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Report | March 17, 2023

Audit of the Air Force Contract Augmentation Program’s Oversight of Operation Allies Welcome Contracts at DoD Installations (DODIG-2023-056)

Audit

Publicly Released: March 21, 2023

Objective

The objective of this audit was to determine whether Air Force contracting personnel executed contract administration procedures for supplies and services supporting the relocation of Afghan evacuees at DoD installations in support of Operation Allies Welcome in accordance with Federal and DoD policies.

 

Background

On August 29, 2021, the President directed the Department of Homeland Security to lead and coordinate ongoing efforts across the Government to support vulnerable Afghans as they safely resettled in the United S states. To support the Afghan resettlement effort, the DoD provided temporary housing facilities for Afghan evacuees within the continental United States at eight installations. At each installation, the DoD was responsible for providing Afghan evacuees with essential supplies and services such as meals, medical services, and facilities sustainment services. This report focuses on the contracts for services that provided support at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, and Joint Base McGuire-Dix- Lakehurst, New Jersey. During the course of Operation Allies Welcome, government personnel and contractors provided support to over 7,000 Afghan evacuees at Holloman Air Force Base and over 14,000 Afghan evacuees at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

The Air Force Contract Augmentation Program is a contingency contract tool for use by Government entities needing urgent assistance. The Air Force Contract Augmentation Program uses pre-qualified vendors to provide cost effective solutions to meet urgent needs. In addition, the Air Force Contract Augmentation Program supports a wide spectrum of activities including irregular and unconventional warfare, disaster response, domestic emergencies, humanitarian response, and civil assistance.

 

Finding

Air Force contracting personnel executed contract administration procedures for medical, dining, and facility supplies and services supporting the relocation of Afghan evacuees in accordance with Federal and DoD policies. In addition, Air Force personnel performed effective oversight to ensure that invoices included reasonable costs.

As a result, the DoD provided Afghan evacuees at Holloman Air Force Base and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst with essential support services while the evacuees completed the steps necessary to resettle in the United States. In addition, Air Force contracting personnel properly oversaw $1.3 billion of taxpayer funds spent in support of this mission. Furthermore, through interviews with Air Force contracting personnel and review of contract documentation, we identified ways that contracting personnel and prime contractors reduced costs by $67.8 million while responding to an urgent need.

 

Recommendations

We did not make any recommendations in this report.
 

This report is a result of (Project No. D2022- D000RJ-0133.001)