From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: DOD's Oversight and Use of Private Security Contractors Description: After the September 11th attacks and during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that followed, the Department of Defense significantly increased its use of private security contractors. Given this growth and concerns about security contractors' behavior abroad, many countries, including the U.S., have said that nations have an obligation to ensure their contractors respect international humanitarian law. We'll find out more about DOD's use and oversight of these contractors from GAO's Tina Won Sherman. Related GAO Work: GAO-21-255, Private Security Contractors: DOD Needs to Better Identify and Monitor Personnel and Contracts Released: July 2021 [Intro Music] [Tina Won Sherman:] While the department has made efforts and invested resources to better manage its private security contractors, it could do more. [Holly Hobbs:] Hi and welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report. Your source for news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office celebrating 100 years, of fact-based, nonpartisan government oversight. I'm Holly Hobbs. After the September 11th attacks and during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that followed, the Department of Defense significantly increased its use of private security contractors. Given this growth and concerns about security contractors' behavior abroad, many countries, including the U.S., have said that nations have an obligation to ensure their contractors respect international humanitarian law. Here at GAO we were tasked by Congress to assess how DOD is overseeing its use of private security contractors. Today we'll find out more from Tina Won Sherman, an expert on defense management operations and an acting director in our Defense Capabilities and Management Team. Thank you for joining us, Tina. [Tina Won Sherman:] Thank you, Holly. [Holly Hobbs:] So, Tina, what exactly do private security contractors do, and when might DOD use them rather than military servicemembers? [Tina Won Sherman:] Sure, private security contractors are hired by the U.S. government to perform services such as guarding individuals and equipment. Some of those services require carrying a weapon--for example, when protecting the perimeter of a military base. But that weapon can only be used for self-defense. Using private security contractors frees up military service members to perform activities that the government's required to do, such as directly supporting military combat operations in hostile environments. [Holly Hobbs:] And have the ways we use or rely on private security contractors changed over the years? [Tina Won Sherman:] Holly, the way private security contractors have been used has not changed. However, from the early 2000s to about 2014, the U.S. government did increase its reliance on private security contractors. This was due in large part to two critical missions--Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. So at the height of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, there were, according to DOD, about 16,000 armed personnel performing private security services. Last year in 2020, that number was down to 1,500. But those numbers don't capture the total number of personnel who are performing private security services, such as those that are unarmed. [Holly Hobbs:] And I know in our report we expressed concerns that DOD doesn't know the full number of contractors it employs. This seems like an issue that would limit its oversight, right? [Tina Won Sherman:] Yeah, so we've reported for several years that the Department of Defense lacks complete information about the number of contractors it employs. So it's not entirely surprising that the department doesn't have a full picture of its private security contractors, including how many it has, how much they cost, where they're located, the types of operations they are supporting, and whether or not they are armed. We learned during this review that DOD is information systems don't capture all of the contracts and personnel that are performing private security services. One of the reasons for this is that the department doesn't have a consistent definition for private security services. So job titles such as security guard and police patrol officer fall under that umbrella, while other job titles such as police detective or sheriff's patrol officers do not. [Holly Hobbs:] And our report points to some negative attention that the U.S. received involving private security contractors--including incidents where civilians were killed and prisoners were abused. How did DOD respond or change how it monitors contractors to ensure these types of events don't occur again? [Tina Won Sherman:] Since 2009, the department has updated and clarified roles and responsibilities for overseeing private security contractors. It's also worked with standard setting organizations to ensure that the principles that private security companies are to follow align with and respect humanitarian law. However, we learned that despite these steps, the department does not fully monitor the roles and responsibilities by various oversight entities and also doesn't ensure that those standards and principles to respect humanitarian law are being adhered to. This is important for the department in order to minimize the likelihood of such incidents from occurring again. [Music:] [Holly Hobbs:] So it sounds like the Department of Defense has taken steps to improve its oversight of private security contractors, but that its efforts are limited because it doesn't know the number of contractors it currently employs and it hasn't taken steps to ensure its standards for contractors are being used. Tina, did we make any recommendations to help DOD improve its oversight? [Tina Won Sherman:] We did. We made a recommendation to the department to determine a consistent definition for the types of services that private security contractors perform and communicate that to relevant entities. We also recommended the department identifying its information systems, all of the personnel and contractors tied to private security services. And finally, we recommended that the department assign a senior level position to oversee and monitor the roles and responsibilities for private security contractors. [Holly Hobbs:] And last question. What's the bottom line of this report? [Tina Won Sherman:] While the department has made efforts and invested resources to better manage its private security contractors, it could do more. This is especially important in the event that the U.S. government enters into a future operation where they will rely more heavily on private security contractors once again. So a continued focus on this area by the department is incredibly important. [Holly Hobbs:] That was Tina Won Sherman talking about GAO's new report on private security contractors. Thank you for your time, Tina. [Tina Won Sherman:] Thank you, Holly. [Holly Hobbs:] And thank you for listening to the Watchdog Report. To hear more podcasts, subscribe to us on Apple podcast, Stitcher, Google podcasts and more, and make sure you leave a rating, a review to let others know about the work we're doing. For more from the congressional watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, visit us at GAO.gov.