Publicly Released: December 21, 2022
The purpose of this management advisory is to inform DoD leadership of the circumstances that arose from the substantial restoration activities at the temporary housing sites that supported Operation Allies Refuge (OAR) and Operation Allies Welcome (OAW).
The DoD installation restoration activities presented in this advisory were identified while conducting fieldwork in support of our ongoing “Audit of DoD Reporting on Obligations and Expenditures in Support of Operation Allies Welcome” (Project No. D2022-D000FI-0095.000). The objective of this audit is to determine whether the DoD properly recorded OAW obligations and expenditures for their intended purpose. Because the circumstances identified in this advisory are not directly related to our announced audit objective, we are issuing this advisory and will issue another product related to DoD’s reporting on obligations and expenditures in support of OAW.
The audit team conducted several interviews to understand the DoD’s financing of restoration activities, the OAW financial reporting process, and the costs incurred to support the mission. The audit team also visited Camp Atterbury to view the damage to facilities sustained during the OAW mission. DoD Components dedicated significant resources and infrastructure to support the OAW mission. However, DoD Components encountered challenges in obtaining funds to restore damaged facilities, equipment, and resupply consumables.
The interagency partners, as well as the commands directly and indirectly responsible for the relocation of Afghan evacuees, should read this advisory to be aware of the challenges and opportunities related to the restoration activities for DoD installations during OAR and OAW. Additionally, this management advisory serves as a lessons learned for future operations related to using DoD installations for humanitarian aid.
We considered management’s comments on a discussion draft copy of this management advisory when preparing this final memorandum. The Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Partnerships concurred with the recommendations, but also stated that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment and the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer need to be the action officers for four of the five recommendations. As a result, we updated the recommendations to reflect the action officers identified by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Partnerships. We request that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment, the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Partnerships provide formal comments on the recommendations in response to the final memorandum.