types of equipment, the uncertain Iraqi 
political and security environment, and developments elsewhere in the 
region, particularly Afghanistan. For example, fluid security 
conditions in Iraq may influence the order in which bases are 
transferred to the Government of Iraq and the rate of equipment 
retrograde.[Footnote 7] Moreover, the Iraqi elections initially 
planned for January 16, 2010, did not occur until March 7, 2010, a 
development that could impact drawdown timelines because DOD's planned 
troop withdrawal is contingent upon the completion of Iraqi elections 
and the formation of a new government. 

This rapidly changing situation and corresponding evolution in DOD's 
drawdown planning and execution also impacts our reporting on this 
issue. For example, in this report we do not discuss two issues raised 
during our earlier testimony. First, in November 2009 we reported that 
MNF-I's timely execution of the drawdown from Iraq depends on its 
obtaining clear guidance as to what equipment can and will be provided 
to the Government of Iraq and the identification of the mechanisms 
that will be used for such transfers. According to DOD testimony 
before Congress, recommendations on equipment that will be transferred 
to the Government of Iraq and the mechanisms for executing the 
transfers are complete. However, future progress in executing the 
transfers may depend in large part on the outcome of ongoing 
discussions between DOD and the Government of Iraq. Second, we 
reported two data system weaknesses that hindered DOD's ability to 
efficiently retrograde equipment. Officials reported that solutions to 
the issues we identified have been developed and implemented although, 
according to one DOD official, problems with the data systems may 
continue to surface and require attention. 

To determine the extent to which DOD planned for the drawdown and how 
these plans conform to the established timelines, we reviewed relevant 
documents to include DOD, MNF-I, and USF-I plans, command briefings, 
the Security Agreement, and transcripts of speeches and congressional 
testimony by U.S. officials. Additionally, we spoke with DOD officials 
throughout the chain of command in the United States, Kuwait, and Iraq 
that were involved in the development and execution of drawdown plans. 
We also drew from our body of previously issued work examining Iraq 
and drawdown-related issues in order to identify areas in which DOD 
made improvements to its drawdown plans.[Footnote 8] Throughout the 
engagement, the team also relied upon staff working from our Baghdad 
Field Office to conduct interviews with officials in theater and to 
periodically refresh key information. 

To identify factors that may impact the efficient execution of the 
drawdown, we reviewed and analyzed briefings, e-mail correspondence, 
orders, plans, joint doctrine, DOD guidance, and other data obtained 
from DOD organizations in the United States, Kuwait, and Iraq. Using 
this information, we determined the way processes are supposed to work 
as well as any challenges encountered. While in Kuwait and Iraq, we 
also visited locations at which various aspects of the redeployment 
and retrograde process are performed and spoke with local commanders, 
on-site supervisors, staff officers, among others, about their 
experiences and challenges. Following our trip to Kuwait and Iraq, we 
followed up with relevant DOD organizations and officials in the 
United States and CENTCOM's area of responsibility, to include the USF-
I commanding general and his staff, to obtain updated information. 
Again, we also relied upon our staff working from GAO's Baghdad Field 
Office to conduct follow-up interviews with officials, observe a 
drawdown rehearsal exercise in Kuwait, and periodically update key 
information. 

We conducted our work from January 2009 through March 2010 in 
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 
Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain 
sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe 
that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our 
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. Appendix I 
includes more detailed information on our scope and methodology. 

Results in Brief: 

Several DOD organizations have issued coordinated plans for the 
execution of the drawdown, but DOD has yet to fully plan for 
requirements for contracted services needed during the drawdown. Since 
our September 2008 report, DOD created new organizations to oversee, 
synchronize, and ensure unity of effort during the drawdown and 
established goals and metrics for measuring progress. To date, DOD 
reports that its drawdown efforts have exceeded its goals. For 
example, as of January 2010, DOD reported that it exceeded its target 
figure for withdrawing rolling stock in Iraq--which includes wheeled 
and tracked combat vehicles, some construction equipment, and 
trailers--by over 2,600 pieces. However, a large amount of personnel, 
equipment, and bases remain to be drawn down. In addition, although 
DOD took some steps to plan for contracted services, limited 
operational planning for contracted support has challenged its ability 
to identify the full range of its needs for contracted services to 
support the drawdown; existing processes may not allow sufficient time 
for all contracted services needed to be put on contract in a 
responsible manner; and there exists a lack of clarity regarding the 
roles and responsibilities of various contract validation review 
boards. Without addressing these issues, DOD risks not having the 
right contracted services in place to meet drawdown timelines, which 
may lead to inefficient and wasteful practices as the drawdown 
continues. 

There are several other factors that may impact the efficient 
execution of the drawdown of U.S. forces from Iraq in accordance with 
established timelines. First, challenges associated with the planned 
simultaneous transition of several major contracts may lead to the 
interruption of services essential to the drawdown effort. Moreover, 
some of these challenges have not been adequately addressed in DOD 
plans. For example, ensuring that contractor personnel can obtain the 
appropriate credentials in a timely manner so that they can assume 
their positions without risking an interruption of vital services may 
be problematic. Second, DOD has not determined whether the benefits of 
transitioning its major base and life support contract in Iraq, 
LOGCAP, will outweigh the costs and risks that could be incurred as a 
result of the transition. Without adequate planning and review to 
identify and weigh the potential benefits, costs, and risks of making 
the LOGCAP transition in Iraq, DOD cannot ensure that the decision to 
transition LOGCAP in Iraq will be beneficial to the government. Third, 
persistent shortages of qualified contract oversight personnel may 
increase the risk for fraud, waste, and abuse during the drawdown. 
Joint doctrine emphasizes that commanders must ensure that appropriate 
administration and oversight personnel are in place when using 
contractors. We found, however, that despite a recent policy change 
that reduces the requirement for oversight personnel for some 
contracts, other contracts will still have an insufficient number of 
qualified oversight personnel. Fourth, although DOD has made some 
improvements in its equipment disposition process, key decisions 
concerning equipment that will be retrograded from Iraq have yet to be 
made. According to DOD officials, it is essential that equipment move 
out of Iraq and Kuwait at a steady pace. However, given the amount of 
equipment that is and will continue to flow out of Iraq and through 
Kuwait, it is important that DOD develop contingency plans for the 
staging of this equipment or pursue alternative retrograde hubs. This 
is imperative to avoid equipment build-up in Kuwait as equipment 
awaits onward movement to the designated final destination. Without 
the necessary contingency plans to stage equipment retrograded from 
Iraq, DOD may not be able to ensure that equipment required elsewhere 
is available within the required timelines. Finally, DOD lacks 
complete visibility over its inventory of equipment and shipping 
containers, although it is aware of and has taken steps to address 
this issue. 

To ensure DOD can efficiently execute the drawdown of U.S. forces from 
Iraq in accordance with established timelines, we recommend that the 
Secretary of Defense ensure that joint and service guidance regarding 
operational planning for contract support is followed, that contract 
support requirements are identified in a timely manner, and that the 
roles and responsibilities of the various contract review boards in 
CENTCOM be clarified. Furthermore, we recommend that the Secretary of 
Defense assess and develop options to mitigate risks associated with 
transitioning contracts in Kuwait and Iraq, analyze the benefits and 
costs of transitioning its major contract in Iraq, reevaluate plans 
for contract oversight, and clarify its planning regarding the extent 
to which Kuwait and other locations in southwest Asia can support the 
temporary staging of equipment and materiel retrograded from Iraq. 

In written comments on a draft of this report, DOD concurred with the 
first five of our recommendations, but did not concur with our last 
recommendation. Based on DOD's comments and subsequent discussions 
with senior officials in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and 
the Department of the Army, we revised the last recommendation and 
related sections throughout the report where we discuss the equipment 
disposition process for moving equipment out of Iraq and Kuwait. The 
department also provided a number of general and technical comments 
that we considered and incorporated, as appropriate. The department's 
comments and our evaluation of those comments are discussed in detail 
in a later section of this report. A complete copy of DOD's written 
comments is included in appendix II. 

Background: 

The drawdown of equipment and personnel from Iraq is a highly complex 
operation of significant magnitude. According to DOD, as of February 
2010, there were approximately 98,100 U.S. military personnel in Iraq, 
spread among 228 bases throughout the country. Additionally, as of 
February 2010, the Army reported that there were approximately 3.1 
million pieces of equipment in Iraq, worth almost $28 billion, about 
20 percent of which is DOD owned, theater provided equipment, which is 
a pool of permanent stay behind equipment that has accumulated in Iraq 
since combat operations began in 2003. Theater provided equipment 
includes both standard and non-standard equipment. Standard equipment 
refers to those items authorized on a military unit's modified table 
of organization and equipment.[Footnote 9] Non-standard equipment 
refers to equipment issued to units that is not authorized on their 
modified table of organization and equipment, and includes a wide 
range of items such as construction equipment, materiel handling 
equipment, flat screen televisions, certain types of radios, and Mine 
Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAP). Figure 1 provides a more 
detailed breakdown of the U.S. Army equipment in Iraq. 

Figure 1: Breakdown of U.S. Army Equipment in Iraq as of February 2010: 

[Refer to PDF for image: pie-chart] 

Unit Owned/Authorized Equipment: 62% (1,907,271); 
Contractor Acquired Property: 19% (592,393); 
Theater Provided Equipment, Non-standard: 12% (357,646); 
Theater Provided Equipment, Standard: 8% (234,301). 

Source: GAO analysis based on DOD data. 

Note: Percentages do not add to 100 percent due to rounding. 

[End of figure] 

The logistics infrastructure supporting the redeployment and 
retrograde effort in the Iraqi theater of operations is large and 
complex, consisting of military organizations operating in both Iraq 
and Kuwait, and it is through Kuwait's three seaports and two airports 
that the majority of U.S. forces, materiel, and equipment flow from 
the theater of operations.[Footnote 10] Moreover, myriad logistics 
organizations in both Iraq and Kuwait also support these operations, 
including elements of CENTCOM, U.S. Transportation Command, the 
Defense Logistics Agency, U.S. Army Central (ARCENT), the 1st Theater 
Sustainment Command, Army Materiel Command, U.S. Marine Corps Central 
Command, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. Air Forces Central 
Command, and U.S. Special Operations Command. According to our 
previous reports and testimonies on Operations Desert Shield and 
Desert Storm, the retrograde of materiel and equipment is likely to 
consume the most time and resources throughout the drawdown effort. 
[Footnote 11] 

We have also reported extensively on the use of contractor personnel 
for combat and logistics support and the need for improvements in the 
management of contractors used to support military operations. 
[Footnote 12] DOD contracted services needed in Iraq and Kuwait as the 
drawdown progresses fall under two general categories: (1) services 
that will need to be decreased as the U.S. military presence declines 
and (2) services for which demand may temporarily increase due to 
drawdown-specific needs, such as transporting equipment for 
retrograde. Contracted services can be further categorized as those 
services provided under LOGCAP, including the majority of base and 
life support in Iraq such as meals, sleeping arrangements and laundry 
services, transportation within Iraq, and postal services, and those 
not provided by LOGCAP, such as security guards for bases. 

Coordinated Plans and New Organizations Have Facilitated Progress in 
the Drawdown from Iraq, but DOD Has Yet to Plan for All Contracted 
Support Needed During the Drawdown: 

A number of DOD organizations have issued plans outlining a phased 
drawdown from Iraq that meet time frames set forth in the Security 
Agreement and presidential guidance while being responsive to security 
conditions on the ground. Furthermore, in accordance with these plans, 
DOD created several organizations to facilitate the retrograde of 
equipment and support unity of effort[Footnote 13], and established 
goals and metrics to track its progress. According to DOD, these 
efforts to date contributed to the meeting or exceeding of targets for 
drawing down forces and retrograding equipment. However, while DOD has 
made significant progress executing the drawdown, there remains a 
large amount of personnel, equipment, and bases yet to be drawn down 
within the established timelines. Moreover, DOD has yet to fully plan 
for contracted services needed during the drawdown. 

