The US government’s Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) has trouble accurately tracking the Pentagon’s convoluted efforts to source fuel for the US-led war in Afghanistan.
The system – an online catalogue of all US federal contracts worth more $3,000 – can only record one country of origin for fuel, even though suppliers and officials at the Department of Defense freely admit that fuel covered under any one supply contract is often sourced from multiple countries, including Russia.
The reporting limitation creates a significant obstacle for transparency and accurate accounting efforts. It also focuses attention on recommendations outlined in a late 2010 US congressional report on fuel-supplies at the Manas Transit Center in Kyrgyzstan. The congressional report, titled Mystery at Manas, rebuked the Pentagon for lax oversight and other flaws in the procurement system. It also revealed that the Department of Defense’s aviation fuel suppliers at Manas, Red Star Enterprises and Mina Corp, bought Russian fuel and passed it off of Kyrgyz, even though Kyrgyzstan does not produce aviation fuel.
Mina Corp’s contracting information, under contract numbers SP0600-09-D-1009 and SP0600-07-D-1007, list Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan as the “country of product or service origin” for TS-1 jet fuel destined for Manas, located outside the capital Bishkek. Manas is a key logistics hub for US and NATO military operations in Afghanistan.
Red Star’s contracting documents indicate that fuel supplies delivered to US military facilities in Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan originated in Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan. Afghanistan does produce aviation fuel. Only once does the company list Russia as a source of fuel.
A spokeswoman for the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), speaking in an interview with Eurasianet.org, explained that reporting requirements are limited. “At the time of award, the contract specialist enters the country identified by the successful awardee as the largest source of supply,” the spokeswoman said. Under the existing system, neither Mina nor Red Star misrepresented the source country.
“The FPDS allows for one entry, there is no flexibility to enter multiple source countries. For SP0600-09-D-1009, Kyrgyzstan was listed as the country of product or service origin. At the time of the award, fuel was sourced from various countries using local Kyrgyz companies and for this reason Kyrgyzstan was listed as the place of performance,” the DLA representative, speaking on background, said.
When questioned by congressional investigators about sourcing fuel from Russian suppliers and producing misleading end-user certificates as a cover, Red Star/Mina Corp’s director of operations, Chuck Squires, claimed to have "got one over on ‘em.”
Mina Corp’s current contract to supply aviation fuel to Manas, SP0600-10-D-0011, lists Russia as the fuel’s country of origin in the FPDS. But a company representative confirmed on February 28 that Mina Corp “has been sourcing fuel from a number of locations, including from Caspian, Mediterranean, Baltic and North Sea refineries.”
According to the US congressional report, the Defense Department’s “lack of visibility” into the fuel supply chain is “a major strategic blind spot,” leaving the Afghan war effort vulnerable to unexpected supply interruptions.
The report makes several recommendations aimed at improving oversight and transparency. The Pentagon, however, appears to be in no hurry to adapt its procedures in light of the report.
“DLA is in receipt of the congressional report and will take appropriate action as necessary,” the agency spokeswoman said. She noted that the report did not specify a concrete timeline for change.
“As a component of the Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency senior leaders are working closely with Department [of Defense] officials to address the report's recommendations,” the spokeswoman said.
Deirdre Tynan is a Bishkek-based reporter specializing in central Asian affairs.
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