Inquiry Letter: DOD Efforts to Eliminate Ghost Personnel from ANDSF Systems
Abstract
I am writing to request information regarding your department's efforts to ensure accuracy across the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) personnel accountability systems, particularly given recent reports of "ghost" soldiers and police, particularly in Helmand Province. Since 2002, Congress has appropriated over $68 billion in support of the ANDSF, including funding for ANDSF salaries. Persistent reports indicating discrepancies between the assigned force strength of the ANDSF and the actual number of personnel serving raise questions regarding whether the U.S. government is taking adequate steps to prevent taxpayer funds from being spent on so-called "ghost" soldiers. My office has raised concerns in the past that the U.S. government has been relying on inaccurate data when determining how much it will spend on ANDSF salaries. In January 2015 we reported that more than $300 million in annual, U.S.-funded salary payments to the Afghan National Police were based on only partially verified or reconciled data, and that there was no assurance that personnel and payroll data were accurate. We found similar deficiencies during the course of our April 2015 audit of Afghan National Army personnel and payroll data. There are continuing reports of significant gaps between the assigned force strength of the ANDSF and the actual number of personnel serving. As stated in our July 2016 quarterly report, U.S. Forces Afghanistan reported that in the quarter ending June 2016 "ANDSF assigned force strength was 319,595 (not including civilians)." However, the Associated Press previously reported an Afghan official as indicating that "the best internal estimate put the number around 120,000, less than a third of what is needed to secure the country."
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 05, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1139972
Entities
People
- John Sopko
Organizations
- Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction