Report Contents
What OIG Inspected
OIG inspected the Special Program for Embassy Augmentation and Response, which is located under the Office of Antiterrorism Assistance in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security.
What OIG Recommends
OIG made 9 recommendations: 8 to the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and 1 to the Bureau of Administration. In its comments on the draft report, the Department concurred with all 9 recommendations. OIG considers all 9 recommendations resolved. The Department’s response to each recommendation, and OIG’s reply, can be found in the Recommendations section of this report. The Department’s formal written responses are reprinted in their entirety in Appendix B.
What OIG Found
- The Special Program for Embassy Augmentation and Response was succeeding in its mission to enhance protection of overseas U.S. facilities and personnel.
- The Bureau of Diplomatic Security’s Specialized Programs Division did not provide clear, updated guidance or sufficient training to overseas staff on the use of the Integrated Logistics Management System for management of property assigned to the Special Program for Embassy Augmentation and Response.
- The program’s motor vehicle operations did not comply with all Department of State guidelines and processes.
- The contracts supporting the program lacked quality assurance surveillance plans and formal contractor performance assessment reports.
- Third-party contractors performed inherently governmental functions while providing support to the Special Program for Embassy Augmentation and Response.
- Program management guidance contained unrealistic goals for the transition of Special Program for Embassy Augmentation and Response units to embassy control.
Report Terms
Report Recommendations
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security, in coordination with the Bureau of Administration, should provide training for Regional Security Office staff who support Special Program for Embassy Augmentation and Response units on the Integrated Logistics Management System.
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security, in coordination with the Bureau of Administration, should publish and disseminate updated guidance for the management and inventory of Special Program for Embassy Augmentation and Response property overseas, including the respective responsibilities of General Services Officers and Regional Security Officers.
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security, in coordination with the Bureau of Administration, should properly account for Special Program for Embassy Augmentation and Response loaned vehicles.
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security, in coordination with the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, should bring Special Program for Embassy Augmentation and Response motor vehicle operations into compliance with Department motor vehicle safety requirements.
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security should implement quality assurance surveillance plans for each contract that supports the Special Program for Embassy Augmentation and Response, in accordance with Federal regulations.
The Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, should prepare all required annual contractor performance assessment reports and finalize assessments in the Contractor Performance Assessment Report System for contracts supporting the Special Program for Embassy Augmentation and Response.
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security should establish controls to ensure that third-party contractors supporting the Special Program for Embassy Augmentation and Response do not perform inherently governmental functions.
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security should complete the revision of the Foreign Affairs Handbook to clarify and define realistic conditions for transitioning a Special Program for Embassy Augmentation and Response unit to embassy management.
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security should align its monitoring and evaluation plan with standards in the Foreign Affairs Handbook and include specific metrics for assessing Special Program for Embassy Augmentation and Response units’ progress towards transition.