DOD Has Issued Plans for the Drawdown, Taken Steps Toward Executing 
Them, and Exceeded Some Targets: 

Beginning in May 2009, MNF-I and its subordinate command responsible 
for executing the drawdown from Iraq, Multi-National Corps-Iraq (MNC- 
I); Headquarters, Department of the Army; and USF-I issued coordinated 
plans outlining how the drawdown of military and contractor personnel, 
equipment, and bases should be managed over time. These plans support 
DOD's goals for reducing, by August 31, 2010: (1) the number of 
military personnel to 50,000, (2) the number of contractor personnel 
to 55,000 while increasing the proportion of Iraqi contractor 
personnel, and (3) the number of bases to 134. In addition, to 
mitigate the risk of bottlenecks of equipment during the later phases 
of the drawdown, commanders were directed to identify organizational 
equipment and theater provided equipment no longer essential for 
ongoing operations and turn it in for retrograde. Accordingly, MNC-I 
set a goal of retrograding 1,500 non-mission essential items of 
rolling stock per month until April 2010, and 2,500 per month after 
this date to reach a level of 16,500 of these items remaining in Iraq 
by the change-of-mission date. Similarly, MNC-I set a goal of drawing 
down 3,000 containers full of other equipment through April 2010, and 
then 3,800 containers per month after that date, leaving 17,000 
containers worth of non-rolling stock in Iraq. 

In support of its plans DOD created several organizations to oversee 
the drawdown and ensure unity of effort. In September 2008, we 
reported that the variety of organizations exercising influence over 
the retrograde process and the resultant lack of a unified or 
coordinated command structure was not consistent with joint doctrine, 
which led to confusion and inefficiencies in the retrograde process. 
To bolster unity of effort, MNF-I established a new organization, the 
Drawdown Fusion Center, to provide a strategic picture of drawdown 
operations, identify potential obstacles, address strategic issues, 
and assist in the development of policy and guidance related to 
several aspects of the drawdown. Assisting the Drawdown Fusion Center 
was ARCENT's Support Element-Iraq, a liaison element established to 
enhance synchronization and coordination among MNF-I; MNC-I; ARCENT; 
Headquarters, Department of the Army; and Army Materiel Command. This 
organization also generated theater and Department of the Army 
disposition guidance for all forces and materiel redeploying and 
retrograding out of Iraq. USF-I has subsequently integrated the 
Drawdown Fusion Center, ARCENT's Support Element-Iraq, and the MNF-I 
and MNC-I logistics offices into one organization under the USF-I 
Logistics Directorate. Moreover, it has established a Drawdown 
Synchronization Center as the single entity within USF-I responsible 
for synchronizing, analyzing, and capturing drawdown data and then 
disseminating the data to the appropriate DOD organizations. Finally, 
in order to assist with the provision of disposition instructions for 
materiel retrograding out of Iraq and synchronize those instructions 
with the reset of Army equipment, the Department of the Army, with 
Army Materiel Command as the lead agency, created a Responsible Reset 
Task Force.[Footnote 14] 

The drawdown from Iraq commenced with the publication of MNF-I's plan 
in May 2009. According to the metrics DOD established to track 
drawdown progress, efforts to reduce personnel and retrograde 
equipment in the initial months of the drawdown exceeded targeted 
goals. For example, according to USF-I, as of February 8, 2010, there 
were just over 98,100 servicemembers in Iraq, approximately 3,200 
fewer than had been projected. In addition, as of January 2010, DOD 
retrograded 2,610 more pieces of rolling stock than projected and, as 
of December 2009, 5,195 more containers of equipment than projected. 
[Footnote 15] 

While DOD's progress since May 2009 exceeded some of its targets, a 
large amount of personnel, equipment, and bases remain to be drawn 
down within the established timelines. To meet the presidential target 
of reducing the number of U.S. forces in Iraq to 50,000 by August 31, 
2010, USF-I must reduce its present force by almost 50 percent by this 
summer. Furthermore, to meet other drawdown targets for August 31, 
2010, USF-I must draw down 45 percent of its contractor personnel 
workforce, retrograde 46 percent of its rolling stock, and close 41 
percent of its bases in Iraq. The remaining forces, contractor 
personnel, and equipment will have to be drawn down during the final 
16 months, from August 31, 2010 to December 31, 2011, during which 
time some of the largest bases in Iraq will also have to be closed or 
transferred to the Government of Iraq, a task the commanding general 
of USF-I stated could take 9 to 10 months to complete. Figure 2 
illustrates the numbers of U.S. forces, contractor personnel, rolling 
stock, containers, and bases that have already been drawn down; what 
must be drawn down before the August 31, 2010 change-of-mission date; 
and what will remain to be drawn down before December 31, 2011. 

Figure 2: Drawdown Progress Since May 2009 and What Remains to Be 
Drawn Down through August 31, 2010, and December 31, 2011: 

[Refer to PDF for image: stacked horizontal bar graph] 

U.S. Forces[A]: 
Drawn down since May 2009: 27% (35,918); 
To be drawn down through Aug. 31, 2010: 36% (48,182); 
To be drawn down through Dec. 31, 2011: 37% (50,000). 

DOD Contractor Personnel[B]: 
Drawn down since May 2009: 20% (25,128); 
To be drawn down through Aug. 31, 2010: 36% (45,035); 
To be drawn down through Dec. 31, 2011: 44% (55,000). 

Rolling Stock[C]: 
Drawn down since May 2009: 25% (10,398); 
To be drawn down through Aug. 31, 2010: 34% (13,890); 
To be drawn down through Dec. 31, 2011: 41% (16,500). 

Containers[B]: 
Drawn down since May 2009: 34% (20,195); 
To be drawn down through Aug. 31, 2010: 38% (22,805); 
To be drawn down through Dec. 31, 2011: 28% (17,000). 

Bases[A]: 
Drawn down since May 2009: 33% (113); 
To be drawn down through Aug. 31, 2010: 28% (94); 
To be drawn down through Dec. 31, 2011: 39% (134). 

Source: GAO analysis based on DOD data. 

[A] Data current as of December 2009. 

[B] Data current as of January 2010. 

[C] Data current as of February 2010. 

[End of figure] 

While DOD Has Planned for Some Contracted Services Needed to Support 
the Drawdown, Challenges Remain: 

DOD took some steps to plan for and source contracted services needed 
during the drawdown. For instance, DOD planned for some LOGCAP 
requirements needed during the drawdown, including the number of 
transportation systems, Army post offices, and logistics support 
services required at specific bases. According to DOD documentation, 
operational commands in Iraq validated these requirements for LOGCAP 
at the bases that will remain open past August 31, 2010, and 
communicated these requirements to the LOGCAP program office which, in 
turn, took steps toward awarding the LOGCAP task orders. Additionally, 
other supporting contracting organizations in Iraq took steps to meet 
the needs for non-LOGCAP services that were identified as required by 
military units or other deployed organizations. For example, the Joint 
Contracting Command-Iraq/Afghanistan, an organization that manages non-
LOGCAP service contracts, which comprise about 20 percent of all 
contracts in Iraq, plans to expand its use of theaterwide contracts to 
provide food services, medical support, fire protection, facilities 
and housing, and other base and life support needs. 

Despite these steps, limited operational planning for contracted 
support has challenged USF-I's ability to identify the full range of 
its needs for contracted services to support the drawdown. According 
to joint doctrine and service guidance, operational personnel who 
plan, support, and execute military operations must also determine the 
contracted support needed to accomplish their missions. In Iraq and 
Kuwait, these operational personnel include combat force commanders, 
base commanders, and logistics personnel, among others, who are 
responsible for determining the best approach to accomplish their 
assigned tasks and, if the approach includes contractors, identifying 
the types and levels of contracted support needed. Army guidance also 
states that planning for contracted support must be integrated early 
in the deliberate planning process to ensure that it is adequately 
considered and that it must include specific requirements identified 
by operational personnel, such as the identification of the full 
extent of contractor involvement and how and where contracted support 
should be provided.[Footnote 16] MNF-I's drawdown plan, however, 
delegated the responsibility for determining contracted support 
requirements to contracting agencies, such as the Joint Contracting 
Command-Iraq/Afghanistan, rather than to operational personnel. But 
according to Joint Contracting Command-Iraq/Afghanistan officials, 
they could not determine the theaterwide levels of contracted services 
required, or plan for mandated reductions based on those needs, 
because they lack sufficient, relevant information on future 
requirements for contracted services, information that should have 
been provided by operational personnel. For example, according to MNF-
I documentation, during an October 2009 meeting between operational 
personnel and contracting officials, MNF-I reiterated that the levels 
of contracted services ultimately needed in Iraq during the drawdown 
were unknown. This is consistent with an overarching weakness 
identified by a Joint Staff task force, which recognized limited, if 
any, visibility of contracted support and plans and a lack of 
requirements definition. As a result, rather than relying on 
information based on operationally driven requirements for contracted 
services, MNF-I planned for, and USF-I is subsequently tracking, the 
reduction of contracted support in Iraq using historical ratios of 
contractor personnel to servicemembers in Iraq, which may not 
accurately reflect the actual levels of contracted support needed 
during the drawdown. Although several DOD officials have stated that 
uncertainties associated with the changing operational environment in 
Iraq hinders DOD's ability to project the full range of contracted 
services needed, joint doctrine emphasizes that planning entails 
making logical and realistic assumptions and does not demand 
certainty, and that plans can be adjusted to reflect changes on the 
ground.[Footnote 17] Without incorporating appropriately specific 
details on contract support in its operational planning for the 
drawdown, USF-I risks hindering the communication of contract-related 
decisions to those who must implement and execute them, including 
decisions about funding, deployment and redeployment, operational and 
life support, force protection, and the location of contractors on the 
battlefield. Further, this may continue to limit USF-I's ability to 
plan for the full range of contracted services needed during the 
drawdown and jeopardize its ability to provide the right service at 
the right place and time. 

Timely planning for contracted services needed to support the drawdown 
is also critical in order to avoid potential waste and ensure 
continuity of services. USF-I guidance, however, may not allow 
sufficient time for all contracted services needed during the drawdown 
to be put on contract in a responsible manner. Sound business 
practices specify that the full definition of requirements for 
contracted services should occur as early as possible to ensure the 
personnel responsible for putting the needed services on contract can 
do so on time and at the agreed-upon cost.[Footnote 18] If operational 
personnel fail to communicate their needs for contracted services with 
enough lead time for contracting officials to put these services on 
contract responsibly, DOD may incur unnecessary costs by authorizing 
undefinitized contract actions, as it has in the past, which allow 
contractors to begin work before reaching a final agreement on 
contract terms and conditions, including price. While a contract 
action remains undefinitized, the contractor has little incentive to 
control costs, creating the potential for waste. In addition, a lack 
of timely planning for contract support may lead to other poor 
outcomes, such as increased cost, lengthened schedules, 
underperformance, and service delays. According to MNF-I's plan and 
the former Joint Contracting Command-Iraq/Afghanistan commander, DOD's 
need for contracted services in Iraq, such as security, 
transportation, engineers, and materiel handling teams, may 
temporarily increase during the drawdown. Officials have also 
acknowledged that additional contractor personnel will be needed to 
provide services currently being provided by U.S. forces as these 
forces redeploy. For example, DOD officials stated that they 
contracted for airfield painting in Iraq and Kuwait because the 
servicemembers normally responsible for this task had redeployed, and 
that similar requirements regularly surface. As a result, senior 
contracting officials in Iraq expressed concern that the needs for 
some services may increase beyond levels available under existing 
contracts as the drawdown progresses. Because increasing the level of 
existing services or adding new ones may necessitate new contracts, 
additional time may be necessary to obtain these services. For 
example, contracting officials in Iraq stated that obtaining 
additional contracted security services outside of existing contracts 
would take about five months, compared to about three months necessary 
to increase the levels of services already on contract. Further, USF-
I's goal to increase the proportion of Iraqi contractors may entail 
greater lead time to put these vendors' services on contract because 
it may take longer to review Iraqi vendor proposals. Yet USF-I's 
standard operating procedures for requirements validation in Iraq only 
state that personnel should submit requirements for contracted 
services at least 90 days prior to the date funding is needed. Without 
directing operational personnel in Iraq to identify requirements for 
services with enough time for contracting officials to responsibly put 
them on contract, DOD increases its risk of not being able to obtain 
these services on time, or employing inefficient contracting practices 
such as undefinitized contract actions. 

