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 through September, 2022, the DoD OIG issued 60 audit and evaluation reports and management advisories, 2 administrative reports of investigation, and 1 report from our Diversity and Inclusion and Extremism in the Military (DIEM) Component, with 256 recommendations to the DoD for improvement.
The DoD OIG also completed 221 criminal investigations, some conducted jointly with other law enforcement organizations, resulting in 119 arrests, 122 criminal charges, 89 criminal convictions, $128.8 million in civil judgments and settlements, and $190.3 million in criminal fines, penalties, and restitution. In addition, the DoD OIG completed 10 senior official, whistleblower reprisal, and Service member restriction investigations, and oversaw 160 senior official, whistleblower reprisal, and Service member restriction investigations completed by the Military Service and Defense agency OIGs. The DoD OIG also continued to provide oversight of funding Congress appropriated to the DoD for the COVID-19 response.
As the Lead Inspector General (IG), the DoD IG works closely with our oversight partners, the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development IGs, as well as other partner agencies, to conduct oversight of overseas contingency operations. During the report period, those operations included Operation Inherent Resolve in Syria and Iraq and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel and Operation Enduring Sentinel in Afghanistan. Lead IG work this reporting period included continued oversight related to DoD support for Afghan evacuees.
Also during this reporting period, our Diversity and Inclusion and Extremism in the Military (DIEM) made significant progress. DIEM issued a management advisory to inform DoD officials that race codes and categories used in the Military Health System Data repository did not comply with DoD or Office of Management and Budget regulations. In addition, DIEM coordinated with other DoD OIG Components to perform audits, evaluations, and investigations related to diversity and inclusion, extremism, and prohibited activities.
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.