DHS-OIG Finds Fault in Agency Personnel Deployment in Operation Allies Welcome
Dover Air Force Base
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently released its evaluation of Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) and the coordinated efforts at DHS to resettle individuals evacuated from Afghanistan. The review included visits to six out of eight "safe havens" organized on U.S. military installations where DHS employees served between November 2021 and January 2022.
In its role as the lead agency in the operation, DHS was responsible for staffing safe havens at U.S. military installations with personnel qualified to fulfill specific leadership and support roles. According to the OIG report, DHS advertised the position opportunities, but did not ensure all components committed sufficient staff or funding. The report found errors caused a critical staff shortage. Safe haven employees reported working 10-12 hours per day, seven days a week, including working 190 hours during a pay period, in addition to remaining on call 24 hours a day.
The issues also stretched to the DHS Volunteer Force (VF), a coalition of non-federal employee OAW volunteers. The report found that DHS failed to provide orientation or training before or after deployment to safe havens, and only a limited number of volunteers received a tour of the base upon arrival. This is contrary to the what the has DHS VF's website previously stated: “Many of the volunteer positions do not require any formal qualification, and training will be provided before performance of duties.” According to volunteers, they reported administratively to the volunteer coordinators at the site but oversaw their own functional management.
The report concluded that the shortage of DHS employees and volunteers impacted the safe havens' ability to provide certain services to Afghan guests. Further, several staffers reported that they felt the agency failed to adequately provide support before and during deployments. The evaluation ultimately found that DHS lacked the infrastructure to support unfunded operations such as OAW with the necessary staff.
The DHS-OIG shared three recommendations with the agency based on lessons learned: (1) develop a deployment framework for DHS components, including those unfunded, unplanned, or emergency operations; (2) establish a volunteer management strategy that includes provisions for supporting volunteers; (3) prepare DHS employee staff and volunteers for deployment with training on administrative paperwork and travel arrangements.
Agency leadership agreed with the OIG's conclusions and noted that DHS has begun to address the recommendations and will complete implementation by May 31, 2023.