Although DOD has established new organizations that are intended to 
facilitate efficient contracting during the drawdown, it has not 
clarified how these contracting organizations differ from one another 
or specified how they fit into the requirements identification and 
validation process. In accordance with joint doctrine and Army 
guidance, when planning for contractor support, planners must be aware 
of the operational principle of centralized contracting management to 
achieve unity of effort.[Footnote 19] Centralized management can be 
achieved through means intended to synchronize and coordinate all 
contracting support actions being planned for and executed in the 
operational area. The MNF-I drawdown plan called for the Joint 
Logistics Procurement Support Board, composed of senior operational 
personnel and contracting officials, to reduce costs and redundant 
contracting and develop and promote strategies for coordinating 
approaches to common or similar requirements. However, MNF-I's 
drawdown plan also referred similar functions to the Strategic 
Sourcing Board, which also includes members from both the operational 
and contracting communities. Officials' statements and DOD 
documentation illustrate differing views of the composition, roles, 
and responsibilities of these boards, such as the extent to which 
these boards review requirements for contracted services. For example, 
senior contracting officials told us that the Joint Logistics 
Procurement Support Board is responsible for collecting contract 
requirements as they emerge, yet one of these officials later told us 
that this board does not gather contract requirements. Moreover, USF-
I's process by which operational personnel and contacting officials 
review and validate requirements for contracted services includes two 
other boards--the Joint Facilities and Acquisition Review Board and 
the Contract Review Board--yet it is unclear how the previously 
mentioned Joint Logistics Procurement Support Board or the Strategic 
Sourcing Board fit into USF-I's process, nor how these boards differ 
from one another. As a result, the specific functions of the Joint 
Logistics Procurement Support Board and the Strategic Sourcing Board, 
and the relationship of these boards to USF-I's established processes, 
are unclear. Without clarifying the responsibilities of these boards 
and how they fit into the existing requirements validation process, 
DOD may not be able to ensure contracting unity of effort so that its 
requirements for contracted services needed during the drawdown are 
effectively consolidated and prioritized. 

Several Additional Challenges May Affect the Efficient Execution of 
the Drawdown: 

Efficient execution of the drawdown from Iraq may be complicated by 
several challenges. First, challenges associated with the planned 
simultaneous transition of several key contracts may lead to the 
interruption of vital services and wasteful contracting practices. 
Second, insufficient analysis to quantify the costs and benefits of 
transitioning the LOGCAP contract in Iraq prevents DOD from ensuring 
that the transition will be beneficial to the government. Third, 
persistent shortages of contract oversight personnel may increase the 
potential for fraud, waste, and abuse. Fourth, a lack of clarity 
concerning the extent to which and for how long equipment retrograded 
from Iraq may be staged in Kuwait or other locations in southwest Asia 
may affect DOD's plans for reset and equipping. And lastly, DOD lacks 
complete visibility over its inventory of equipment and shipping 
containers. DOD is aware of and has begun addressing some of these 
issues. For example, DOD is in the process of implementing new systems 
and procedures to improve its equipment disposition process. In 
addition, units in Iraq were required to complete a 100 percent 
inventory of their equipment, identify equipment that can be 
immediately retrograded, and account for previously undocumented 
equipment. Despite these efforts, however, challenges remain. 

Near-Simultaneous Transition of Key Contracts Creates Risk for 
Interruption of Services: 

Lessons learned and documented during the LOGCAP transition in Kuwait 
indicate that other upcoming major contract transitions may be 
problematic. With the exception of the LOGCAP contract for Iraq, which 
is discussed in more detail below, four other major service contracts 
in Iraq and Kuwait, which provide field support maintenance, base and 
life support, and convoy trucking services, have reached their 
expiration dates.[Footnote 20] According to USF-I and Joint 
Contracting Command-Iraq/Afghanistan leadership, the services provided 
under these contracts, particularly in areas like maintenance and 
convoy trucking, are critical to mission success, highlighting the 
need to ensure continuity of these services during the drawdown. These 
four contracts, plus LOGCAP III in Iraq, are scheduled to be 
transitioned to new contracts or task orders between January 2010 and 
January 2012.[Footnote 21] According to Army Sustainment Command 
officials, DOD has re-competed one of the maintenance contracts and 
made an award in October 2009.[Footnote 22] However, it has not yet 
awarded new contracts for two other contracts which have already 
expired, and the first task order to be awarded under the new LOGCAP 
was delayed. 

Contract transition can be a time-consuming process requiring careful 
planning and management, and lessons learned during the LOGCAP 
transition in Kuwait indicate that the upcoming major contract 
transitions may be problematic. In light of the transition from LOGCAP 
III to LOGCAP IV in Kuwait, which occurred between February and June 
2009, the Army, in conjunction with the Defense Contract Management 
Agency, created a lessons learned document to help inform planners of 
potential challenges they may face in managing future contract 
transitions. These lessons are particularly relevant given that 
contract management officials predict that the challenges experienced 
during the earlier transitions will likely be magnified during those 
scheduled to occur during the drawdown. According to Army guidance on 
the lessons learned process, lessons learned, which can result from an 
evaluation or observation of a positive finding worthy of continuing 
or emulating, should be integrated into planning activities in order 
to better prepare for future operations.[Footnote 23] 

One of the main lessons learned during the LOGCAP transition in Kuwait 
is that communication is the most essential element of the transition 
process. Accordingly, the Kuwait LOGCAP transition lessons learned 
document lists 10 practices used successfully during the transition in 
Kuwait to ensure effective communication between the government, 
outgoing contractor, and incoming contractor. For example, during the 
LOGCAP transition in Kuwait, representatives of the government, 
outgoing contractor, and incoming contractor formed an integrated 
planning team to ensure a common understanding of their respective 
roles, responsibilities, and approaches for executing the transition. 
In light of the positive results which could be achieved through these 
practices, the lessons learned document contains 11 recommendations to 
ensure continued effective communication that are applicable to future 
contract transitions. Accordingly, Army Material Command's LOGCAP 
transition plan references the lessons learned document and 
establishes a synchronized methodology for ensuring effective 
information exchange and a common operational picture, such as by 
requiring kick-off meetings and rehearsal of concept drills. However, 
information from Army officials indicates that the plans for 
transitioning other major contracts may not be as extensive. Without 
extensive planning, to include steps necessary to establish and 
maintain effective communications such as those outlined in the 
lessons learned document, DOD may be unable to ensure that major 
contracts in Iraq will transition smoothly as the drawdown progresses. 

Transferring personnel between contracts is another key challenge 
identified in the lessons learned document. Certain contracted 
positions require specialized skills and experience. For example, 
operating the material handling equipment used to bring containers to 
wash racks for cleaning and customs inspection requires a materiel 
handling equipment license.[Footnote 24] Because the supply of 
personnel with this skill and qualification is limited, incoming 
contractors rely on hiring personnel who worked under the outgoing 
contract rather than hiring new personnel. Moreover, according to the 
lessons learned document, during the LOGCAP transition in Kuwait the 
incoming contractor intended to hire at least 80 percent of the 
outgoing contractor's personnel to begin providing services according 
to schedule. Yet the outgoing contractor needed to retain its 
employees to continue to provide the services for which it was 
contracted. As a result, although the incoming and outgoing 
contractors agreed to a protocol for transferring employees, poor 
execution at some sites led to staffing shortages and some service 
interruptions. For example, according to the lessons learned document, 
a shortage of personnel available to operate large machinery in Kuwait 
forced officials to shut down the wash racks, which are critical to 
maintaining the flow of equipment out of Kuwait. According to a DOD 
report, analogous problems arising from an insufficient number of 
properly skilled and experienced workers have also been experienced 
during the LOGCAP transition in Afghanistan. A senior contracting 
official in Iraq expressed concern that similar challenges will occur 
during the drawdown as other contracts transition. Moreover, although 
the LOGCAP transition plan specified steps to facilitate the transfer 
of the outgoing contractors' pool of trained individuals to the 
incoming vendor should these personnel decide to seek employment, it 
does not assess the risk of an insufficient number of these personnel 
deciding to work for the incoming contractor. Furthermore, the extent 
to which any of these issues are addressed for the other contracts 
scheduled for transition is unclear. Joint doctrine states that 
effective contract support planning must be based on a thorough 
mission analysis, including an assessment of risks.[Footnote 25] 
Without assessing the risk of an insufficient number of properly 
skilled and experienced contractor personnel available under each of 
the new contracts and developing appropriate mitigation strategies, 
DOD may not be able to ensure the full performance of tasks critical 
to the drawdown during the upcoming contract transitions. 

Issuing credentials to contractor personnel was another major 
challenge experienced during the LOGCAP transition in Kuwait. Of all 
contract transition issues, the need for timely credentialing, which 
includes badges such as common access cards and other location-
specific badges, has caused some of the greatest concerns, according 
to DOD officials. According to those officials, DOD requires new 
badges for contractor personnel following contract transitions, 
regardless of whether a new contractor wins the award, because 
credentials are tied to specific contracts. According to the lessons 
learned document, this credentialing process can take between two and 
three weeks to complete. Consequently, contractors experienced delays 
in credentialing their employees during the LOGCAP transition in 
Kuwait. This may be exacerbated during contract transitions in Iraq 
because of the planned increase in the proportion of Iraqi nationals 
working under contract and the fact that obtaining credentials for 
them typically takes more time than it does for contractor personnel 
of other nationalities. Moreover, the contractor responsible for 
operating the credentialing office in Kuwait is also transitioning as 
a part of the Kuwait base and life support services contract, which 
may, in turn, create additional delays and illustrates a potential 
difficulty in conducting multiple, near-simultaneous contract 
transitions. Although the LOGCAP transition plan includes a process 
for facilitating the credentialing process for contractor personnel, 
neither this plan nor DOD's other planning documents address possible 
stresses on credentialing offices that might occur during these 
contract transitions. Without fully incorporating the risks inherent 
to conducting multiple contract transitions concurrently into its 
planning for each contract scheduled to transition, including options 
to mitigate those risks derived from key lessons learned during the 
LOGCAP transition in Kuwait, DOD may be unable to effectively manage 
the timely transition of these contracts and prevent the interruption 
of key services needed to facilitate mission success during the 
drawdown. This is especially true because these transitions may need 
to occur within compressed time frames due to delays in awarding key 
contracts. 

DOD Has Not Determined Whether the Potential Benefits of Transitioning 
LOGCAP in Iraq Outweigh the Potential Costs and Risks: 

Although the current active LOGCAP contract in Iraq, LOGCAP III, does 
not expire until after U.S. forces are scheduled to leave Iraq, 
officials plan to transition LOGCAP III to other means of contracted 
support in the midst of the drawdown. Specifically, USF-I plans to 
transition base and life support, logistics, transportation, and 
postal functions currently provided by LOGCAP III to other contracts, 
including LOGCAP IV, the Air Force Contract Augmentation Program, and 
individual sustainment contracts with Iraqi contractors.[Footnote 26] 
These transitions are expected to be completed by December 2010, 
although, according to LOGCAP officials, some of the locations at 
which base and life support services will transition remain uncertain. 
And while the LOGCAP transition in Iraq is intended to produce certain 
benefits, these benefits may not be fully attainable within the 
drawdown timelines, and may be outweighed by costs and risks that 
could be incurred during the transition. An analysis of whether the 
potential benefits of this transition outweigh the potential costs and 
risks is part of the planning and review process for transitioning to 
LOGCAP IV and other service contracts. Acquisition planning is 
intended to "ensure that the Government meets its needs in the most 
effective, economical, and timely manner."[Footnote 27] To this end, 
acquisition plans should include an examination of costs, risks, and 
other considerations, such as feasible alternatives and the impact of 
prior acquisitions.[Footnote 28] Further, DOD guidance states that 
service acquisitions should receive adequate planning and management, 
including senior level reviews and in some instances independent 
management reviews, to achieve required cost, schedule, and 
performance outcomes.[Footnote 29] 

Although officials anticipate benefits from making the LOGCAP 
transition in Iraq, these benefits may not be fully realized. Senior 
DOD officials have stated that the rationale for making the transition 
away from LOGCAP III in Iraq includes reducing the cost of base and 
life support services, mitigating the risks associated with relying on 
a single contractor to provide essential services, and bolstering the 
Iraqi economy by transitioning services to local Iraqi vendors. 
However, these anticipated benefits may not be fully realized since 
DOD will have only until December 31, 2011, to realize potential cost 
savings before the U.S. military completely withdraws. This may leave 
insufficient time to recoup transition costs, compensate the 
government for taking on risk, and provide value to the government. 

