Table 3. U.S. Armed Forces and Contractor Personnel in Iraq

(Q4 F72007-Q1 FY2014; Q1 FY2015-Q3 FY2016Tracking Contractors During Contingency Operations

Since 2008, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has published quarterly contractor census reports, which provide aggregated data—including elements such as mission category and nationality—on contractors employed through DOD-funded contracts who are physically located within the CENTCOM area of responsibility.

Analysts and observers have previously raised questions about the reliability of the data gathered by DOD regarding the number of contractors it employs in theater in support of military operations.³ DOD officials, however, have stated that since 2009, the DOD has implemented a variety of mechanisms to improve the reliability of contractor data it gathers, including modifications to information technology systems, such as data collection systems like the joint Synchronized Predeployment and Operational Tracker (SPOT) database; updates and changes to related departmental policies; and changes in "leadership emphasis" within DOD and the combatant commands.⁴

For the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2016, CENTCOM reported 42,592 contractor personnel working for DOD within its area of responsibility, which included 28,189 individuals located in Afghanistan and Iraq.

From FY2007 to FY2016, obligations for all DOD-funded contracts performed within the Iraq and Afghanistan areas of operation totaled approximately $249 billion in FY2017 dollars.⁵

Force Management Levels for Deployed U.S. Armed Forces and DOD Usage of Contractors

Force management levels, sometimes also described as troop caps, troop ceilings, or force manning levels, establish bounds on the number of military personnel that may be deployed in a country or region. The executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government have historically used force management levels to guide the execution of certain overseas U.S. military operations, as well as the associated presence of DOD personnel. During the 1980s, for example, Congress used provisions within annual appropriations legislation to establish force management levels limiting the number of active duty U.S. military personnel stationed ashore in Europe.⁶ The Obama Administration used force management levels to manage the drawdown of the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, and to manage the U.S. military presence in Iraq and Syria under Operation Inherent Resolve.⁷ The Trump Administration has reportedly delegated the authority to establish force management levels for Iraq and Syria to the Secretary of Defense.⁸

Some observers and experts, however, have argued that such external "resource limits" have increased DOD's recent "reliance on…contractor and temporary duty personnel" to effectively execute ongoing military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.⁹ In February 2017, U.S. Army General John Nicholson, Commander of the NATO Resolute Support Mission and United States Forces–Afghanistan, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that DOD has had to "substitute contractors for soldiers in order to meet the force manning levels" in Afghanistan.¹⁰ While the drawdown of U.S. forces has contributed to a demonstrable increase in the ratio of contractors to uniformed service members in Afghanistan, it is difficult to assess if this increased ratio supports General Nicholson's assertion. Moreover, concern about DOD's use of contractors in contingency operations predates the Obama Administration's use of force management levels. For example, the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, in its 2011 final report to Congress, expressed its view that operations in Iraq and Afghanistan between FY2002 and FY2011 had led to an "unhealthy over-reliance" on contractors by DOD, Department of State, and USAID.¹¹

Private Security Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan

In Iraq and Afghanistan, armed and unarmed private security contractors have been employed to provide services such as protecting fixed locations; guarding traveling convoys; providing security escorts; and training police and military personnel. The number of private security contractor employees working for DOD in Iraq and Afghanistan has fluctuated significantly over time, and is dependent on a variety of factors, including current force management levels in-country and U.S. operational needs.

For the fourth quarter of FY2016, DOD reported 3,053 private security contractors in Afghanistan, with 813 categorized as armed private security contractors. DOD reported 239 security contractor personnel in Iraq during the same period, none of whom were identified as armed private security contractors. Private security contractors peaked in Afghanistan in 2012 at more than 28,000 and in Iraq in 2009 at more than 15,000.

U.S. Armed Forces and Contractor Personnel in Afghanistan, FY2007-FY2017

As of the fourth quarter of FY2016, 25,197 DOD contractor personnel were located in Afghanistan, compared to 9,800 U.S. troops, with contract personnel representing approximately 72% of the total DOD manpower in-country.¹² Approximately 36% of DOD's 25,197 reported individual contractors were U.S. citizens, approximately 23% were third-country nationals, and roughly 41% were local/host-country nationals.

Of the 25,197 DOD contractor personnel, about 3% were armed private security contractors.

Figure 1. U.S. Armed Forces and Contractor Personnel in Afghanistan

(Q4 FY2007-Q1 FY2017)

Source: Contractor levels drawn from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Quarterly Contractor Census Reports; troop levels drawn from "Boots on the Ground" monthly reports to Congress.

Notes: DOD did not begin releasing data on contractors in CENTCOM until Q4 FY2007. U.S. Armed Forces personnel figures include all active and reserve component personnel.

Table 1. U.S. Armed Forces and Contractor Personnel in Afghanistan

(Q4 FY2007-Q1 FY2017)

 

U.S. Armed Forces

Total Contractors

U.S. Nationals Contractors

Foreign and Host Country National Contractors

Q4 FY2007

24,056

29,473

3,387

26,086

Q1 FY2008

24,780

36,520

5,153

31,367

Q2 FY2008

28,650

52,336

4,220

48,116

Q3 FY2008

33,902

41,232

4,724

36,508

Q4 FY2008

33,450

68,252

5,405

62,847

Q1 FY2009

32,500

71,755

5,960

65,795

Q2 FY2009

38,350

68,197

9,378

58,819

Q3 FY2009

55,100

73,968

10,036

62,932

Q4 FY2009

62,300

104,101

9,322

94,779

Q1 FY2010

69,000

107,292

10,016

97,276

Q2 FY2010

79,100

112,092

16,081

96,011

Q3 FY2010

93,800

107,479

19,103

88,376

Q4 FY2010

96,600

70,599

20,874

49,725

Q1 FY2011

96,900

87,483

19,381

68,102

Q2 FY2011

99,800

90,339

20,413

69,926

Q3 FY2011

98,900

93,118

23,294

69,824

Q4 FY2011

98,200

101,789

23,190

78,599

Q1 FY2012

94,100

113,491

25,287

88,204

Q2 FY2012

88,200

117,227

34,765

82,462

Q3 FY2012

85,600

113,736

30,568

83,168

Q4 FY2012

76,500

109,564

31,814

77,750

Q1 FY2013

65,800

110,404

33,444

76,960

Q2 FY2013

65,700

107,796

33,107

74,689

Q3 FY2013

61,300

101,855

32,442

69,413

Q4 FY2013

55,800

85,528

27,188

58,340

Q1 FY2014

43,300

78,136,

23,763

54,373

Q2 FY2014

33,200

61,452

20,865

40,587

Q3 FY2014

31,400

51,489

17,404

34,085

Q4 FY2014

27,800

45,349

17,477

27,872

Q1 FY2015

10,600

39,609

14,222

25,387

Q2 FY2015

9,100

30,820

12,033

18,787

Q3 FY2015

9,060

28,931

10,019

18,912

Q4 FY2015

9,100

30,211

10,347

19,864

Q1 FY2016

8,930

30,455

10,151

20,304

Q2 FY2016

8,730

28,626

9,640

18,986

Q3 FY2016

9,365

26,435

8,837

17,598

Q4 FY2016

9,800

25,197

9,142

16,055

Q1 FY2017

Not Yet Available

26,022

9,474

16,548

Table 2. U.S. Armed Forces and Private Security Contractor Personnel in Afghanistan

(Q2 FY2008-Q1 FY2017)

 

