Concern grows over Defense-to-State transition in Iraq

The State Department lacks the expertise, training or core competency to assume control of security operations in Iraq once the U.S. military permanently departs the country at the end of 2011, a congressionally chartered commission told lawmakers on Thursday.

This means State will have to rely on contractors for support for activities that include many inherently governmental functions, Commission on Wartime Contracting members said during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing. In addition, State and the Defense Department are not engaging in adequate high-level transition coordination, witnesses said.

Most problematic, according to commissioners, is that Defense has sat for six months on a State Department request to use the Army's massive Logistics Civil Augmentation contract for food and fuel. Defense also has yet to decide whether to grant State's request for military equipment to support security responsibilities once troops depart.

"We are now entering into an unprecedented phase of contingency transitioning between Defense and State, and there is no clear guiding policy," said Michael Thibault, the commission's co-chairman. "As a result, planning is taking the form of what can be called a 'pickup game.' … This approach stands to lead to organizational confusion, poor planning, the potential for contract overruns and waste, and an entirely new role for contractors on the battlefield."

The commission outlined many of its transition concerns in a July report.

Commissioner Grant Green, former undersecretary of State for management during the George W. Bush administration, said coordination between State and Defense is generally occurring at the middle-management level, leading to bureaucratic delays. "We need someone [at Defense] to make a decision and move on this," he said.

As a result of Defense's slow response, State has begun developing dual contracting strategies -- one assuming the requests for support are approved and the other presupposing they are denied. If the requests are turned down, State plans to greatly expand its contractor workforce to fill gaps.

"The need to develop two separate plans is simply the result of the Department of Defense's reluctance to articulate where and how they can best support the Defense-to-State transition in Iraq," Thibault said. "Senior-level leadership at the State and DoD secretarial level needs to engage and provide direction on this process. It is simply too important to do otherwise."

No matter the Pentagon's decision, State acknowledges it will have to rely more on support contractors. The department's contractor workforce will increase from 2,700 to between 6,000 and 7,000 personnel, State officials told the commission during a July hearing.

Contractors likely will be hired to conduct emergency medical evacuations, remove improvised explosive devices, lead convoy security and return fire from insurgents. The commissioners on Thursday said many of the functions qualify as inherently governmental but State, without the funding or training to perform these responsibilities, has few alternatives.

Oversight and Government Reform Committee members were visibly distressed with the predicament and many called on Defense to continue managing battlefield functions. "We are just rearranging the deck chairs, replacing the military with contractors who will be supervised by State," said Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif.

Complicating the situation further is State's reputation for weak and inefficient war zone contracting management. "State's contract administration and enforcement efforts need strengthening," said Stuart Bowen Jr., special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. "State should plan to expand its efforts by employing the most qualified contracting professionals in government for help on these acquisition projects, at least in the near term."

Committee Chairman Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., said continued vigilance is critical. "We cannot sit on the sidelines and hope these problems take care of themselves," he said. "The risks are too high to botch the transition and we cannot turn a blind eye to reckless contractors."