DOD Task Force for Business and Stability Operations: $675 Million in Spending Led to Mixed Results, Waste, and Unsustained Projects

Abstract

The Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO) was a temporary organization created by the Department of Defense (DOD) to support operations in Iraq. However, in 2009, DOD redirected TFBSO to carry out economic development projects in Afghanistan. TFBSO operated in Afghanistan from 2010 through 2014. Congress appropriated approximately $823 million for TFBSO operations in Afghanistan, and according to contracts we were able to review, TFBSO obligated more than $675 million in contracts. Of that amount, $316.3 million was obligated in direct support of projects related to agriculture, banking, oil and gas, indigenous industries, and mining. Of the remaining $359.5million, approximately $299.8 million was obligated on indirect costs in support of TFBSO's projects and $59.7 million on general and administrative costs. SIGAR conducted this audit at the request of Senator Charles E. Grassley and then-Senator Kelly A. Ayotte. They sent separate letters in January 2016 requesting that SIGAR conduct a comprehensive performance audit of all TFBSO programs and activities in Afghanistan. The objectives of this audit were to assess (1) the extent to which TFBSO and U.S. agencies collected data and maintained documentation for TFBSO's projects and activities; (2) how TFBSO devised and communicated its mission, objectives, and strategy, and then coordinated its activities with other U.S. government agencies; (3) how TFBSO planned, awarded, and oversaw contracts and grants to implement its projects; (4) the extent to which TFBSO's projects and activities met their contracted deliverables; and (5) the extent to which TFBSO planned to transfer its projects and assets to the Department of State (State) or the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID), or otherwise arranged for them to be operated and maintained.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2018
Accession Number
AD1139858

Entities

People

  • John Sopko

Organizations

  • Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Business Administration
  • Commerce
  • Contract Administration
  • Contracts
  • Environment
  • Geography
  • Information Systems
  • Law
  • Management Personnel
  • National Security
  • Natural Resources
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Systems Engineering
  • United States
  • Warfare
  • Water Resources

Readers

  • Defense Financial Management and Audit.
  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.