In addition to the uncertainty regarding the realization of 
anticipated benefits from the LOGCAP transition in Iraq, DOD will 
likely incur additional costs and risks during the transition. Costs 
may increase because the outgoing and incoming contractors will need 
to perform work simultaneously to avoid the interruption of services, 
thereby increasing the number of contractor personnel needed to 
facilitate the transition. The LOGCAP transition in Iraq may also 
increase the contract management and oversight responsibilities for 
operational commanders, who play a significant role in the management 
and oversight of the LOGCAP contractor. For example, the Army requires 
commanders to periodically evaluate their contractors' performance and 
provide feedback to the contractor during monthly performance 
evaluation boards. Because the Army intends to award several task 
orders for base and logistics services, possibly to multiple 
contractors, the number of monthly evaluations could increase for some 
commanders. Furthermore, an increase in the number of contracts and 
contractors during the transition may complicate commanders' abilities 
to obtain essential contracted support. Under the current LOGCAP III 
contract in Iraq, commanders generally need to speak with one program 
manager to obtain the full range of contracted services. Under LOGCAP 
IV, however, services may be divided among multiple contractors for 
any particular location. As a result, the task of determining how to 
obtain particular services and correcting service problems may divert 
commanders' limited resources from other responsibilities. Therefore, 
should the upcoming LOGCAP transition in Iraq proceed as planned, 
commanders will need to overcome challenges on which we have 
previously reported, such as inexperience in dealing with contractors, 
uncertainty regarding oversight responsibilities, and the inability to 
dedicate resources for oversight, or DOD risks having inadequate 
management and oversight.[Footnote 30] 

The planned LOGCAP transition in Iraq may also impact the continuity 
and quality of service provided to the warfighter. While service 
disruptions like those experienced during the transition to LOGCAP IV 
in Kuwait caused only temporary inconveniences, similar service 
disruptions in a continuously evolving environment like Iraq have a 
greater potential for negatively impacting ongoing operations. For 
example, according to a senior Defense Contract Management Agency 
official responsible for contract management and oversight in Iraq, 
there is concern about DOD's plan to begin transitioning the theater 
transportation mission, since it could require a new contractor to 
assume the mission just as the department undertakes a significant 
troop level reduction planned for March-April 2010. Executing the 
rapid movement of troops and equipment out of Iraq will require 
significant truck assets, and transitioning the mission to a new 
contractor that must be immediately capable of providing 23,000 trucks 
and accompanying crews could be daunting. Transitioning contracts to 
local vendors may also impact the quality of services provided to the 
warfighter. Commanders in Iraq have already noted that some base and 
life support services that were being provided to U.S. forces through 
newly transitioned contracts managed by local vendors have not met the 
level of quality U.S. forces expect. Service interruptions and 
inefficiencies have also been experienced in Kuwait as a result of 
transitioning to local vendors. 

Finally, limited oversight resources coupled with a projected 
significant increase in oversight demands during the LOGCAP transition 
in Iraq heightens the risk of waste. The successful transition from 
LOGCAP III to multiple base and life support contractors requires a 
large number of government oversight personnel, as the transition from 
LOGCAP III to LOGCAP IV in Kuwait demonstrated. However, overseeing 
the LOGCAP transition in Iraq will be an added responsibility for the 
Defense Contract Management Agency, which is also responsible for the 
day-to-day management and administration of the LOGCAP III contractor, 
private security contracts, and the Air Force Contract Augmentation 
Program. A Defense Contract Management Agency official expressed 
concern about conducting LOGCAP transitions at multiple locations 
simultaneously throughout Iraq because this will require a greater 
number of oversight personnel than consecutive transitions at single 
locations. For example, Defense Contract Management Agency officials 
cited insufficient numbers of property administrators available to 
transfer billions of dollars worth of property from LOGCAP III to one 
of several dozen possible contracts. These personnel shortages may 
delay the transfer of property, such as materiel handling equipment 
critical for loading, unloading, and moving containers which, in turn, 
may inhibit the timely retrograde of equipment from Iraq. According to 
DOD documentation, similar difficulties in managing government 
property are currently complicating the transition of LOGCAP III to 
LOGCAP IV in Afghanistan. 

During its planning and review process for the planned transition from 
LOGCAP III to LOGCAP IV and other service contracts in Iraq, DOD has 
not determined whether the benefits of the transition will outweigh 
the costs and risks that could be incurred as a result. DOD has, 
during its acquisition planning, analyzed potential benefits and risks 
of transitioning the overarching LOGCAP IV contract worldwide. In 
addition, it has taken some steps to mitigate the risk of 
transitioning LOGCAP in Iraq, such as planning to transition base and 
life support from LOGCAP III to LOGCAP IV mainly on the bases that 
will remain under U.S. control after August 31, 2010. However, 
according to DOD officials, DOD has not analyzed the benefits of 
transitioning LOGCAP specifically for the major task orders it plans 
to award in Iraq. Given the unique circumstances in Iraq, where the 
anticipated benefits of making the LOGCAP transition may not be fully 
realized due to drawdown timelines and additional costs and risks the 
transition will incur, the current plan for LOGCAP transition in Iraq 
warrants additional consideration through DOD's planning and review 
process. This is particularly important in light of the fluid nature 
of ongoing operations in Iraq, and the significant congressional 
interest in LOGCAP issues. In fact, according to CENTCOM, external 
pressure based on expectations of enhanced competition and reduced 
costs is the driving force behind the transition. Without adequate 
planning and review to identify and weigh the potential benefits, 
costs, and risks of making the LOGCAP transition in Iraq, DOD cannot 
ensure the transition will meet benefit expectations while minimizing 
the impacts of additional costs and risks. 

Long-Standing Contract Oversight Personnel Shortages Could Increase 
Potential for Fraud, Waste, and Abuse during the Drawdown: 

DOD's long-standing inability to provide an adequate number of trained 
oversight personnel in deployed locations will continue to challenge 
the department as it proceeds through the drawdown in Iraq despite 
apparent improvements in the number of contracting officer's 
representatives (COR) assigned to contracts administered by the 
Defense Contract Management Agency. Joint doctrine emphasizes that 
commanders must ensure appropriate administration and oversight 
personnel are in place when using contractors.[Footnote 31] Although 
contracting officers are responsible for providing contract oversight, 
day-to-day oversight of contractors is generally the responsibility of 
CORs, who ensure that the government receives the agreed-upon services 
at the agreed-upon quality, avoids poor outcomes, and minimizes 
fraudulent practices. According to DOD documentation, it had been the 
Defense Contract Management Agency's policy for the LOGCAP contract 
that a COR would be designated for each contractor-provided service at 
the location of the service. According to Defense Contract Management 
Agency officials and documentation, in recognition that units in Iraq 
were unable to provide all the needed CORs to oversee all aspects of 
the LOGCAP contract, the Defense Contract Management Agency now 
recommends that units assign CORs only to key services--which they 
define as high-and medium-risk services.[Footnote 32] Conversely, the 
new policy does not require units to provide CORs for services it 
considers low risk to mission success. Since implementing this policy, 
the Defense Contract Management Agency has reduced its requirement for 
CORs in Iraq from 1,000 in October 2009 to 580 in January 2010, and 
anticipates that it will be able to reduce the COR requirement further 
as it continues to designate additional services as low risk. Although 
the percentage of filled LOGCAP COR requirements has increased from 85 
percent in November 2009 to 94 percent in January 2010 because of this 
policy, we have not evaluated the effectiveness of this risk-based 
approach to contract oversight. However, because this policy is 
specific to Defense Contract Management Agency oversight of LOGCAP, it 
does not apply to contracts awarded by the Joint Contracting Command- 
Iraq/Afghanistan, which in a recent update to USF-I's drawdown plan, 
was given the goal of maximizing the use of Iraqi firms in its 
contracting efforts for drawdown-related requirements. According to 
senior officials in Iraq, local national contractors frequently 
require more oversight than U.S. firms because, as the former Joint 
Contracting Command-Iraq/Afghanistan commander explained, Iraqi firms 
lack experience, have limited capacity, are less capable than their 
U.S. counterparts, are unfamiliar with U.S. quality standards and 
expectations, and lack the quality control processes that U.S. firms 
have in place. Furthermore, according to DOD documents, some services, 
such as ice production, cannot be reduced despite a reduction in force 
levels, yet when force levels decrease, so does the pool of available 
CORs since CORs are drawn from military units. In addition, in some 
cases, USF-I is likely to require additional contract services to 
replace capabilities previously provided by the military. In its 
drawdown plan, for example, MNF-I anticipated an increase in the use 
of private security contractors, an increase that could require 
additional CORs depending on the types of services being provided and 
the location of the services. Without adequate contract oversight 
personnel in place to monitor its many contracts during the drawdown, 
DOD may not be able to obtain reasonable assurance that contractors 
are meeting their contract requirements efficiently and effectively at 
each location, especially given its planned increased reliance on 
Iraqi contractors. 

Shortages in available contract oversight personnel may also increase 
the risk of wasteful practices as the drawdown progresses. For 
example, an Army unit in Kuwait responsible for ensuring the steady 
flow of equipment out of Kuwait and for conducting certain maintenance 
tasks has 32 government personnel but oversees more than 3,000 
contractor personnel. In January 2010, Army Materiel Command requested 
funding to double, to approximately 800, the number of this unit's 
contractor personnel that conduct retrograde-specific tasks, including 
receiving, accounting for, sorting, and moving equipment, necessary to 
prevent equipment backlogs in Kuwait. In addition, according to 
contracting officials, this unit has requested a concurrent increase 
in oversight personnel. In July 2009, this unit identified the lack of 
oversight personnel as a significant concern to successfully moving 
equipment out of Kuwait. Given that these services will transition to 
a new contract which has not yet been awarded, it is unclear whether 
the current request will represent the total increase in contractor 
personnel needed during the drawdown, and thus whether sufficient 
oversight personnel will be in place as the drawdown progresses. 
Further, until the current request is filled, this unit risks not 
having the necessary oversight personnel in place, as has been the 
case in the past. In January 2008, we reported that this unit did not 
have adequate staff to conduct oversight of an equipment maintenance 
contract in Kuwait.[Footnote 33] As a result of the vacant oversight 
positions, its personnel were unable to fully monitor contractor 
performance. Further, we noted that poor contractor performance 
resulted in this unit spending $4.2 million to rework items that were 
initially presented to the Army as meeting contract standards but 
subsequently failed inspection. We have reported on DOD's inability to 
provide an adequate number of oversight personnel in CENTCOM's theater 
since 2004.[Footnote 34] For example, in 2008 we reported that the 
Army assigned seven CORs to provide oversight for about 8,300 
linguists in 120 locations across Iraq and Afghanistan. In one case, a 
single person provided oversight for linguists stationed at more than 
40 different locations spread throughout the theater of operations. 
Officials responsible for the contract agreed that there were not 
enough CORs to effectively oversee the contract.[Footnote 35] 

Improvements to the Equipment Disposition Process Have Been Made but 
Some Decisions Yet Remain: 

According to DOD officials, it is essential that equipment move out of 
Iraq and Kuwait at a steady pace to accommodate the large amount of 
equipment needing to be retrograded within the drawdown time frames. 
This was underscored in a DOD report to Congress that stated that the 
successful removal, demilitarization, or transfer by the end of 
December 2011 of all items belonging to DOD is contingent upon the 
timely receipt of disposition instructions, among other 
factors.[Footnote 36] Hence, the issuance of disposition instructions, 
which dictate where a specific piece of equipment will be shipped 
after it is no longer needed in Iraq, is a critical component of the 
retrograde process, a fact we highlighted in our September 2008 
report. Ensuring timely equipment disposition has therefore been a 
focus for officials in Iraq and Kuwait as they plan for and execute 
the drawdown. Specifically, their planning assumes that 90 percent of 
theater provided equipment being retrograded will have disposition 
instructions before it leaves Iraq, which they consider an essential 
step toward ensuring this equipment does not sit idle for long periods 
of time in Kuwait. 

Partly in response to our September 2008 report, representatives from 
the Secretary of Defense's Lean Six Sigma office conducted six reviews 
to optimize theater logistics, one of which focused on the process for 
retrograding equipment from Iraq, including the issuance of 
disposition instructions.[Footnote 37] Results from the Lean Six Sigma 
studies influenced the development of a new data system--the Theater 
Provided Equipment Planner--which is intended to automate the issuance 
of disposition instructions for theater provided equipment while the 
equipment is still in Iraq, and to document all decisions for 
centralized visibility. Although its implementation was initially 
delayed, according to USF-I the system became fully operational on 
January 11, 2010, following a successful test during which disposition 
instructions were issued for over 25,000 items of equipment. 
Complementing the Theater Provided Equipment Planner is a second 
system, the Materiel Enterprise Non-Standard Equipment database, into 
which the Army's Life Cycle Management Commands are cataloging all 
types of non-standard equipment in Iraq in order to facilitate its 
retrograde. According to USF-I, the Materiel Enterprise Non-Standard 
Equipment database has improved management and accountability of non- 
standard equipment, although we have not assessed this claim. 

From the perspective of ARCENT, Army Materiel Command, and 
Headquarters, Department of the Army, responsibly drawing down forces 
from Iraq requires maintaining a steady flow of equipment through 
Kuwait and onward to other locations. For example, the Army Materiel 
Command commander defines success as the smooth, efficient 
redeployment and redistribution of materiel to sources of repair or 
disposal facilities, which will enable regeneration of combat power 
for the Army. This view corresponds with Army Materiel Command's 
mission and responsibilities, and reflects limiting factors in Kuwait 
such as storage capacity. According to senior logistics officials from 
the Office of the Secretary of Defense, they are looking to the 
military departments to ensure the smooth onward movement and 
redistribution of their retrograded equipment to meet current mission 
needs, rebalance their respective services, or satisfy future 
requirements. For example, Army officials told us that there are no 
plans to store any equipment, including MRAPs, in Kuwait. In fact, the 
Army has a preliminary strategy for incorporating MRAPs into its 
manned ground vehicle fleet, which may likely include adding these 
vehicles to transportation, medical, and explosive ordnance disposal 
unit modified tables of organization and equipment, while other MRAPs 
are to be shipped to military installations for use during 
predeployment training. However, given the amount of equipment that is 
and will continue to flow out of Iraq and through Kuwait, it is 
important that DOD develop contingency plans for the staging of this 
equipment or pursue alternative retrograde hubs. This is imperative to 
avoid equipment build-up in Kuwait as equipment awaits onward movement 
to its designated final destination. According to Army officials, much 
of this planning has been accomplished or is currently underway, 
although we have not yet assessed these plans. 

Decisions that have not yet been made about the Army's future 
composition and equipment reset contribute to the current lack of 
final disposition instructions for some equipment being retrograded 
out of Iraq. For example, the Army has not decided what equipment and 
how much of each type of equipment it will transfer to Army 
Prepositioned Stocks[Footnote 38] and Theater Sustainment Stocks. 
[Footnote 39] Similarly, its strategy for incorporating MRAPs into its 
manned ground vehicle fleet is still pending final approval. In 
addition, Army officials stated they are considering changing one or 
more heavy brigade combat teams into Stryker brigade combat teams, a 
decision that will have a direct effect on equipment allocation. Other 
factors also add uncertainty to the disposition of equipment. For 
example, while the Army has taken steps to streamline the reset 
induction process for equipment in Iraq, disposition for reset depends 
on when the equipment is retrograded from Iraq and its condition. 
Finally, until recently, decisions were not finalized on the exact 
quantities and types of equipment that will be transferred from Iraq 
to Afghanistan to meet surge requirements. Given the amount of 
equipment being retrograded out of Iraq, and the uncertainty arising 
from the decisions listed above, there is a degree of risk associated 
with the potential build-up of equipment in Kuwait, which, as stated 
above, requires planning for the temporary staging of this equipment. 
For example, during our July 2009 visit to Kuwait, officials in charge 
of a retrograde lot stated that the lot was close to its capacity for 
holding tactical wheeled vehicles, which occurred in part due to 
limited capacity to process these vehicles elsewhere. Although the 
number of tactical wheeled vehicles in this lot has since decreased, 
the Army has directed the shipment of relatively few tactical wheeled 
vehicles from Kuwait to other locations, leaving a significant number 
of vehicles to be retrograded from Kuwait. Without the necessary 
contingency plans to stage equipment retrograded from Iraq, DOD may 
not be able to ensure that equipment required elsewhere is available 
when needed. 

DOD's Lack of Precise Visibility Over Its Inventory of Equipment and 
Shipping Containers May Inhibit the Retrograde or Transfer of 
Equipment: 

The execution of the drawdown from Iraq in accordance with established 
timelines may also be affected by the lack of a complete and accurate 
inventory of three broad types of equipment: contractor acquired 
property,[Footnote 40] non-standard equipment, and shipping 
containers. According to Army data, contractor acquired property and 
non-standard equipment comprise at least 30 percent of the total DOD 
property in Iraq as of February 2010. In order to establish a more 
complete and accurate record of equipment in Iraq, MNF-I directed its 
subordinate units to complete a 100 percent inventory of their 
equipment, identify equipment that can be immediately retrograded, and 
account for previously undocumented equipment by June 27, 2009. 
According to MNF-I guidance as well as several DOD officials, meeting 
drawdown requirements and timelines depends upon establishing an 
accurate and complete inventory of the amount and types of equipment 
that will have to be retrograded from Iraq. 

DOD officials have stated that overall accountability for property in 
Iraq has improved since 2006, especially with regard to theater 
provided equipment. In addition, officials stated that the MNF-I order 
calling for a 100 percent inventory by July 2009 was intended to 
account for undocumented items, which would then be entered onto unit 
property books, thereby making commanders responsible for them. The 
intent was to facilitate drawdown planning and execution by providing 
commanders an incentive to take action on items that otherwise may not 
have been factored into their retrograde plans. However, although DOD 
states that the inventory is complete, previously undocumented 
equipment continues to be found every month. Although USF-I's current 
projections indicate that the amount of equipment that still needs to 
be brought to record is not sufficient to alter projected 
transportation requirements, we have not assessed this. 

During our visit in July 2009, officials in Iraq and Kuwait stated 
that, of all categories of equipment, they had the least visibility 
over contractor acquired property. As of February 2010, records 
indicate that 19 percent of total Army equipment in Iraq is contractor 
acquired property. However, officials have stated that although they 
have high confidence in the accountability of LOGCAP contractor 
acquired property, they have lower confidence in the accountability of 
non-LOGCAP contractor acquired property. This is because while 
contractors are typically required under the terms of their contract 
to maintain accountability over contractor acquired property, there is 
no standardized process for doing so, limiting DOD's accountability 
and visibility over this equipment and frustrating officials' efforts 
to establish and maintain such visibility.[Footnote 41] As a result, 
the total sum of contractor acquired property in Iraq is unknown which 
may, in turn, adversely affect DOD's ability to efficiently retrograde 
or transfer this equipment to the Government of Iraq. 

In July 2009, ARCENT officials noted they have low confidence in 
accountability and visibility of non-standard equipment in Iraq, 
adding another potential risk to their ability to efficiently 
retrograde this equipment out of Iraq in accordance with established 
timelines. Moreover, despite recent initiatives such as the 
implementation of the Materiel Enterprise Non-Standard Equipment 
database, Army and ARCENT officials stated that obtaining an accurate 
inventory of non-standard equipment is complicated by the fact that 
many of these items have multiple identification numbers and that 
commanders have significant flexibility in accounting for this 
equipment. For example, a piece of non-standard equipment that is 
valued at greater than $5,000 must be recorded on a military unit's 
property book, but after the value of that item depreciates below the 
$5,000 threshold it is left to the individual commander's discretion 
whether to continue recording the property. In addition, according to 
ARCENT officials, even when these items are entered onto unit or 
theater property books, personnel responsible for making these entries 
have not done so in a consistent format. Not knowing the precise 
amount and types of non-standard equipment in Iraq further contributes 
to planning uncertainty for the organizations tasked with executing 
the drawdown, and also complicates the task of determining disposition 
using the Materiel Enterprise Non-Standard Equipment database, as 
discussed earlier. 

Although DOD has taken steps to improve its visibility over shipping 
containers available to retrograde equipment from Iraq, the number of 
containers in Iraq remains uncertain. Containers are unique in that 
not only are they items that have to be retrograded from Iraq, they 
are also a primary means of shipping non-rolling stock out of Iraq. 
During our July 2009 visit to Kuwait, ARCENT officials responsible for 
overseeing and managing containers in Iraq and Kuwait told us that the 
data system in place to track containers is inaccurate and incomplete 
primarily because unit personnel in Iraq had not updated the system 
every time a container left or arrived at a particular location. These 
officials also explained that units did not always have personnel 
available to monitor container flows and update the data system and 
that those personnel who were available received this tasking as an 
extra duty, which limited proper data entry. As a result, a September 
2009 DOD report based on the data from this system indicated that the 
system was, at best, 25 percent accurate; that the location of 7,000 
containers remained unverified; and that the serviceability--the 
extent to which the containers were seaworthy and thus available to 
retrograde equipment--of 39 percent was also unknown. Moreover, many 
containers in Iraq have been used for storage, office space, and 
living quarters, among other purposes, yet had not been documented as 
such. In an effort to improve visibility over containers, in May 2009, 
MNC-I issued an order directing a 100 percent inventory of containers 
in Iraq, including instructions for reporting their serviceability. 
According to DOD data, as of September 21, 2009, approximately 53,000 
containers had been physically inventoried, which was more than 24,000 
fewer than the number of containers entered into the data system. 
Subsequently, in an update to its drawdown plan USF-I added a 
container management plan which directed the appointment of container 
control officers at multiple levels of command to ensure 
accountability through monthly inventories, among other 
responsibilities, and established a list of prohibited container uses, 
including using them as offices and living quarters. Although this 
plan calls for container control officers to record the movements of 
containers as they enter or leave a location and establishes 
procedures to locate containers in case these movements are not 
properly recorded, it requires that only some of these officers be 
appointed container control officers as a primary duty. As a result, 
USF-I's container management plan may not fully alleviate the root 
cause, as identified by ARCENT officials, of poor container 
accountability. Further, the monthly container inventory requirement 
existed prior to the new USF-I container management plan yet, during 
our visit to Kuwait in July 2009, we observed that these inventories 
were not always completed as directed. Finally, according to CENTCOM, 
personnel in Iraq and Kuwait report different levels of container 
accountability system accuracy, although these personnel are working 
together to rectify the discrepancies. Until these efforts are 
complete, the number of containers available to retrograde equipment 
from Iraq remains uncertain. 

DOD has taken steps to mitigate uncertainty regarding the number of 
containers it will need to retrograde equipment from Iraq and adjust 
its tracking of container retrograde. For example, to ensure that it 
has sufficient containers available to retrograde equipment, DOD 
operates two container repair facilities in Iraq and Kuwait that 
repair damaged containers to a standard at which they can be used to 
ship equipment. In July 2009, we visited a container repair facility 
in Kuwait that could repair between 15 and 20 containers per day that 
otherwise would remain unavailable for use. According to USF-I, its 
present container repair capability has increased to 3,000 containers 
per month. Additionally, officials have stated that DOD can buy 
additional containers as needed for the drawdown. Specifically, 
officials stated that, if needed, DOD could purchase about 30,000 
containers and have them available for use in less than 2 months. 
Finally, in its metrics to track the retrograde of non-rolling stock, 
USF-I no longer uses containers as a unit of measure, focusing instead 
on the movement of individual pieces of equipment, which officials 
believe will provide them with greater operational flexibility and 
greater fidelity in forecasting transportation requirements. As a 
result of these efforts, USF-I anticipates that it will have 
sufficient containers on hand to complete the drawdown from Iraq. 
While DOD's efforts to ensure the availability of containers for the 
drawdown and track their retrograde appear to be positive steps, their 
effects are still somewhat uncertain. 

