GAO: DEFENSE MANAGEMENT - Actions Needed to Address Stakeholder Concerns, Improve Interagency Collaboration, and Determine Full Costs Associated with the U.S. Africa Command

GAO: DEFENSE MANAGEMENT - Actions Needed to Address Stakeholder Concerns, Improve Interagency Collaboration, and Determine Full Costs Associated with the U.S. Africa Command

March 25, 2009
Highlights of GAO-09-181, a report to Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House of Representatives

In February 2007, the President directed the Department of Defense (DOD) to establish the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) to help strengthen U.S. security cooperation with African nations and bring peace and stability to the continent. For this review, GAO assessed DOD’s (1) efforts to establish the command and communicate its mission, (2) progress in integrating personnel from other U.S. government agencies into AFRICOM, and (3) plans and costs for establishing a permanent headquarters and supporting offices in Africa. In assessing DOD’s efforts to establish AFRICOM, GAO analyzed relevant documentation and obtained perspectives from the combatant commands, military services, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Department of State (State), U. S. Agency for International Development, and nongovernmental organizations.

What GAO Recommends
GAO recommends that AFRICOM include three key elements in its communications strategy, seek formal commitments for interagency personnel, and develop a comprehensive assessment of the possible locations of its permanent command headquarters and offices in Africa. In responding to a draft of this report, DOD partially agreed with GAO’s recommendations and noted that in some cases it was already taking action.

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