AFRICOM contractor screening guidance awaiting signature

U.S. Africa Command is advancing a draft instruction on the standards for contractor employee screening for forward operating sites in the region, according to a letter to the Government Accountability Office.

“AFRICOM has completed the staffing of their existing 'DRAFT' Instruction which is currently with the Chief of Staff awaiting signature,” says the letter, sent by Robert Maxwell, AFRICOM's director of resources, to GAO. “The guidance includes a risk-based approach to Contractor employee screening based on applicable mitigating factors that include type of contractor (US or non-US), type of operations, and local security threat.”

In a new report, GAO argues AFRICOM does not “have a complete picture of the number of contractor personnel supporting its operations in the region.”

Additionally, the Government Accountability Office notes that AFRICOM has not established a foreign vendor vetting cell to identify vendors that support terrorist organizations and has not put in place additional screening, beyond background investigations, to ensure contractor employees are trustworthy.

In its letter, DOD notes that the Office of the Secretary of Defense “has established a joint working group to identify key stakeholders and develop DOD policy requiring [combatant commands] to develop foreign vendor vetting processes.”