GAO-13-279SP, 2013 Annual Report - US Government ...

3. Defense Foreign Language Support
Contracts
The Department of Defense should explore opportunities to gain additional efficiencies in contracts for foreign
language support, which is estimated to cost more than $1 billion annually, by addressing fragmentation in the
department’s acquisition approach.
Why This Area Is
Important
In recent years, the Department of Defense (DOD) has invested billions of
dollars to provide foreign language support to U.S. military personnel. 1
Specifically, DOD obligated over $6.8 billion from fiscal years 2008
through 2012 on contracts to acquire a variety of foreign language
support needed to carry out diverse missions and operations both within
and outside of the United States. These contracts provide services that
allow U.S. military personnel to communicate and interact with
multinational partners, security forces, and local indigenous populations.
DOD has recognized these abilities are critical factors to mission success,
particularly in light of recent operational experiences in Afghanistan and
Iraq. Changes to the size and location of DOD’s forward-stationed or
deployed military forces and a renewed emphasis on developing
partnerships, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region and Africa, indicate
that DOD will likely continue its investments in foreign language support
contracts for the foreseeable future. 2
Since 2009, GAO has identified a number of management challenges that
DOD faces in providing foreign language and cultural awareness training
to U.S. military personnel. For example, in May 2011, GAO reported that
DOD lacked an approach to integrate department-wide training efforts,
which contributed to some fragmentation and inefficiency in identifying
requirements for language and cultural awareness training for ongoing
operations. Moreover, in February 2012, GAO identified overlapping and
potentially duplicative foreign language and culture training products that
were either developed or contracted for by the military services. DOD’s
considerable investment in contracts for foreign language support both
now and in the future, as well as the challenges GAO identified in prior
work, suggests that additional opportunities may exist for DOD to gain
efficiencies in its contracting approach.
1 DOD has not defined “foreign language support” as a specific set of services or products;
however, officials representing DOD components, which include the military services,
combatant commands, and defense agencies, identified a range of services and products
that they consider foreign language support, such as translation and interpretation
services, the assistance of personnel who possess language skills and serve as role
players, and foreign language instruction. Therefore, GAO uses “foreign language
support” to refer to this range of services and products.
2 Department of Defense, Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities For 21st Century
Defense (Jan. 3, 2012).
Page 45
GAO-13-279SP Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication