Order Code RS22855
Updated June 3, 2008
Section 1206 of the National Defense
Authorization Act for FY2006: A Fact Sheet on
Department of Defense Authority to Train and
Equip Foreign Military Forces
Nina M. Serafino
Specialist in International Security Affairs
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Summary
Section 1206 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year
2006 provides the Secretary of Defense with authority to train and equip foreign military
forces. Thus far, the Department of Defense (DOD) has used Section 1206 authority
primarily to provide counterterrorism support. Section 1206 obligations totaled some
$100 million in FY2006 and $279 million in FY2007. Obligations for FY2008 total
almost $25 million as of May 20, 2008. Funds may only be obligated with the
concurrence of the Secretary of State. This authority expires at the end of FY2008.
Section 1206 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year
2006 (P.L. 109-163) provides the Secretary of Defense with a new authority to train and
equip foreign military forces. This is the first major DOD authority to be used expressly
for the purpose of training the national military forces of foreign countries. Generally,
DOD has trained and equipped foreign military forces through State Department
programs. The Bush Administration requested this “Global Train and Equip” authority
because DOD viewed the planning and implementation processes under which similar
State Department security assistance is provided as too slow and cumbersome.1
1 State Department programs under which foreign military forces are trained are the International
Military Education and Training (IMET) and the Expanded IMET (E-IMET) programs.
Equipment is provided to foreign governments through the State Department Foreign Military
Sales/Foreign Military Financing (FMS/FMF) programs. According to DOD, this “traditional
security assistance takes three to four years from concept to execution,” while “Global Train and
Equip authority allows a response to emergent threats or opportunities in six months or less.”
U.S. Department of Defense, Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Request Summary Justification, February
4, 2008, p. 103. Hereafter referred to as FY2009 DOD Summary Justification.

CRS-2
Section 1206 provides the Secretary of Defense with authority to train and equip
foreign military forces for two purposes. One is to enable such forces to perform
counterterrorism operations. Nearly all Section 1206 assistance to date has been
counterterrorism training and equipment. Most of the equipment and virtually all of the
training to date have been provided by contractors, according to information provided by
DOD officials. The other purpose is to enable foreign military forces to participate in or
to support military and stability operations in which U.S. armed forces participate. (DOD
does not use this authority in relation to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, however,
according to DOD officials.) Congress turned down the Administration’s request in 2007
to expand Section 1206 authority to include authority to train and equip foreign police
forces (see below).
Funding Provisions and Annual Obligations. Section 1206 of the FY2006
NDAA authorized spending of up to $200 million per year for FY2006 and FY2007.
Section 1206 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2007 (P.L. 109-364) amended the original legislation to raise the limit to $300 million and
extend the authority through FY2008.
Section 1206 programs are funded from the DOD operations and maintenance
account. During the first two years of the program, DOD transferred funds from lower-
priority missions to fund activities under Section 1206, according to the Office of the
Secretary of Defense/Policy (OSD/P). In FY2008, Congress authorized $300 million for
Section 1206 in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-161.) FY2008.
The table below provides information on Section 1206 FY2006 and FY2007
programs approved by the DOD and the Department of State. It is compiled from
information provided by OSD/P as of May 20, 2008. Total program obligations for
FY2006 were $100.1 million, and for FY2007 were $279.5 million.
FY2008 obligations are in progress. Thus far, according to OSD/P, approved
obligations for FY2008 total $24.8 million for projects in Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Georgia,
Lebanon, and the Philippines. Other obligations are pending.
Conditions. Section 1206 of the FY2006 NDAA requires that programs conducted
under its authority observe and respect human rights, fundamental freedoms, and the
“legitimate civilian authority within that country.” The authority may not be used to
provide any type of assistance that is otherwise prohibited by any provision of law. It also
may not be used to provide assistance to any country that is otherwise prohibited from
receiving such assistance under any other provision of law. The legislation also requires
a 15-day advance notification to the congressional defense, foreign affairs, and
appropriations committees before initiating each program. This notification must specify,
among other things, the program country, budget, and completion date, as well as the
source and planned expenditure of funds.
Joint DOD-State Department Approval Process. As modified by the
FY2007 John Warner NDAA, Section 1206 authority permits the Secretary of Defense
to provide such support with the “concurrence” of the Secretary of State. According to
DOD and State Department officials, that term has been interpreted to mean the Secretary
of State’s approval.

