An audit report published by the inspector general of the United States Department of Defense, has revealed that the military Central Command (Pentagon) cannot account for $223 million in orders placed in the current international military operation against the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The international military operation against ISIS started in June 2014. The United States is the leader of the coalition, and claims to provide troops, logistic and technical support.
According to the damning report, the Pentagon is unable to account for the money due to inaccurate record-keeping and poor guidance.
The inspector general said specifically that auditors were unable to verify the accuracy of 72 United States Army Central Command ACSA orders, valued at more than $202 million, due to a lack of supporting documentation.
The auditor also made it known that in addition to the $202 million that cannot be accounted for, the accuracy and status of 70 United States Air Force Central Command ACSA orders, which are valued at more than $21 million, were also unknown. This is due to the incorrect or incomplete methods used to post transactions. This means that, in total, the Pentagon cannot account for $223 million.
According to the report, the Defense Department reviewed 175 of 576 ACSA orders placed between June 2014 and September 2015. The Department found that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff did not have assurance that 142 orders placed by United States Army and Air Force personnel, valued at $223 million, were accurate or had been reimbursed.
Assistant inspector general for Contract Management and Payments, Michael Roark made a very worrying remark regarding the missing money. According to him, United States commanders involved in the operation against ISIS do not have assurance that deployed forces are obtaining the logistics support, supplies and services necessary to effectively and efficiently sustain United States and coalition forces during contingencies and operations.
The report on the audit was filed on March 24, 2016. It was posted on the inspector general’s website. The report made it clear that the United States Defense Department did not have effective controls on the Global Automated Tracking and Reporting System (AGATRS).
AGATRS is a web-based records system that tracks, builds and manages Acquisition and Cross-Service Agreement (ACSA) orders in support of efforts against the Islamic State. ACSAs are bilateral agreements between the Defense Department and foreign entities for the exchange of logistics support, supplies and services.
The inspector general noted that personnel did not include essential data elements on ACSA orders, and failed to upload source documents to justify line items on the orders. In addition, the personnel did not close the orders properly within the AGATRS system.
Some of the missing information included the name and mailing address of the organization issuing or receiving the order, signatures, and the date and place of the original transfer. As a result, United States commanders had a limited ability to maintain oversight of ACSA transactions executed in support of the operation against ISIS.
The Auditor-General therefore recommended that United States commanders with the Joint Chiefs of Staff should begin taking corrective action to bring the ACSA guidelines into alignment with the Defense Department’s requirements.
Since the international military intervention against ISIS began, some observers have criticized the manner in which operations are being carried out by the Central Command. Observers have warned that due diligence has to be observed, in order to avoid the mess and the chaos committed by the Central Command during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
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Well gooolllyyyy, is that a coincidence.
Has anybody asked “Satan’s little helpers: the cherry marines”, yet?
Sooner or later one of them is going to talk, fo sho!
(google it for an interesting reading…)
You think all the off shore accounts recently uncovered could play a part in locating these funds? I think so.
2.3 trillion went missing, then the Twin Towers came down.
Common sense start in recovery is the pensions and salaries of those responsible
I think that if you check US Central Command (CENTCOM) is headquartered at MacDill AFB in Florida. While I readily believe the gist of the report, getting simple facts wrong in my view leads me to question the credibility of the author of the article.