Committee Report - Senate Rpt. 105-189 - DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 1999 REPORT [TO ACCOMPANY S. 2060] ON
AUTHORIZING APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1999 FOR MILITARY ACTIVITIES OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, TO PRESCRIBE PERSONNEL STRENGTHS FOR SUCH FISCAL
YEAR FOR THE ARMED FORCES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES TOGETHER WITH ADDITIONAL
VIEWS

SUBTITLE D--COUNTER-DRUG ACTIVITIES

The budget request for drug interdiction and other counter-drug activities
of the Department of Defense (DOD) totals $882.8 million. This includes
$727.6 million for the central transfer account and $155.2 million for the
operating budgets of the military services for authorized counter-drug
operations.

However, these numbers do not accurately represent DOD's total commitment
to the war on drugs. For example, these numbers do not include a
proportionate share of the costs of procuring military systems that are
used to support the war on drugs. Although originally purchased for
different missions, these systems are also used for drug-interdiction
efforts. Therefore, any analysis of DOD's contributions should take into
account an appropriate portion of these procurement costs, just as the
procurement costs for any equipment that the Drug Enforcement Agency and
the U.S. Customs Service would be accounted for if used for their
counter-narcotics operations.

Furthermore, the drug interdiction budget does not capture the
approximately $130.0 million in personnel costs for the thousands of active
duty service members who are engaged in counter-narcotics activities at any
one time.

Moreover, the budget does not include all depot level maintenance costs for
assets used in counter-drug activities and a proportionate share of base
operation support costs for units assigned to counter-drug activities.

In addition, these numbers do not reflect the value of the equipment and
training that DOD provides to other nations in support of their
counter-narcotics activities pursuant to section 506 of the Foreign
Assistance Act. This section provides authorization for up to $75.0 million
worth of counter-narcotics support to foreign governments each year. The
committee is concerned that this authority, which was intended to be used
to enhance U.S. counter-narcotics support to nations in the source zone, is
simply used to offset Department of State budgets. The committee believes
that such drawdowns should give highest priority to those items that will
enhance a source nation government's counter-narcotics capability, rather
than to items that provide offset savings to Department of State budgets as
is suggested in State's fiscal year 1998 drawdown proposal.

A careful examination of the total DOD resources dedicated to this mission
reveals a significant contribution on the part of our armed forces to
America's war on drugs, far more significant than some are willing to
acknowledge. The committee directs the Secretary of Defense to include an
estimate of DOD's total contributions in future years budget submissions.

The committee is concerned that in some cases the Department of Defense may
be pressured into dedicating scarce resources within its budget
recommendation to the President for the counter-narcotics missions that are
the primary responsibility of the Department of State or other Federal
agencies. This practice could be detrimental to other high priority
military missions, including counter-terrorism and counter-proliferation,
in today's resource constrained environment. The committee believes that
the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are
in the best position to understand all of the national security
responsibilities of DOD, and to make a balanced recommendation to the
President regarding the manner in which the resources of the armed forces
should be utilized in such a way as to most effectively carry out those
responsibilities.

The committee recommends the following budget for DOD's counter-narcotics
activities.

Drug Interdiction & Counter-drug Activities, Operations and Maintenance (In
thousands of dollars; may not add due to rounding)

Amount

Fiscal year 1997 drug and counter-drug request $882,831

Goal 1 (dependent demand reduction) $12,830

Goal 2 (Support to DLEAs) $97,384

Goal 3 (DOD personnel demand reduction) $72,936

Goal 4 (drug interdiction--TZ/SWB) $406,554

Goal 5 (Supply reduction) $293,127

Increases:

Caribbean/eastern Pacific surface interdiction $10,000

Gulf states initiative/regional counter-drug training $7,000

Decreases:

JIATF south $17,000

Enhanced Caribbean/Eastern Pacific Interdiction Initiative

The Committee continues to be concerned with the impact that our military
withdrawal from Panama will have on our drug interdiction capabilities. The
Panamanian facilities provide a unique location from which to deploy our
counter-narcotics assets. The loss of these facilities will have a
significant impact upon our ability to maintain the current level of drug
interdiction efforts. Since the United States and the Government of Panama
have been unable to reach an agreement regarding the continued deployment
of U.S. military personnel to Panama after the remaining facilities are
turned over at the end of 1999, the Committee believes it is imprudent to
significantly expand and facilitize Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF)
South as recommended in the President's budget request. Until such an
agreement is signed, the committee believes that JIATF South should operate
with the same resources that it received for fiscal year 1998. Therefore,
the committee recommends a $17.0 million reduction in the budget request
for this program.