CRS-3
Section 1206 requires both secretaries to jointly formulate any program and
coordinate in its implementation. Their respective agencies have developed an extensive
joint review process that some officials see as a potential model for other assistance
programs. According to DOD, Section 1206 programs are developed under a “dual-key”
authority (i.e., with the approval of both DOD and Department of State officials). U.S.
embassies and the military combatant commands are encouraged to jointly formulate
programs, and both parties “must approve each program explicitly in writing”2 before the
proposal is submitted to DOD and State Department staff in Washington, D.C., for their
concurrence and, ultimately, the approval of the Secretaries of Defense and State.3
February 2008 Request for Expanded Authority. In its FY2009 budget
request of February 4, 2008, the Administration asked for $500 million in appropriations
for Section 1206 capacity-building purposes. Three days later, DOD submitted, as part
of its proposed NDAA for FY2009, a request to amend Title 10 Chapter 20 by adding a
new section to permit the Secretary of Defense to authorize, with the concurrence of the
Secretary of State, programs to build a foreign country’s national military and other
forces. These other forces would include “gendarmerie, constabulary, internal defense,
infrastructure protection, civil defense, homeland defense, coat guard, border protection,
and counterterrorism forces....” The proposal would authorize DOD to use or to transfer
to the State Department and other federal agencies up to $750 million annually. (Section
1301, Building the Partnership Capacity of Foreign Military and Other Security Forces,
of the proposed legislation, accessible through [http://www.dod.mil/dodgc/olc]). DOD
and the State Department would jointly formulate programs; the Secretaries of Defense
and State would jointly coordinate implementation.
The February 2008 request for expanded authority is similar to the Building Global
Partnerships Act that the Administration proposed in May 2007. A major difference is
that the 2007 proposed legislation would have waived any restrictions elsewhere in law
applicable to assistance for military and security forces. This year’s Administration
proposal would specifically bar the provision of assistance prohibited elsewhere in law
unless the President or the Secretary of State waived applicable restrictions.
Current Congressional Action. Both the House Armed Services Committee
(HASC) and the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) included provisions on
Section 1206 authority in their reported versions of the FY2009 NDAA, but neither would
make the authority permanent law. The HASC version would extend current authority
for two years through FY2010. (Section 1206, H.R. 5658, H.Rept. 110-652 reported May
16, 2008.) The SASC version would extend Section 1206 authority for three years
through FY2011 and increase the funding limit to $400 million per fiscal year. It would
also expand the types of security forces eligible to be trained and equipped under Section
1206 authority to include coast guard, border protection, and other security forces whose
primary mission is counterterrorism operations, subject to the restriction of Title 22
U.S.C. 2420. (Section 1204, S. 3001, S.Rept. 110-335, reported May 12, 2008.)