Poor unit container loading practices and insufficient efforts to 
document some containerized equipment have also presented challenges. 
During our visit to Kuwait in July 2009, U.S. Navy customs officials 
told us that about 60 percent of unit owned containers shipped from 
Iraq to Kuwait must be unloaded and repacked in Kuwait because units 
in Iraq did not affix or fill out the proper customs documentation. As 
a result, customs officials had to unpack, re-inspect, and then repack 
the containers, which slowed the flow of equipment through the 
retrograde process in Kuwait and required significant man-hours, 
unnecessarily taxing an already limited pool of available experienced 
customs inspectors. In addition, during our July 2009 visit to Kuwait, 
officials stated that a large proportion of equipment sent to a 
retrograde lot for unserviceable items was not properly documented. As 
a result, the process of unloading and sorting the contents of these 
containers took longer than it otherwise would have, and although the 
process for unloading and documenting the items appeared orderly and 
the lot was nearly empty, personnel expected the flow of such 
containers to increase significantly as the drawdown progressed. This 
was underscored during a subsequent GAO visit to Kuwait in December 
2009, when we observed undocumented containers and unidentified 
equipment that had filled a large portion of the staging area at a 
parts warehouse. While commands in Iraq and Kuwait have noted that 
improved process controls and additional training have been 
implemented, we have not evaluated these controls nor have we received 
updated information on the magnitude of containers with improper 
documentation. Further, USF-I has issued new guidance to improve 
container packing discipline. Although this guidance is a positive 
step in that it requires proper container packaging to avoid damage 
during shipment, it does not ensure that unit personnel properly 
document equipment or, for equipment shipped to the United States, 
affix the correct customs documentation to the containers. 

Conclusions: 

The drawdown of equipment and personnel from Iraq is a highly complex 
operation of significant magnitude that is being conducted in a 
continuously evolving environment during a period of Iraqi political 
uncertainty. It is also an operation governed by timelines set by the 
Security Agreement and the President and requires for its execution 
the involvement of several DOD organizations. Moreover, it is an 
operation that may be impacted by the President's decision, announced 
in December 2009, to increase the size of the U.S. force in 
Afghanistan by an additional 30,000 troops, a decision that will 
require the development of synchronized plans addressing operations in 
both countries. 

Much has been done to facilitate the drawdown from Iraq. For example, 
to ensure unity of effort, the DOD organizations most closely 
associated with the drawdown have issued coordinated plans outlining 
the specific means by which their respective drawdown-related tasks 
will be accomplished. Furthermore, several new DOD organizations have 
been created to oversee and help synchronize the effort, and goals and 
metrics have been established to measure progress. According to DOD 
reports, these efforts to date have contributed to the meeting or 
exceeding of established goals for drawing down forces and 
retrograding equipment. 

However, while DOD has made significant progress executing the 
drawdown, there remains a large amount of personnel, equipment, and 
bases yet to be drawn down, and several actions needed to facilitate 
this are incomplete. For example, while DOD has taken some steps to 
plan for its needs for contracted services as the drawdown progresses, 
the full extent of contracted services needed during the drawdown 
remains uncertain. Without an awareness of the spectrum of contracted 
services available and planning for the necessary contracted services 
during the drawdown, DOD may not be able to efficiently arrange for 
the contracted services necessary to support the drawdown, which may 
result in service gaps or opportunities for wasteful contracting 
practices. Moreover, without addressing challenges related to contract 
transitions and contract oversight, DOD increases the potential for 
fraud, waste, and abuse. And finally, a failure to efficiently manage 
and retrograde equipment from Iraq, especially high-demand items such 
as MRAPs, will likely impact DOD's ability to get that equipment to 
wherever it is needed next. If these challenges delay the movement of 
equipment out of Iraq, the 50,000 U.S. forces remaining in Iraq after 
August 31, 2010, will likely have a greater workload than currently 
anticipated, which may strain logistics and transportation systems and 
thereby impact their ability to close bases, oversee contractors, 
provide security, train the Iraqi security forces, and complete 
equipment retrograde. While DOD has begun to address some of these 
issues, none of them has yet been fully resolved. 

Recommendations: 

To facilitate DOD's ability to efficiently conduct the drawdown of 
U.S. forces and equipment from Iraq in accordance with established 
timelines, we recommend that the Secretary of Defense direct the 
appropriate authorities to: 

* Ensure that joint doctrine regarding operational planning for 
contract support is followed and that operational personnel identify 
contract support requirements in a timely manner to avoid potential 
waste and abuse and facilitate the continuity of services; 

* Ensure unity of effort in contract management is attained through 
the clarification of the roles and responsibilities of the various 
contract review boards in the CENTCOM theater; 

* Assess and develop options to mitigate the risks associated with the 
upcoming simultaneous contract transitions in Iraq and Kuwait; 

* Conduct an analysis of the benefits, costs, and risks of 
transitioning from LOGCAP III to LOGCAP IV and other service contracts 
in Iraq under current withdrawal timelines to determine the most 
efficient and effective means for providing essential services during 
the drawdown; 

* Evaluate the risk of having too few qualified contract oversight 
personnel in light of the planned proportional increase in the number 
of Iraqi contractors during the drawdown and take steps to rectify, if 
needed; 

* Clarify in existing planning the extent to which Kuwait and other 
locations in southwest Asia can support the temporary staging of 
equipment and materiel retrograded from Iraq while DOD is finalizing 
the disposition instructions for certain types of equipment. 

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation: 

In written comments on a draft of this report, DOD concurred with our 
first five recommendations listed above, but did not concur with an 
earlier version of our last recommendation. In its comments regarding 
the first five recommendations, the department highlighted a number of 
corrective actions it is taking to (1) improve contract support and 
contract management in the CENTCOM theater and (2) mitigate the risks 
associated with upcoming concurrent contract transitions, including 
the planned transition from LOGCAP III to LOGCAP IV in Iraq. Regarding 
our first recommendation, DOD commented that it recognizes that 
improvements can be made to DOD's planning for contractor support and 
stated that the Joint Staff is working to improve strategic guidance, 
processes and tools available to plan for contracted support through 
the Chairman's Operational Contract Support Task Force. DOD also 
commented that it recognizes the need for better synchronization 
between operational needs and contractor activities and, to that end, 
CENTCOM has taken steps to increase visibility and synchronization of 
operational contract support through initiatives such as the creation 
of the Joint Theater Support Contracting Command, instituting a Joint 
Contracting Support Board, and collaborating with the Joint Staff to 
improve guidance. DOD also agreed with our second recommendation and 
commented that the importance of unity of contract management through 
clarification of roles and responsibilities cannot be overstated. DOD 
further commented that, although the functions of various boards are 
articulated in Joint Publication 4-10, Operational Contract Support, 
the Joint Staff is recommending that new guidance on the roles and 
responsibilities of the various boards be incorporated in CENTCOM's 
pending fragmentary order that will establish the Joint Theater 
Support Contracting Command. With regard to our third recommendation, 
DOD stated that a soon-to-be-released fragmentary order will require 
the standup of a Joint Contracting Support Board, with participation 
by all those delivering or executing contracted support in Iraq, 
Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Pakistan, and expects that this forum will 
help mitigate risks associated with contract transitions. In response 
to our fourth recommendation, DOD stated that the Army has completed 
an analysis of the benefits, costs, and risks of transitioning from 
LOGCAP III to LOGCAP IV inn Iraq and is in the process of assessing 
options to ensure that essential services are provided in the most 
effective and efficient manner. DOD also stated that the risk factors 
of going from LOGCAP III to LOGCAP IV will be based on operational 
conditions on the ground, and it will direct the appropriate 
authorities to provide the results of its analysis and corresponding 
courses of action to the CENTCOM commander to ensure operational risks 
are taken into account before going forward. Finally, regarding our 
fifth recommendation, DOD commented that the Contingency Contracting 
Administration Services Executive Steering Group has identified that 
the risk of having too few qualified contract oversight personnel in 
light of the planned proportional increase in the number of Iraqi 
contractors during the drawdown is a concern and has established a 
working group to study the matter and provide recommendations to 
mitigate the risks. 

In its comments regarding a previous version of our last 
recommendation that the Secretary of Defense direct the appropriate 
authorities to clarify in existing planning the extent to which Kuwait 
and other locations in southwest Asia can support the storage of 
equipment and materiel retrograded from Iraq, including the types of 
equipment and length of time it can be stored given possible 
requirements for the equipment elsewhere, DOD did not concur and 
commented that this recommendation was based on what it believed was a 
misinterpretation of statements made by senior DOD officials, taken 
out of context. Specifically, DOD commented that the section in our 
draft report that discussed the equipment disposition process for 
moving equipment out of Iraq and Kuwait misstated DOD's policy 
regarding the speed at which equipment would be evacuated from Kuwait, 
and what GAO saw as the potential equipment build-up and long-term 
equipment storage in Kuwait that could result. As a result of DOD's 
comments and subsequent meetings with senior officials from the Office 
of the Secretary of Defense and Department of the Army, we revised 
this section of the report, other related references throughout the 
report, and the related recommendation. Specifically, we revised these 
sections of the report to reflect the department's position that, 
although equipment will be temporarily staged in Kuwait prior to its 
shipment elsewhere, there are no plans for long-term storage of 
equipment in Kuwait other than equipment stored in the Army's 
Prepositioned Stocks. These officials subsequently commented that the 
information contained in this final report, as revised, is both 
accurate and reflective of the views of senior DOD officials. 

The department also provided a number of general and technical 
comments that we considered and incorporated, as appropriate. A 
complete copy of DOD's written comments is included in appendix II. 

We are sending copies of this report to the appropriate congressional 
committees; the Secretary of Defense; the Secretaries of the Army, the 
Navy, and the Air Force; and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. 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 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov]. 

Should you or your staff have any questions on the matters discussed 
in this report, please contact me at (202) 512-8365 or solisw@gao.gov. 
Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public 
Affairs may be found on the last page of this letter. GAO staff who 
made key contributions to this report are listed in appendix III. 

Signed by: 

William M. Solis, Director: 
Defense Capabilities and Management: 

List of Congressional Committees: 

The Honorable Carl Levin:
Chairman:
The Honorable John McCain:
Ranking Member:
Committee on Armed Services:
United States Senate: 

The Honorable Daniel Inouye:
Chairman:
The Honorable Thad Cochran:
Ranking Member:
Subcommittee on Defense:
Committee on Appropriations:
United States Senate: 

The Honorable Ike Skelton:
Chairman:
The Honorable Howard P. "Buck" McKeon:
Ranking Member:
Committee on Armed Services:
House of Representatives: 

The Honorable Norman D. Dicks:
Chairman:
The Honorable C.W. Bill Young:
Ranking Member:
Subcommittee on Defense:
Committee on Appropriations:
House of Representatives: 

The Honorable John F. Tierney:
Chairman:
The Honorable Jeff Flake:
Ranking Member:
Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs:
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform:
House of Representatives: 

[End of section] 

Appendix I: Scope and Methodology: 

To determine the extent to which DOD has planned for the drawdown and 
how these plans conform to the established timelines, we reviewed and 
analyzed the major plans that guide the execution of drawdown, 
including those published by CENTCOM, MNC-I, Headquarters, Department 
of the Army, MNF-I, and USF-I. We also reviewed other relevant 
documents, including command briefings, the Security Agreement between 
the United States and the Republic of Iraq, and transcripts of 
speeches in which the president established timelines for the drawdown 
of forces from Iraq. Additionally, we spoke with officials at many 
levels of the chain of command involved in the preparation and 
execution of drawdown plans to include: the Office of the Secretary of 
Defense, which worked with commanders in Iraq to weigh the merits of 
contending plans for the drawdown; the Joint Staff; U.S. 
Transportation Command; CENTCOM; ARCENT; MNF-I; USF-I; and MNC-I. We 
also spoke with officials from myriad supporting commands including 
Army Materiel Command, Army Sustainment Command; Joint Contracting 
Command-Iraq/Afghanistan; the Defense Contract Management Agency; the 
Defense Logistics Agency; Army Contracting Command; and the LOGCAP 
Program Executive Office. In support of this effort, we traveled to 
Kuwait and Iraq in July 2009, where we reviewed documents and 
interviewed DOD officials most directly involved with the execution of 
drawdown plans. We spoke with officials and reviewed documents from 
new organizations created to oversee, synchronize, and ensure unity of 
effort for the retrograde of equipment, including the Drawdown Fusion 
Center; U.S. ARCENT's Support Element-Iraq; and Army Materiel 
Command's Responsible Reset Task Force. Moreover, we observed the 
processes instituted to facilitate the drawdown, including the Theater 
Provided Equipment Planner and the Materiel Enterprise Non-Standard 
Equipment system. Throughout the engagement, the team relied upon 
staff working from our Baghdad Field Office to conduct interviews with 
officials in theater and to periodically refresh key information. 

To identify factors that may impact the efficient execution of the 
drawdown we reviewed DOD plans and interviewed officials in the United 
States, Iraq, and Kuwait on issues that may hamper the progress of the 
drawdown. In Iraq and Kuwait, we conducted over 60 interviews in which 
we learned about potential obstacles to the efficient execution of 
drawdown. We spoke with officials from: MNF-I, USF-I, MNC-I, Multi- 
National Security Transition Command-Iraq, Joint Contracting Command- 
Iraq/Afghanistan, ARCENT, U.S. Marine Corps Central, U.S. Air Force 
Central, U.S. Navy Central, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the MRAP 
Program Executive Office. We also interviewed officials in the United 
States, including officials from CENTCOM, Army Sustainment Command, 
Army Materiel Command, and U.S. Transportation Command, to further 
inquire about challenges that may compromise the efficient execution 
of the drawdown, and to corroborate observations we made while in 
Kuwait and Iraq. We also obtained and analyzed relevant documents, 
including those pertaining to equipment transfers between the United 
States and the Government of Iraq, the retrograde of certain types of 
non-standard equipment, and the management and oversight of contract 
personnel. Our travel also enabled us to observe key elements of the 
retrograde process, including customs inspections, container repair 
facilities, systems used to issue disposition instructions, Retrograde 
Property Assistance Team yards, central receiving and processing lots, 
and management of Defense Reutilization Marketing Offices. Again, we 
also relied upon staff working from our Baghdad Field Office to 
conduct follow-up interviews with officials, travel to Kuwait to 
observe a drawdown rehearsal exercise, and periodically update key 
information. Finally, we used our body of issued work examining Iraq 
and drawdown-related issues as a basis of comparison to identify areas 
in which DOD has made improvements to its drawdown planning, as well 
as areas in which it continues to face challenges. 

We conducted our audit from January 2009 through March 2010 in 
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 
Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain 
sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe 
that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our 
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. 

[End of section] 

Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Defense: 

Office Of The Assistant Secretary Of Defense: 
Logistics And Materiel Readiness: 
3500 Defense Pentagon: 
Washington, DC 20301-3500: 

Mr. William M. Solis: 
Director, Defense Capabilities and Management: 
U.S. Government Accountability Office: 
441 G Street, N.W. 
Washington, DC 20548: 

Dear Mr. Solis: 

This is the Department of Defense (DoD) response to the GAO Draft 
Report, GAO-10-376, "Operation Iraqi Freedom: Actions Needed to 
Facilitate the Efficient Drawdown of U.S. forces and Equipment from 
Iraq", dated March 5, 2010 (GAO Code 351429). Detailed comments on the 
report recommendations are enclosed. 

The draft report also does not accurately capture the statements made 
by senior officials in DoD and the Army. For example, there is an 
inaccurate assumption that the Department of Defense intends to store 
equipment in Kuwait and a misrepresentation of the facts that led to 
the final recommendation. 

We appreciate the opportunity to comment on the draft report. 
Technical comments were provided separately for your consideration. 
Should you have any questions, please contact Mr. Kevin Doxey, 
kevin.doxey@osd.mil, 703-697-1368. 

Sincerely, 

Signed by: 

Alan F. Estevez: 
Principal Deputy: 

Enclosure: As stated: 

[End of letter] 

GAO Draft Report Dated March 5, 2010: 
GA0-10-376 (GAO CODE 351429): 

"Operation Iraqi Freedom: Actions Needed to Facilitate the Efficient 
Drawdown of U.S. forces and Equipment from Iraq" 

Department Of Defense Comments To The GAO Recommendations: 

Recommendation 1: The GAO recommends that the Secretary of Defense 
direct the appropriate authorities to ensure that joint doctrine 
regarding operational planning for contract support is followed and 
that operational personnel identify contract support requirements in a 
timely manner to avoid potential waste and abuse and facilitate the 
continuity of services. (Page 39/GAO Draft Report) 

DOD Response: Concur. 

The DoD agrees that according to joint doctrine and service guidance, 
operational personnel who plan, support, and execute military 
operations must also determine contracted support needed to accomplish 
their missions. We recognize improvements can be made in DoD's 
planning for contractor support. The Joint Staff is working to improve 
strategic guidance, processes and tools available to plan for 
contracted support via the Chairman's Operational Contract Support 
Task Force. This includes, but is not limited to, inclusion of OCS 
planning equities in the Guidance for the Development of the Force 
(GDF), Guidance for the Employment of the Force, Joint Strategic 
Capabilities Plan (JSCP), and the Joint Operation Planning and 
Execution System (JOPES). With respect to the draw-down, there needs 
to be additional operational planning that clearly signals the 
additional or decreased levels of contracted support, which the Joint 
Contracting Command-Iraq/Afghanistan (JCC-IA) and other contracting 
authorities could act upon. We recognize the need for synchronization 
between operational needs and contractor activities. U.S. Central 
Command (USCENTCOM) has taken steps to mitigate risks in this area, to 
increase visibility and synchronization of Operational Contract 
Support (OCS) through several initiatives, such as creating the Joint 
Theater Support Contracting Command (JTSCC), instituting a Joint 
Contracting Support Board (JCSB) and collaborating with the Joint 
Staff to improve guidance. 

Recommendation 2: The GAO recommends that the Secretary of Defense 
direct the appropriate authorities to ensure unity in contract 
management is attained through the clarification of the roles and 
responsibilities of the various contract review boards in the CENTCOM 
Theater. (Page 39/GAO Draft Report. 

DOD Response: Concur. 

The DoD agrees that the importance of ensuring the unity of contract 
management through clarification of roles and responsibilities cannot 
be overstated. The functions of various boards are articulated in JP-4-
10, Operational Contract Support. USCENTCOM has established monthly 
Commandant Commanders Logistics Procurement Support Boards (CLPSBs) 
with their Service components. JCC-I/A hosts monthly Joint Logistics 
Procurement Support Boards (JLPSBs) in Iraq. Similarly, U.S. Army 
Forces Central Command hosts a monthly JLPSB for Kuwait. US Forces-
Afghanistan hosts an Inter-departmental Combined Joint Logistics 
Procurement Support Board (ICJLPSB) for contracting in Afghanistan. 
USCENTCOM Regulations 715-1, Contracting Operations, outlines the 
roles of these Boards. The JTSCC, once established, will be 
responsible for hosting a JCSB with all contracting activities with
performance in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In light of 
this transition, the Joint Staff is recommending USCENTCOM incorporate 
new guidance on the roles and responsibilities of various boards in 
their pending JTSCC Fragmentary order (FRAGO). Ongoing OUSD(AT&L) 
efforts to improve Theater Business Clearance policies, processes and 
tools should improve this as well. 

Recommendation 3: The GAO recommends that the Secretary of Defense 
direct the appropriate authorities to access and develop options to 
mitigate the risks associated with the upcoming concurrent contract 
transitions in Iraq and Kuwait. (Page 39/GAO Draft Report) 

DOD Response: Concur. 

Contract support and risk management is described in joint doctrine as 
a responsibility of the CLSPB. JCC-IA is transitioning to a Joint 
Theater Support Contracting Command, with a direct reporting 
relationship to USCENTCOM, which should raise the visibility of 
contract management issues to mitigate risks associated with the 
drawdown. The pending Fragmentary order requires standup of a Joint 
Contracting Support Board, with participation by all those delivering 
or executing contracted support in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and 
Pakistan. This forum will help mitigate risks associated with contract 
transitions. 

Recommendation 4: The GAO recommends that the Secretary of Defense 
direct the appropriate authorities to conduct an analysis of the 
benefits, costs, and risks of transitioning from LOGCAP III to LOGCAP 
IV and other service contracts in Iraq under current withdrawal 
timelines, to determine the most efficient and effective means for 
providing essential services during the drawdown. (Page 39/GAO Draft 
Report) 

DOD Response: Concur. 

The Army has completed an analysis of the benefits, costs, and risks 
of transitioning from LOGCAP III to LOGCAP IV and is in the process of 
assessing options to ensure that essential services are provided in 
the most effective and efficient manner. However, the risk factors of 
going from LOGCAP III to LOGCAP IV will be based on the operational 
conditions on the ground. The Department will direct the appropriate 
authorities to provide the results of this analysis and corresponding 
courses of action to the Combatant Commander to ensure operational 
risks are taken into account going forward. 

Recommendation 5: The GAO recommends that the Secretary of Defense 
direct the appropriate authorities to evaluate the risk of having too 
few contractor oversight personnel in light of the planned 
proportional increase in the number of Iraqi contractors during the 
drawdown and take steps to rectify, if needed. (Page 39/GAO Draft 
Report) 

DOD Response: Concur. 

The Contingency Contracting Administration Services (CCAS) Executive 
Steering Group has identified this as a concern and established a 
joint working group, led by Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy 
(DPAP), to study the matter and provide recommendations to mitigate 
associated risks. 

Recommendation 6: The GAO recommends that the Secretary of Defense 
direct the appropriate authorities to clarify in existing planning the 
extent to which Kuwait and other locations in southwest Asia can 
support the storage of equipment and materiel retrograded from Iraq, 
including the types of equipment and length of time it can be stored 
given possible requirements for the equipment elsewhere. (Page 40/GAO 
Draft Report) 

DOD Response: Nonconcur. 

The Department of Defense (DoD) has no intent to store equipment in 
Kuwait (other than Army Prepositioned Stock). Equipment disposition 
instructions are issued in Iraq and most equipment moves through 
Kuwait where it is prepared for onward movement to its final 
destination — either within the Army Central (ARCENT) Area of 
Responsibility, or to the Continental United States. 

Additionally, at the request of the Joint Staff, RAND conducted a 
study in March 2009, titled "Withdrawing From Iraq", which concluded 
that Kuwait has sufficient capacity to redeploy four-plus Brigades per 
month, a number that exceeds current planning requirements. In fact, 
the study found that both the port and ship berthing capacity can 
exceed four-plus Brigades. 

We believe this recommendation is based on a misinterpretation of 
statements made by senior DoD officials. This misinterpretation of 
statements has led to an incorrect conclusion/recommendation. The 
specific comments and corresponding page numbers contributing to this 
recommendation, which should be deleted from this draft report, are as 
follows: 

* "However, senior officials from the Office of the Secretary of 
Defense define the drawdown as moving military personnel and equipment 
out of Iraq and attach less priority to moving equipment out of Kuwait 
and on to its final destination." (page 6) 

* "Without clarifying in its drawdown plans what is to be done with 
equipment retrograded from Iraq, to include a determination of the 
extent to which equipment can be stored in Kuwait or other locations 
in southwest Asia, DoD may not be able to ensure that equipment 
required elsewhere or for other initiatives such as reset or equipping 
will be available." (page 6) 

* "Fourth, a lack of clarity concerning the extent to which and for 
how long equipment retrograded from Iraq will be stored in Kuwait or 
other locations in southwest Asia may affect DoD's plans for reset and 
equipping." (page 18) 

* "Yet despite these efforts to improve the equipment disposition 
process for equipment retrograded from Iraq, organizations within DoD 
differ in how they view the final destination of this equipment." 
(page 31) 

* "However, despite the global scope of their responsibilities, senior 
logistics officials from the Office of the Secretary of Defense define 
the drawdown as moving military personnel and equipment out of Iraq 
and attach less priority to moving equipment out of Kuwait and on to 
its final destination." (page 31) 

* "Thus, the extent to which DoD will use Kuwait or other locations in 
southwest Asia to store equipment retrograded from Iraq, and for how 
long, is unclear and may affect other DoD organizations' plans to 
ensure the smooth flow of equipment out of Iraq, through Kuwait, and 
on to its final destination." (page 31) 

* "Finally, decisions have not been finalized on what additional 
equipment will be transferred from Iraq to Afghanistan. As a result, 
equipment retrograded from Iraq may build up in Kuwait awaiting 
disposition instructions, which, as stated above, would be acceptable 
outcome for senior DoD logistics officials but which also contradicts 
the tenets on which officials in Iraq, Kuwait and at the U.S. Army 
Materiel Command have based their drawdown planning." (page 32) 

We recommend the above statements be stricken from the report as they 
are inaccurate and misrepresentation of the facts. 