The committee believes that DOD should explore new initiatives to enhance
current interdiction capabilities so that if Panamanian facilities are
lost, a viable interdiction program remains. To assist DOD in this effort,
the committee has included a provision that would provide $18.5 million
($10.0 million more than requested for the Carribean) within the
counter-narcotics central transfer account for the increased deployment of
DOD's Patrol Coastal Craft (PCs) to the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, and
any maintenance or modifications of these craft necessary to enhance their
interdiction capabilities. This deployment will provide the
Commander-in-Chief of the United States Southern Command (CINCSOUTH) with a
more substantial Naval presence in his theater of operations with which to
increase the surface interdiction efforts of suspected narco-traffickers.
The Department should explore the opportunity of using Reserve personnel,
to the maximum extent practicable, in the operation of these vessels in
order to maintain satisfactory PERSTEMPO rates of the PC crews.

The committee understands that DOD has performed an initial assessment of
the viability of utilizing PCs in a mothership concept to enhance its
maritime interdiction capabilities. This will be of particular help in the
interdiction of go-fast boats that are used by the narco-traffickers to
move the bulk of their drugs through the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
Under this concept, Patrol Coastal Craft and small Coast Guard vessels that
are particularly effective platforms for intercepting maritime targets,
including go-fast boats, would be supported by a large ship such as an
amphibious vessel, CD modified T-AGOS, or Coast Guard Bouy Tenders. This
would allow a large number of the smaller vessels to remain on station for
longer periods of time performing interdiction missions. Such a presence
would seriously disrupt the narco-traffickers' maritime smuggling
capabilities. According to a DOD report `the combination of a mothership
with maritime interceptor craft, coupled with airborne detection and
monitoring, is a potential solution to the Western Caribbean [WCARIB] go
fast threat . . . A mothership operation provides both a very
long-duration, at-sea presence covering a large threat area, and the
requisite fast maritime craft necessary to intercept the target go-fasts.'
. . . `Coast Guard Patrol Boats (WPBs) and Navy Cyclone Class Patrol Craft
(PCs) are very effective platforms for intercepting maritime targets,
placing boarding teams on suspect vessels, and relieving larger ships of
end-game units.'

The committee encourages the Department of Defense to pursue this
mothership concept utilizing the PCs and any other available Navy and Coast
Guard vessels as maritime interceptor craft. The Department of Defense, the
U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Customs Service should develop a plan to
ensure that the necessary mothership platforms and surveillance vessels
(including DOD and Customs tracker aircraft) are available for the
requisite time period to effectively test this concept.

The committee directs the Secretary of Defense to provide the Committee on
Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on National Security of the
House of Representatives, with a report outlining the extent to which the
PCs, operating either with or without a mothership, were effective during
fiscal year 1999 in the interdiction and deterrence of maritime drug
trafficking. This report should also outline CINCSOUTH's and
Commander-in-Chief Special Operation Command's (CINCSOCOM's) recommendation
regarding any future deployment of these craft to Southern Command's
(SOUTHCOM's) area of responsibility (AOR), and the Secretary of Defense's
recommendation as to the appropriate funding mechanism for these future
deployments.

Gulf States Counter-drug Initiative

The committee understands the Gulf States Counter-drug Initiative has grown
beyond its original counter-drug mission and now performs important work
for other high priority missions of the Department of Defense, including
counter-terrorism.

Therefore, the committee supports the transfer of this activity from the
Department's Counter-drug account to the C3I Joint Military Intelligence
Program in accordance with its increased mission and provides an additional
$7.0 million for its counter-narcotics activities. The committee expects
that the Department will fund GSCI's operations through the JMIP budget in
the future.

Patrol Coastal Craft for Drug Interdiction by Southern Command (sec. 331)

The committee is concerned with the quantity of narcotics that are being
transported by ship and fast boat through the Caribbean and the Eastern
Pacific. The committee believes that the Department should explore new ways
to increase our Naval presence in theater in order to impede the ability of
narco-traffickers to use this method of transportation.

Therefore, to assist the Department in this effort, the committee
recommends a provision that would provide $18.5 million within the
counter-narcotics central transfer account for the increased deployment of
the Department's Patrol Coastal Craft to the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

Program Authority for Department of Defense Support for Counter-Drug
Activities (sec. 332)

The committee recommends a provision that would extend section 1004 of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 through fiscal year
2004. The provision would also allow the Department of Defense to use
counterdrug funds for any major renovation or modification of a Defense
facility being used for counter-narcotics purposes. Prior to using this
authority for any such projects that will exceed $500,000, the Department
must notify the congressional defense committees.

Southwest Border Fence (sec. 333)

The committee is concerned with the continued transportation of narcotics
across the southwest border and into the United States. Over the past few
years, the Department of Defense has explored several initiatives to
reducing this flow of illegal drugs. One such initiative was the
construction of a border fence along portions of the border. Unfortunately,
it appears that this fence, in its current form, has not contributed
significantly to reducing drug smuggling. Although the committee supports
such initiatives, the committee believes that a thorough analysis should be
performed to determine how the fence might be made more effective before
the Department proceeds with any planned expansion. Therefore, the
committee recommends a provision that would require the Secretary of
Defense to perform such an analysis before further expansion of the
southwest border fence.

(remaining items about other issues removed)

Checked-by: Richard Lake