The office in charge of keeping tabs on U.S. spending to rebuild Afghanistan and its security forces is concerned the Pentagon is wasting money buying military equipment the country’s U.S.-trained military and national police forces don’t need.
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko sent a letter Sept. 17 to Gen. John Campbell, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Maj. Gen Todd Semonite, chief of the Combined Security Transition Command, laying out his concerns over $634 million in equipment purchases for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF).
At least $110 billion has been spent to build, train and equip the ANDSF, promote development and on counter-narcotics and anti-corruption efforts since 2002, according to SIGAR, which is tasked with independently overseeing spending on Afghan reconstruction. The Afghan Security Forces Fund, one of seven the U.S. created for reconstruction and development in the country, received a $4.1 billion appropriation in the current fiscal year bringing it to a total $60.6 billion.
“I am concerned that we may be buying equipment and vehicles in quantities that exceed the needs of the ANDSF,” Sopko wrote in the Sept. 11 letter released to the public on Thursday. “I am also concerned that such large acquisitions could prompt the premature disposal of equipment and vehicles that have already been issued to the ANDSF and that have significant service life remaining.”
Sopko listed four specific procurements that he said were of particular concern. Topping the list was $166 million worth of Humvees for the Afghan National Army (ANA), followed by $35 million worth of M16-A4 rifles for the Afghan National Police, $381 million worth of medium tactical vehicles (MTV) for the ANA and $52 million in ammunition for the ANA.
The letter implies that the Defense Department purchased brand-new Humvees and MTVs, though used trucks may have sufficed.
“Regarding the MTVs and [Humvees], how did CSTC-A determine that brand-new vehicles were needed?” Sopko wrote. “What is the delivery schedule for these vehicles?”
SIGAR wants to find out, among other things, if Afghan officials were involved in generating the requirements for each procurement and if procurement requirements were reevaluated at any point to ensure that the Afghans still needed the items.
The letter requests a response by Oct. 15 detailing the final quantity of equipment in each purchase and how Semonite’s office determined the quantity needed for the various Afghan forces. Sopko also wants to know whether the Defense Department considered issuing the ANDSF surplus U.S. equipment rather than purchasing new weapons and vehicles and whether Afghan officials were consulted on their forces’ equipment needs.