Inspector General (IG) Robert P. Storch announced today that the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) released the “Audit of DoD Training of Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF),” which highlights the DoD’s training of Ukrainians on U.S. provided equipment.
The report, released today, examines the DoD’s training of UAF on U.S. provided equipment such as howitzers, mortars, and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket system. The 7th Army Training Command (ATC) facilitated the training at Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany, in an expedited timeframe.
We did not identify any instance when the 7th ATC did not provide UAF-requested operational or maintenance training. However, the report identifies a backlog of requests for translated material, such as technical manuals, for the equipment transferred to Ukraine under Presidential Drawdown Authority. Specifically, the DoD was not able to provide some translated materials during the training, which would have aided Ukrainians in their training on the equipment. The DoD initiated action to reduce the backlog and provide translated materials for training before the DoD OIG issued this report.
IG Storch stated, “Ensuring that Ukrainian forces are proficient in using the equipment provided by the DoD is critically important. Such proficiency leads to greater mission success and reduces the likelihood of use of U.S.-provided equipment in a way that could lead to the equipment failing or becoming unusable.”
Based on our findings, the DoD OIG did not make recommendations in the report. However, the report is the first in a series of DoD OIG products pertaining to the DoD’s training of the UAF. Subsequent products will examine the DoD’s training of the UAF to operate and maintain the Patriot long-range air defense missile system and the DoD’s collective training of UAF brigades.