[End of section] 

Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments: 

GAO Contact: 

William M. Solis (202) 512-8365 or solisw@gao.gov: 

Acknowledgments: 

In addition to the contact named above, individuals who made key 
contributions to this statement include Vincent Balloon, John 
Bumgarner, Carolynn Cavanaugh, Carole Coffey, Timothy DiNapoli, 
Laurier Fish, Walker Fullerton, Guy LoFaro, Greg Marchand, Emily 
Norman, Jason Pogacnik, Mark Pross, David Schmitt, Cheryl Weissman, 
Gerald Winterlin, and Gwyneth Woolwine. 

[End of section] 

Footnotes: 

[1] Many of the initiatives discussed in this report were undertaken 
before the transition from MNF-I to USF-I. Actions or initiatives 
undertaken before January 2010 will be attributed to MNF-I or one of 
its subordinate commands as appropriate. Actions or initiatives taken 
after January 2010 or that are currently ongoing will be attributed to 
USF-I. 

[2] DOD, Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq: Report to Congress 
in Accordance with the Department of Defense Supplemental 
Appropriations Act 2008, Section 9204, Public Law 110-252 (July 23, 
2009). 

[3] We have determined that agency-reported data should not be used to 
identify trends or draw conclusions about the number of contractor 
personnel in Iraq due to limitations such as incomplete and inaccurate 
data. GAO, Contingency Contracting: DOD, State, and USAID Continue to 
Face Challenges in Tracking Contractor Personnel and Contracts in Iraq 
and Afghanistan, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-1] 
(Washington, D.C.: Oct. 1, 2009). 

[4] The Logistics Civil Augmentation Program, commonly referred to as 
LOGCAP, is a program to provide worldwide logistics and base and life 
support services in contingency environments, and is currently 
providing most base and life support in Iraq. 

[5] GAO, Operation Iraqi Freedom: Actions Needed to Enhance DOD 
Planning for Reposturing of U.S. Forces from Iraq, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-930] (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 10, 
2008). 

[6] GAO, Operation Iraqi Freedom: Preliminary Observations on DOD 
Planning for the Drawdown of U.S. Forces from Iraq, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-179] (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 2, 
2009). 

[7] We use the term "retrograde" to indicate the removal of military 
equipment from an operating area. 

[8] For a list of this work, see GAO's Web page, Topic Collection: 
Iraq and Afghanistan, at [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/featured/oif.html]. 

[9] A modified table of organization and equipment documents the 
specific types and amounts of equipment Army units are authorized to 
have. 

[10] DOD has also initiated plans to use other ports in Jordan, 
Turkey, and Iraq to facilitate the retrograde of materiel and 
equipment out of Iraq. However, at present, the majority of materiel 
and equipment exits through Kuwait. 

[11] See GAO, Operation Desert Storm: DOD's Funding Actions Relating 
to Leftover Inventories, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/NSIAD-93-143FS] (Washington, D.C.: 
Apr. 26, 1993); Materiel Disposal: Alleged Improper Disposition and 
Destruction of Serviceable Materiel and Supplies in Saudi Arabia, 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/NSIAD-93-139R] 
(Washington, D.C.: Mar. 11, 1993); Operation Desert Storm: Lack of 
Accountability Over Materiel During Redeployment, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/NSIAD-92-258] (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 
23, 1992); and Desert Shield/Storm Logistics: Observations by U.S. 
Military Personnel, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/NSIAD-92-26] (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 
13, 1991). 

[12] See GAO, Military Operations: High-Level DOD Action Needed to 
Address Long-standing Problems with Management and Oversight of 
Contractors Supporting Deployed Forces, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-07-145] (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 18, 
2006) and Military Operations: Contractors Provide Vital Services to 
Deployed Forces but Are Not Adequately Addressed in DOD Plans, 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-03-695] (Washington, D.C.: 
June 24, 2003). 

[13] Unity of effort requires coordination and cooperation among all 
forces toward a commonly recognized objective, although they are not 
necessarily part of the same command structure. Joint Publication 1, 
Doctrine for the Armed Forces of the United States (Mar. 20, 2009). 

[14] We use the term "reset" to refer to the repair, recapitalization, 
and replacement of military equipment in order to restore units' 
equipment to a desired level of combat capability commensurate with 
mission requirements and availability of resources. 

[15] Rolling stock is a subset of class VII equipment and includes 
wheeled vehicles, tracked combat vehicles, wheeled/tracked 
construction equipment, trailers, semi-trailers, and standard trailer- 
mounted equipment such as generators. 

[16] Army Field Manual 3-100.21 (100-21), Contractors on the 
Battlefield (Jan. 3, 2003). While this guidance is Army-specific, it 
was incorporated by reference into the MNF-I drawdown plan. 

[17] Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Operation Planning (Dec. 26, 2006). 

[18] GAO, Defense Management: Actions Needed to Overcome Long-Standing 
Challenges with Weapon Systems Acquisition and Service Contract 
Management, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-362T] 
(Washington, D.C.: Feb. 11, 2009). 

[19] Joint Publication 4-10, Operational Contract Support (Oct 17, 
2008) and Army Field Manual 3-100.21. 

[20] These are, respectively, the Global Maintenance and Supply 
Services contracts for Iraq and Kuwait, which expired in September 
2009 but were extended to December 2009; the Combat Service Support-
Kuwait contract, which expired in July 2009 but was extended until 
December 2009; and the HEAVYLIFT VI contract, which expired in January 
2010 but was extended until March 2010. 

[21] The new contracts will be awarded under Field Installation 
Readiness Support Team, Kuwait Base Operations and Security Support 
Services, and HEAVYLIFT VII respectively. 

[22] The Global Maintenance and Supply Support-Iraq contract was re- 
competed and a task order was issued in October 2009. 

[23] Army Regulation 11-33, Army Lessons Learned Program (Oct. 17, 
2006). 

[24] Prior to returning to the United States all materiel and 
equipment must be cleaned to U.S. Department of Agriculture standards. 
To meet these standards of cleanliness, all materiel vehicles 
returning to the United States are pressure washed on wash racks in 
Kuwait. 

[25] Joint Publication 4-10, Operational Contract Support (Oct. 17, 
2008) and Joint Publication 5-0. 

[26] Sustainment contracts provide supplies and services to deployed 
U.S. forces, such as food services and housing. 

[27] Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) § 7.102(b). 

[28] FAR § 7.105(a). One consideration could be the availability of 
options under existing contracts, which may generally be exercised if 
they are the "most advantageous" method of fulfilling the government's 
needs based on price and other factors, such as continuity and 
potential costs of disrupting operations. FAR § 17.207. 

[29] DOD Instruction 5000.02, Operation of the Defense Acquisition 
System, encl. 9 (Dec. 8, 2008) and Memorandum from the Office of the 
Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics), 
Peer Reviews of Contracts for Supplies and Services (Sep. 29, 2008). 

[30] GAO, Military Operations: Implementation of Existing Guidance and 
Other Actions Needed to Improve DOD's Oversight and Management of 
Contractors in Future Operations, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-436T] (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 24, 
2008) and Military Operations: High Level DOD Action Needed to Address 
Longstanding Problems with the Management and Oversight of Contractors 
Supporting Deployed Forces, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-07-145] (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 18, 
2006). 

[31] Joint Publication 4-10. 

[32] High-and medium-risk services are those services which, if 
provided in a manner inconsistent with the contract, would have a 
negative impact on mission success or be harmful to life, health, and 
safety. Dining facilities and power generation are considered high-
risk services, while postal operations are considered medium risk. 

[33] GAO, Defense Logistics: The Army Needs to Implement an Effective 
Management and Oversight Plan for the Equipment Maintenance Contract 
in Kuwait, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-316R] 
(Washington, D.C.: Jan. 22, 2008). 

[34] For a summary, see [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-436T]. 

[35] GAO, Military Operations: DOD Needs to Address Contract Oversight 
and Quality Assurance Issues for Contracts Used to Support Contingency 
Operations, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-1087] 
(Washington, D.C.: Sept. 26, 2008). 

[36] DOD, Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq: September 2009 
Report to Congress In accordance with the Department of Defense 
Supplemental Appropriations Act 2008 (Section 9204, Public Law 110-
252) (September 2009). 

[37] Lean Six Sigma, a disciplined process improvement methodology, 
has been endorsed by DOD leadership as a key means by which the 
department will become more efficient in its operations and more 
effective in its support of the warfighter. On April 30, 2007, the 
Deputy Secretary of Defense directed the establishment of a program 
office to drive DOD-wide activities associated with Lean Six Sigma. 

[38] The Army Prepositioned Stocks program supports the National 
Military Strategy by strategically prepositioning critical war stocks 
afloat and ashore worldwide and, thus, reducing the deployment 
response times of the modular expeditionary Army. 

[39] Theater Sustainment Stocks are a pool of military equipment in 
theater that can be used to expedite the replacement of equipment 
damaged during operations. 

[40] For simplicity, we use the term "contractor acquired property" to 
include all items that the contractor manages expressly to perform the 
contract, including items given to the contractor by the U.S. 
government (government furnished equipment) and items 
acquired/fabricated by the contractor using U.S. government funds. 

[41] FAR §§ 45.105, 52.245-1. 

[End of section] 

GAO's Mission: 

The Government Accountability Office, the audit, evaluation and 
investigative arm of Congress, exists to support Congress in meeting 
its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance 
and accountability of the federal government for the American people. 
GAO examines the use of public funds; evaluates federal programs and 
policies; and provides analyses, recommendations, and other assistance 
to help Congress make informed oversight, policy, and funding 
decisions. GAO's commitment to good government is reflected in its core 
values of accountability, integrity, and reliability. 

Obtaining Copies of GAO Reports and Testimony: 

The fastest and easiest way to obtain copies of GAO documents at no 
cost is through GAO's Web site [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov]. Each 
weekday, GAO posts newly released reports, testimony, and 
correspondence on its Web site. To have GAO e-mail you a list of newly 
posted products every afternoon, go to [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov] 
and select "E-mail Updates." 

Order by Phone: 

The price of each GAO publication reflects GAO’s actual cost of
production and distribution and depends on the number of pages in the
publication and whether the publication is printed in color or black and
white. Pricing and ordering information is posted on GAO’s Web site, 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/ordering.htm]. 

Place orders by calling (202) 512-6000, toll free (866) 801-7077, or
TDD (202) 512-2537. 

Orders may be paid for using American Express, Discover Card,
MasterCard, Visa, check, or money order. Call for additional 
information. 

To Report Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in Federal Programs: 

Contact: 

Web site: [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/fraudnet/fraudnet.htm]: 
E-mail: fraudnet@gao.gov: 
Automated answering system: (800) 424-5454 or (202) 512-7470: 

Congressional Relations: 

Ralph Dawn, Managing Director, dawnr@gao.gov: 
(202) 512-4400: 
U.S. Government Accountability Office: 
441 G Street NW, Room 7125: 
Washington, D.C. 20548: 

Public Affairs: 

Chuck Young, Managing Director, youngc1@gao.gov: 
(202) 512-4800: 
U.S. Government Accountability Office: 
441 G Street NW, Room 7149: 
Washington, D.C. 20548: