US failed to collect reimbursements from Afghanistan coalition partners for years, IG finds
By: Aaron Mehta   6 days ago
The U.S. spent $773 million in a four-year span to fly American and coalition forces around Afghanistan. At least part of that was supposed to be reimbursed, but wasn't. (Master Sgt. Alejandro Licea/U.S. Army)
WASHINGTON — For four years, the Pentagon failed to charge partner nations for use of American rotary-wing aircraft in Afghanistan, and the department has no way of knowing how many millions of dollars has been lost, according to a new report from the department’s inspector general.
During that time period, American and coalition costs for rotary-wing transportation hit $773 million. How much of that should be reimbursed is effectively impossible to know, according to the auditors.
For the 38 members of the Resolute Support coalition, American air transportation is vital for moving from the central hub in Kabul and Bagram Airfield to four outposts located in Mazar-e-Sharif, Herat, Kandahar and Laghman. But auditors discovered that the Department of Defense “did not request reimbursement for air transportation services provided to Coalition partners†between September 2017 and September 2020, despite a standing requirement to do so.
https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2021/03/24/us-failed-to-collect-reimbursements-from-afghanistan-coalition-partners-for-years-ig-finds/
