Potential cost savings and cost avoidances associated with security cooperation training programs

Abstract

In this project, I examine the current security cooperation and assistance efforts in the U.S. Africa Command area of responsibility with a particular focus on training of foreign military forces under 10 U.S. Code § 2282. Specifically, I analyze whether the cost of such training programs is cheaper using contracted personnel versus uniformed military personnel. The costs of contractor-provided training come from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. Using the Department of Defense’s Financial Management Regulation, I priced the contractor provided training as if uniformed personnel had performed it to estimate the cost of provision using military personnel. Comparing the two estimates, I found that, in all cases, the contractor-provided price was significantly higher than the cost of uniformed personnel. While this study suggests that contracted services are not always cheaper than using military personnel, future research should incorporate better estimates of the opportunity cost of using uniformed personnel that may change the cost calculations.