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Report | Nov. 22, 2021

Semiannual Report to the Congress – April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021

DoD OIG

Publicly Released: November 23, 2021

The Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, requires the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) to prepare semiannual reports summarizing its activities for the preceding 6-month period. These semiannual reports are intended to keep the Secretary of Defense and Congress fully informed of significant findings, progress the DoD has made relating to those findings, and recommendations for improvement.

For the reporting period of April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021, the DoD OIG issued 63 audit and evaluation reports, with 276 recommendations to the DoD for improvement.

The DoD OIG also completed multiple criminal investigations, some conducted jointly with other law enforcement organizations, resulting in 154 arrests, 139 criminal charges, 124 criminal convictions, $360.8 million in civil judgments and settlements, and $456.3 million in criminal fines, penalties, and restitution ordered. In addition, the DoD OIG completed 15 senior official, reprisal, and restriction investigations, and oversaw 152 senior official, reprisal, and restriction investigations completed by the Military Service and Defense Agency OIGs. The DoD OIG also issued quarterly reports on two overseas contingency operations and two management advisories to the DoD related to the withdrawal from Afghanistan. These accomplishments, among others, are discussed in more detail throughout the report.

The DoD Inspector General, as the Lead Inspector General (IG), works closely with our oversight partners from the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as other partner agencies, to conduct oversight of two overseas contingency operations, in Syria and Iraq, and in Afghanistan. During this reporting period, the Afghan government and its security forces collapsed, and the Taliban took control of the country. Although some ongoing and planned oversight projects related to Afghanistan have been terminated, the Lead IG agencies are identifying new oversight projects to be conducted in FY 2022.

The DoD OIG continues to provide oversight of the $10.6 billion in additional Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding Congress appropriated to the DoD for the coronavirus disease–2019 (COVID-19) response for FY 2021. As of September 30, 2021, the DoD OIG’s had issued 8 reports related to the pandemic response. In addition, the DoD OIG is currently conducting 9 audits or evaluations, 52 criminal investigations, and 2 administrative investigations related to COVID-19. The quarterly DoD OIG COVID-19 Oversight Plan describes our independent audits, evaluations, and investigations of DoD programs, operations, and activities being executed in response to COVID-19.

The DoD OIG’s Administrative Investigations Component completed several significant reports of investigation. For example, the DoD OIG investigated allegations that Mr. Brett J. Goldstein, Director, Defense Digital Service, fostered a negative work environment by failing to treat his subordinates with dignity and respect. The DoD OIG also investigated whether Mr. Goldstein used and condoned the use of an unauthorized electronic messaging and voice-calling application to discuss official DoD information. The DoD OIG did not substantiate the allegation related to dignity and respect, and substantiated the allegation related to the use of Signal, an unauthorized electronic messages system. Also during this reporting period, the former The Judge Advocate General of the Army repeatedly resisted providing the DoD OIG access to the evidence necessary to complete a special review we began in May 2019 to assess the Army’s decision not to prosecute the subject of Criminal Investigation Command sexual assault investigation. This delayed access matter is discussed further in the Other Oversight Matters section of the SAR.

Also during this reporting period, we established Ms. Theresa Hull, formerly an Assistant Inspector General in our Audit Component, to lead our Diversity and Inclusion and Extremism in the Military (DIEM) Component as its permanent Deputy Inspector General. Ms. Hull replaces Ms. Stephanie Wright, who served as the first Deputy Inspector General for DIEM while on a temporary detail from another OIG.

These are just a few examples of DoD OIG accomplishments during this semiannual reporting period. The accomplishments reflected throughout this report are the result of the outstanding work by many DoD OIG employees.