2 FY2009 DOD Summary Justification, p. 103.
3 Email from the OSD/P, May 20, 2007.

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Table 1. Section 1206 Funding: FY2006 and FY2007 Obligations
($ U.S. millions, current)
Recipient
Program
FY2006
FY2007 Totals
Africa
Chad
Light Infantry Rapid
6.0
Reaction Force Establishment
Tactical Airlift Capacity
1.7
8.0
Training
Tactical Communications
0.3
Interoperability Aid
Djibouti
Maritime Domain Awareness,
Response, Interdiction, and
8.0
8.0
Coastal Security
Enhancement
Mauritania
Light Infantry Rapid
4.5
4.5
Reaction Force Establishment
Chad, Mauritania, Nigeria and
Civil-Military Operations
Senegal
Training in Support of the
3.4
3.4
TransSahara
Counterterrorism Program
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya,
East Africa Regional Security
14.2
14.2
Tanzania
Initiative
Nigeria and Sao Tome and
Gulf of Guinea Regional
Principe
Maritime Awareness
6.8
6.8
Capability Aid
Chad and Nigeria
Multinational Information-
sharing Network Aid
6.2
6.2
Various (Algeria, Niger, Chad,
Partner Nation Intelligence
Morocco, Senegal, Mauritania,
Capability Aid
1.1
1.1
Nigeria, and Mali)
Various (Algeria, Benin,
Maritime Domain Awareness
Cameroon, Cape Verde,
and Territorial Water Threat
Republic of the Congo, Gabon,
Response Capability
Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Establishment
5.7
5.7
Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal,
Sierra Leone, and Sao Tome and
Principe)
Total Africa
13.0
44.9
57.9
Greater Europe
Albania
Counterterrorism Capability

6.7
6.7
Aid
Georgia
Counterterrorism Capability

6.5
6.5
Aid
Kazakhstan
Coalition Counterterrorism
and Stability Operations

19.3
19.3
Capacity Aid

CRS-5
Recipient
Program
FY2006
FY2007 Totals
Macedonia
Counterterrorism Capability

3.0
3.0
Aid
Ukraine
Counterterrorism Capability

12.0
12.0
Aid
Total Greater Europe

47.5
47.5
Asia and the Pacific
Indonesia
Integrated Maritime
18.4
Surveillance System
Eastern Fleet Regional

3.8
Command Center
Eastern Fleet Maritime
47.1

7.3
Domain Awareness
Celebes Sea and Malacca

6.1
Strait Network
Coastal Surveillance Stations

11.5
Malaysia
Eastern Sabah Maritime

13.6
Domain Awareness Radars
CENTRIX Stations

0.5
16.3
Strait of Malacca Maritime

2.2
Domain Awareness Support
Philippines
Maritime Train and Equip for

2.9
Interdiction Purposes
High Frequency Radios for

1.8
Coast Watch South
15.5
Maritime Interdiction

6.4
Capability
Interdiction and Offensive
Capabilities Improvement (of

4.4
UH-1 aircraft)
Sri Lanka
Maritime Security Train and
Equip for Interdiction
10.9

Purposes
Aircraft Command and
18.3

6.0
Control Integration
Maritime Security and Navy

1.4
Interdiction Capability
Thailand
Strategic Sea Lanes Security
(Initially funded at $19.0
million, this program was


0.0
cancelled after the Thai coup;
contracted patrol boats were
redirected to Bahrain.)
Total Asia and the Pacific
29.3
67.9
97.2

CRS-6
Recipient
Program
FY2006
FY2007 Totals
Middle East and South Asia
Patrol Boats
5.3

Coastal Patrol Capability
Bahrain

24.5
Development
29.8
Defense Force
Counterintelligence Analysis

0.04
Center Development
Lebanon
Military Assistance to
10.5
30.6
41.1
Lebanese Armed Forces
Pakistan
Border Area Train and Equip
and Marines Train and Equip
23.3
5.7
Aid
37.1
Enhance Shared Maritime
Domain Awareness and

8.1
Cooperative Maritime
Security Aid
Yemen
Cross Border Security and
4.3

Counterterrorism Aid
30.3
Yemeni Special Operations
Capacity Development (to

26.0
enhance border security)
Total Middle East and South Asia
43.4
94.9
138.3
Western Hemisphere
Dominican Republic, Jamaica,
Caribbean Basin Maritime
Bahamas, Honduras, and
Security Aid (radios and

23.3
23.3
Nicaragua
boats)
Dominican Republic and Panama Joint Maritime
Counterterrorism Capability
14.4

14.4
Aid
Mexico
Counterterrorism Capability

1.0
1.0
Aid
Total Western Hemisphere
14.4
24.3
38.7
Totals
100.1
279.5a
379.6a
Source: Department of Defense figures made available to CRS as of May 20, 2008.
a. Totals may not add due to rounding.