U.S. Armed Forces

Total Private Security Contractors^a

U.S. National Private Security Contractors

Foreign and Host Country National Private Security Contractors

Q2 FY2008

28,650

6,982

167

6,815

Q3 FY2008

33,902

3,537

5

3,532

Q4 FY2008

33,450

3,847

9

3,838

Q1 FY2009

32,500

3,689

15

3,674

Q2 FY2009

38,350

4,373

17

4,356

Q3 FY2009

55,100

5,198

19

5,179

Q4 FY2009

62,300

11,423

76

11,347

Q1 FY2010

69,000

14,439

114

14,325

Q2 FY2010

79,100

16,733

140

16,593

Q3 FY2010

93,800

17,932

152

17,780

Q4 FY2010

96,600

18,869

197

18,672

Q1 FY2011

96,900

18,919

250

18,669

Q2 FY2011

99,800

18,971

250

18,721

Q3 FY2011

98,900

15,305

693

14,612

Q4 FY2011

98,200

21,544

603

20,941

Q1 FY2012

94,100

20,375

570

19,805

Q2 FY2012

88,200

26,612

519

26,093

Q3 FY2012

85,600

28,686

480

28,206

Q4 FY2012

76,500

18,914

2,014

16,850

Q1 FY2013

65,800

19,414

2,094

17,320

Q2 FY2013

65,700

17,993

1,378

16,615

Q3 FY2013

61,300

16,218

873

15,345

Q4 FY2013

55,800

14,056

844

13,212

Q1 FY2014

43,300

11,332

1,007

10,325

Q2 FY2014

33,200

5,591

641

4,950

Q3 FY2014

31,400

3,177

424

2,753

Q4 FY2014

27,800

2,472

252

2,220

Q1 FY2015

10,600

1,511

317

1,194

Q2 FY2015

9,100

1,525

398

1,127

Q3 FY2015

9,060

1,779

421

1,358

Q4 FY2015

9,100

1,655

312

1,343

Q1 FY2016

8,930

1,083

176

907

Q2 FY2016

8,730

872

125

747

Q3 FY2016

9,365

1,022

174

848

Q4 FY2016

9,800

813

145

668

Q1 FY2017

Not Yet Available

1,722

473

1,249

Sources: Contractor levels drawn from CENTCOM Quarterly Contractor Census Reports; force levels drawn from "Boots on the Ground" monthly reports to Congress.

Notes: DOD did not begin releasing data on private security contractor personnel levels within Afghanistan until Q2 FY2008. U.S. Armed Forces personnel figures include all active and reserve component personnel.

a. Includes most subcontractors and service contractors, armed and unarmed, hired by prime contractors under DOD contracts. U.S. Armed Forces and Contractor Personnel in Iraq, FY2007-FY2017

DOD ceased publicly reporting numbers of DOD contractor personnel working in Iraq in December 2013, following the conclusion of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn), and the subsequent drawdown of DOD contractor personnel levels in Iraq. In late 2014, in response in part to developing operations in the region, DOD reinitiated reporting broad estimates of DOD contractor personnel deployed in Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR). As the number of DOD contractor personnel in Iraq increased over the first six months of 2015, DOD resumed reporting exact numbers and primary mission categories of OIR contractor personnel in June 2015.

As of the fourth quarter of FY2016, there were 2,992 DOD contractor personnel in Iraq, compared to a force management level authorizing the presence of up to 4,087 U.S. troops in Iraq, primarily deployed as part of a U.S.-led coalition advise-and-assist mission in support of the Government of Iraq.¹³ Contract personnel would thus represent approximately 42% of the total estimated DOD personnel presence in-country. Approximately 61% of DOD's 2,992 reported individual contractors were U.S. citizens, approximately 25% were third-country nationals; and roughly 14% were local/host-country nationals.

Figure 2. U.S. Armed Forces and Contractor Personnel in Iraq

(Q4 F72007-Q1 FY2014; Q1 FY2015-Q1 FY2017)

Source: Force levels from Q4 FY2007-Q1FY2012 are drawn from the DOD's "Boots on the Ground" monthly reports to Congress. U.S. Armed Forces personnel figures for Q4 FY2007-Q1FY2012 include all active and reserve component personnel. Force levels for Q1FY2015-Q1FY2017 are drawn from the White House's semiannual "War Powers Resolution Report" to Congress. All listed contractor levels are drawn from CENTCOM Quarterly Contractor Census Reports.

Notes: DOD did not begin releasing data on private security contractor personnel levels in CENTCOM until Q1FY2008, and ceased reporting data on DOD-funded private security contractor personnel in Iraq in Q4 FY2013. As of Q1 FY2017, CENTCOM has not resumed reporting data on DOD-funded private security personnel in Iraq. See Table 3 for further discussion of recent U.S. troop and contractor levels in Iraq. Table 3. U.S. Armed Forces and Contractor Personnel in Iraq (Q4 F72007-Q1 FY2014; Q1 FY2015-Q1 FY2017)

Sources: Force levels from Q4 FY2007 to Up to 4,087^e

2,992

1,823

1,169

Q1 FY2017

Up to 5,262^f

3,592

2,035

1,557

Sources: Force levels from Q4 FY2007-Q1FY2012 are drawn from the DOD's "Boots on the Ground" monthly reports to Congress. U.S. Armed Forces personnel figures for Q4 FY2007-Q1FY2012 include all active and reserve component personnel. Force levels for Q1FY2015-Q2FY2016Q1FY2017 are drawn from the White House's semiannual "War Powers Resolution Report" to Congress. All listed contractor levels are drawn from USCENTCOMCENTCOM Quarterly Contractor Census Reports.

Notes: DOD did not begin releasing data on contractors in USCENTCOMCENTCOM until the second half of 2007, and initially ceased reporting data on DOD contractor personnel in Iraq in December 2013. Following the conclusion of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq, the "Boots on the Ground" monthly reports ceased providing separate force levels for Iraq. However, a residual U.S. force remained in county to provide embassy security and security cooperation assistance. Beginning in June 2014, in response to thesupport of U.S. military operations ofagainst the Islamic State (also known as ISIS/ISIL), additional U.S. military personnel were deployed to Iraq through OIR to advise and train Iraqi forces, serve as observers, and secure U.S. personnel and facilities. For further discussion of the U.S. and its coalition partners' efforts to combat the Islamic State, see CRS Report R43612, The Islamic State and U.S. Policy, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed], and CRS Report R44135, Coalition Contributions to Countering the Islamic State, by [author name scrubbed]. In Q1FY2015, USCENTCOMChristopher M. Blanchard and Carla E. Humud. In Q1FY2015, CENTCOM resumed releasing data on DOD contractor personnel in Iraq—as the "Boots on the Ground" reports do not currently provide OIR force levels, CRS is using the Force Management Levels for Iraq reported biannually by the White House, beginning with the December 2014 "Six Month Consolidated War Powers Resolution Report," to provide an indication of the current number of U.S. forces estimated to be in Iraq.

a. USCENTCOM CENTCOM reported that DOD contractors in Iraq from Q1FY2012 through Q1FY2014 were supporting both U.S. Mission Iraq and the Office of Security Cooperation Iraq.

b. Force Management Level for Iraq, as reported by The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, "Letter from the President—Six Month Consolidated War Powers Resolution Report," December 11, 2014, at https://www.whitehouseobamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/11/letter-president-six-month-consolidated-war-powers-resolution-report.

c. Force Management Level for Iraq, as reported by The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, "Letter from the President—Six Month Consolidated War Powers Resolution Report," June 11, 2015, at https://www.whitehouseobamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/06/11/letter-president-six-month-consolidated-war-powers-resolution-report.

d. Force Management Level for Iraq, as reported by The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, "Letter from the President—War Powers Resolution," December 11, 2015, at https://www.whitehouseobamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/12/11/letter-president-war-powers-resolution.

e. Force Management Level for Iraq, as reported by The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, "Letter from the President—War Powers Resolution," June 13, 2016, at https://www.whitehouseobamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/06/13/letter-president-war-powers-resolution.

f. Force Management Level for Iraq, as reported by The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, "Letter from the President—Supplemental 6-month War Powers Letter," December 5, 2016, at https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/12/05/letter-president-supplemental-6-month-war-powers-letter. Table 4. U.S. Armed Forces and Private Security Contractors in Iraq

(Q1 FY2008-Q4 FY2013)

 

U.S. Armed Forces

Total Private Security Contractors^a

U.S. National Private Security Contractors

Foreign and Host Country National Private Security Contractors

Q1 FY2008

161,783

9,952

830

9,122

Q2 FY2008

159,700

7,259

515

6,744

Q3 FY2008

153,300

7,704

1,540

6,164

Q4 FY2008

146,900

10,446

886^b

9,560

Q1 FY2009

148,500

9,218

727^b

8,436

Q2 FY2009

141,300

12,942

681

12,261

Q3 FY2009

134,500

15,279

802

14,477

Q4 FY2009

129,200

12,684

670

12,014

Q1 FY2010

114,300

11,095

776

10,319

Q2 FY2010

95,900

11,610

1,081

10,529

Q3 FY2010

88,320

11,413

1,030

10,383

Q4 FY2010

48,410

11,628

1,017

10,611

Q1 FY2011

47,305

8,327

791

7,536

Q2 FY2011

45,660

9,207

917

8,290

Q3 FY2011

46,010

10,414

935

9,479

Q4 FY2011

44,755

9,554

844

8,710

Q1 FY2012

11,445

8,995

751

8,244

Q2 FY2012

—

3,577

288

3,289

Q3 FY2012

—

2,407

116

2,291

Q4 FY2012

—

2,116

102

2,014

Q1 FY2013

—

2,281

235

2,046

Q2 FY2013

—

2,359

259

2,100

Q3 FY2013

—

2,148

217

1,931

Q4 FY2013

—

2,409

147

2,262

Sources: Force levels from Q1 FY2008-Q1FY2012 are drawn from the DOD's "Boots on the Ground" monthly reports to Congress. Contractor levels are drawn from CENTCOM Quarterly Contractor Census Reports.

Notes: DOD did not begin releasing data on private security contractor personnel levels in CENTCOM until Q1FY2008, and ceased reporting data on DOD-funded private security contractor personnel in Iraq in Q4 FY2013. As of Q1 FY2017, CENTCOM has not resumed reporting data on DOD-funded private security personnel in Iraq. See Table 3 for further discussion of recent U.S. troop and contractor levels in Iraq. a. CENTCOM reported that DOD contractors in Iraq from December 2011 through December 2013 were supporting both U.S. Mission Iraq and the Office of Security Cooperation Iraq. b. CENTCOM Quarterly Census Reports from Q4 FY2008 and Q1FY2009 also included NATO coalition personnel in the reported totals of U.S. private security contractor personnel. Table 5. DOD Contract Obligations in Iraq and Afghanistan Theaters of Operation

(FY2007-FY2016; in millions of FY2017 dollars)

   

FY2007

FY2008

FY2009

FY2010

FY2011

FY2012

FY2013

FY2014

FY2015

FY2016

Total

Iraq Theater

Iraq

14,685.56

17,987.49

10,580.81

7,878.74

5,222.69

617.71

537.31

77.62

249.39

684.88

58,763.86

 

Bahrain

588.93

1,333.27

2,190.98

609.37

526.26

338.40

883.97

212.81

551.41

680.63

8,459.93

 

Kuwait

4,983.13

4,934.01

5,821.30

5,050.40

3,983.48

2,612.30

3,139.88

1,793.66

2,004.14

1,779.60

38,044.20

 

Qatar

323.46

469.24

886.45

351.45

840.67

870.86

432.20

175.28

324.56

241.64

5,230.32

 

Saudi Arabia

210.60

375.76

989.33

806.44

309.49

570.03

964.00

1,255.52

2,093.57

1,018.00

10,621.42

 

Turkey

375.90

193.21

311.79

143.24

185.94

286.34

191.65

184.99

203.56

242.26

2,516.19

 

UAE

261.33

1,326.57

305.78

2,662.15

1,060.54

1,467.74

2,281.36

1,757.70

1,306.55

1,422.39

15,124.87

 

Oman

94.29

107.54

85.31

125.88

142.16

214.68

228.80

106.60

124.73

123.02

1,473.89

 

Jordan

83.85

92.30

14.81

13.77

40.01

54.17

177.08

168.23

203.89

186.71

1,232.37

Total Iraq Theater

21,607.05

26,819.41

21,186.57

17,641.43

12,311.23

7,032.23

8,836.25

5,732.41

6,842.88

6,379.14

141,248.13

Afghanistan Theater

Afghanistan

3,800.69

6,893.02

8,200.70

13,079.75

18,149.95

19,426.34

15,003.74

6,176.46

3,274.96

1,999.80

99,178.23

 

Kazakhstan

6.06

30.07

48.07

66.29

75.27

78.52

93.56

57.51

67.42

34.80

622.88

 

Kyrgyzstan

426.99

20.29

374.47

134.14

906.81

1,988.82

2,022.96

684.07

-1.85

-6.64

6,548.27

 

Pakistan

74.48

234.86

253.93

179.50

65.08

17.30

-3.65

23.91

74.88

35.08

1,027.95

 

Tajikistan

0.00

0.01

1.09

3.80

3.55

8.87

9.25

7.49

6.99

0.02

47.84

 

Turkmenistan

0.45

19.30

9.24

24.21

10.45

4.44

13.97

1.48

0.15

-0.02

83.82

 

Uzbekistan

13.94

16.06

9.90

22.73

16.44

23.82

19.09

22.16

32.22

10.87

218.45

Total Afghanistan Theater

4,322.61

7,213.62

8,897.40

13,510.41

19,227.54

21,548.12

17,158.92

6,973.07

3,347.67

2,073.91

107,620.34

Total Iraq and Afghanistan

25,929.66

34,033.03

30,083.97

31,151.85

31,538.77

28,580.35

25,995.16

12,705.47

10,190.55

8,453.05

248,868.47

Sources: Federal Procurement Data System, as of February 10, 2017 for FY2007-FY2016 data; CRS adjustments for inflation using deflators for converting into FY2017 dollars derived from Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), Department of Defense, National Defense Budget Estimates for FY2017, "Department of Defense Deflators–TOA By Category 'Total Non-Pay,'" Table 5-5, p. 58-59, March 2016.

Note: Numbers may not add due to rounding.

Author Contact Information

Heidi M. Peters, Coordinator, Information Research Specialist ([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])

Moshe Schwartz, Specialist in Defense Acquisition ([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])

Lawrence Kapp, Specialist in Military Manpower Policy ([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])

Footnotes

1.

See 32 C.F.R. 158.3, "Definitions"; see also Department of Defense Instruction 3020.41, Operational Contract Support (OCS), December 20, 2011, p. 48, at http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/302041p.pdf.

2.

See Joint Publication 4-10, Operational Contract Support, July 2014, p. 211, at http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/new_pubs/jp4_10.pdf.

3.

See, for example, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Iraq and Afghanistan: DOD, State and USAID Face Continued Challenges in Tracking Contracts, Assistance Instruments, and Associated Personnel, GAO-11-1, October 1, 2010. For further discussions of efforts to improve DOD contractor management and oversight, see CRS Report R40764, Department of Defense Contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq: Background and Analysis, by Moshe Schwartz and Joyprada Swain.

4.

Email correspondence with DOD official, received by CRS on September 7, 2016.

5.

Iraqi areas of operation are defined by CRS as Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Jordan. Afghan areas of operation are defined by CRS as Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

6.

In the 1980s, Congress first implemented the use of force management levels in Europe under Sec. 799A of P.L. 97-377, enacted December 21, 1982. This provision was enacted in the larger context of congressional debate at the time regarding the perception that the United States' NATO allies should assume a greater percentage of the mutual defense investment burden.

7.

Established force management levels may be adjusted in response to operational needs or changing circumstances within a country or region, such as the Obama Administration's decision in July 2016 to maintain approximately 8,400 troops in Afghanistan through January 2017. See White House Office of the Press Secretary, "Statement by the President on Afghanistan," July 6, 2016, available at https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/07/06/statement-president-afghanistan.

8.

See Nancy A. Youssef, "The Pentagon Will Now Get To Decide How Many Troops To Send To Fight ISIS," BuzzFeed News, April 26, 2017; see also Luis Martinez, "Trump Gives Pentagon Authority to Set Troop Levels in Syria and Iraq," ABC News, April 26, 2017 and Ryan Browne, "Trump Gives Pentagon Authority to Set Troop Levels," CNN, April 26, 2017. To date, the Trump Administration has not issued statements or other official announcements of planned deployments or changes in force management levels in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. In a March 30, 2017 Los Angeles Times article, a DOD spokesperson reportedly noted that "[i]n order to maintain tactical surprise, ensure operational security and force protection, the coalition will not routinely announce or confirm information about the capabilities, force numbers, locations, or movement of forces in or out of Iraq and Syria."

9.

See for example the statement as delivered as well as the prepared statement of Cary Russell, Director, Defense Capabilities and Management, GAO, "Overseas Contingency Operations: Observations on the Use of Force Management Levels in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria," before the U.S. Congress, House Committee on Armed Services, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Force Management Levels in Iraq and Afghanistan: Readiness and Strategic Considerations, 114^th Cong., 2^nd sess., December 1, 2016.

10.

U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Armed Services, Situation in Afghanistan, 115^th Cong., 1^st sess., February 9, 2017. This concern was also echoed in a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations in December 2016, and in a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Readiness on March 8, 2017.

11.

Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, "Transforming Wartime Contracting: Controlling Costs, Reducing Risks," final report of the Commission to Congress, August 2011, pp. 18-21. Available at https://cybercemetery.unt.edu/archive/cwc/20110929213922/http://www.wartimecontracting.gov/docs/CWC_FinalReport-highres.pdf.

12.

See Department of Defense, Contractor Support of U.S. Operations in the USCENTCOM Area of Responsibility to Include Iraq and Afghanistan, October 2016, at http://www.acq.osd.mil/log/PS/CENTCOM_reports.html; Boots on the Ground Report, September 2016.

13.

See Department of Defense, Contractor Support of U.S. Operations in the USCENTCOM Area of Responsibility to Include Iraq and Afghanistan, October 2016. As "Boots on the Ground" reports do not currently provide OIR force levels, CRS is using the force management level for Iraq reported biannually by the White House to provide an indication of the current number of U.S. forces estimated to be in Iraq.