§ 2011. Special operations forces: training with friendly foreign forces

(a)Authority To Pay Training Expenses.— Under regulations prescribed pursuant to subsection (c), the commander of the special operations command established pursuant to section 167 of this title and the commander of any other unified or specified combatant command may pay, or authorize payment for, any of the following expenses:

(1) Expenses of training special operations forces assigned to that command in conjunction with training, and training with, armed forces and other security forces of a friendly foreign country.

(2) Expenses of deploying such special operations forces for that training.

(3) In the case of training in conjunction with a friendly developing country, the incremental expenses incurred by that country as the direct result of such training.

(b)Purpose of Training.— The primary purpose of the training for which payment may be made under subsection (a) shall be to train the special operations forces of the combatant command.

(c)Regulations.— The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations for the administration of this section. The regulations shall require that training activities may be carried out under this section only with the prior approval of the Secretary of Defense. The regulations shall establish accounting procedures to ensure that the expenditures pursuant to this section are appropriate.

(d)Definitions.— In this section:

(1) The term “special operations forces” includes civil affairs forces and military information support operations forces.

(2) The term “incremental expenses”, with respect to a developing country, means the reasonable and proper cost of rations, fuel, training ammunition, transportation, and other goods and services consumed by such country, except that the term does not include pay, allowances, and other normal costs of such country’s personnel.

(e)Reports.— Not later than April 1 of each year, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report regarding training during the preceding fiscal year for which expenses were paid under this section. Each report shall specify the following:

(1) All countries in which that training was conducted.

(2) The type of training conducted, including whether such training was related to counter-narcotics or counter-terrorism activities, the duration of that training, the number of members of the armed forces involved, and expenses paid.

(3) The extent of participation by foreign military forces, including the number and service affiliation of foreign military personnel involved and physical and financial contribution of each host nation to the training effort.

(4) The relationship of that training to other overseas training programs conducted by the armed forces, such as military exercise programs sponsored by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, military exercise programs sponsored by a combatant command, and military training activities sponsored by a military department (including deployments for training, short duration exercises, and other similar unit training events).

(5) A summary of the expenditures under this section resulting from the training for which expenses were paid under this section.

(6) A discussion of the unique military training benefit to United States special operations forces derived from the training activities for which expenses were paid under this section.

(Added Pub. L. 102–190, div. A, title X, § 1052(a)(1), Dec. 5, 1991, 105 Stat. 1470; amended Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title XV, § 1503(a)(18), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 512; Pub. L. 105–261, div. A, title X, § 1062, Oct. 17, 1998, 112 Stat. 2129; Pub. L. 112–81, div. A, title X, § 1086(2), Dec. 31, 2011, 125 Stat. 1603.)

Amendments

Amendments

2011—Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 112–81 substituted “military information support operations” for “psychological operations”.

1998—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 105–261, § 1062(a), inserted after first sentence “The regulations shall require that training activities may be carried out under this section only with the prior approval of the Secretary of Defense.”

Subsec. (e)(5), (6). Pub. L. 105–261, § 1062(b), added pars. (5) and (6).

1996—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–106 substituted “To” for “to” in heading.

Miscellaneous

Training of General Purpose Forces of the United States Armed Forces With Military and Other Security Forces of Friendly Foreign Countries

Pub. L. 113–66, div. A, title XII, § 1203, Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 894, provided that:

“(a) Training Authorized.—

“(1)In general.—Under regulations prescribed under subsection (f), general purpose forces of the United States Armed Forces may train with the military forces or other security forces of a friendly foreign country if the Secretary of Defense determines that it is in the national security interests of the United States to do so. Training may be conducted under this section only with the prior approval of the Secretary of Defense.

“(2)Concurrence.—Before conducting a training event in or with a foreign country under this subsection, the Secretary of Defense shall seek the concurrence of the Secretary of State in such training event.

“(b)Types of Training Authorized.—Any training conducted by the United States Armed Forces pursuant to subsection (a) shall, to the maximum extent practicable—

“(1) support the mission essential tasks for which the training unit providing such training is responsible;

“(2) be with a foreign unit or organization with equipment that is functionally similar to such training unit; and

“(3) include elements that promote—

“(A) observance of and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; and

“(B) respect for legitimate civilian authority within the foreign country or countries concerned.

“(c) Authority To Pay Expenses.—

“(1)In general.—The Secretary of a military department or the commander of a combatant command may pay, or authorize payment for, the incremental expenses incurred by a friendly foreign country as the direct result of training with general purpose forces of the United States Armed Forces pursuant to subsection (a).

“(2)Limitation.—The amount of incremental expenses payable under paragraph (1) in any fiscal year may not exceed $10,000,000.

“(d)Notice Before Commencement of Training.—The Secretary of Defense shall notify the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives not later than 15 days before the commencement of any training event pursuant to subsection (a). The notice on a training event shall include a description of the event and the foreign country or countries involved in the event.

“(e)Annual Reports to Congress.—Not later than April 1 of each year following a fiscal year in which training is conducted pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the training conducted pursuant to that subsection. Each report shall specify the following:

“(1) For the fiscal year covered by such report, the following:

“(A) Each country in which training was conducted.

“(B) The type of training conducted, the duration of such training, and the number of members of the United States Armed Forces involved in such training.

“(C) The extent of participation in such training by foreign military forces and other security forces, including the number and service affiliation of foreign military and other security force personnel involved and the physical and financial contribution of each country specified in subparagraph (A) in such training.

“(D) The relationship of such training to other overseas training programs conducted by the United States Armed Forces, such as military exercise programs sponsored by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, military exercise programs sponsored by a combatant command, and military training activities sponsored by a military department (including deployments for training, short duration exercises, and other similar unit training events).

“(E) A summary of the expenditures under subsection (c) in connection with such training.

“(F) A description and assessment of the unique military training benefits for members of the United States Armed Forces involved in such training.

“(2) A list of the training events to be conducted during the 12-month period beginning on April 1 of the year in which such report is submitted.

“(f)Regulations.—Any training conducted pursuant to subsection (a) shall be conducted under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense for the administration of this section. The regulations shall be prescribed not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 26, 2013].

“(g)Definitions.—In this section:

“(1) The term ‘appropriate committees of Congress’ means—

“(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and

“(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.

“(2) The term ‘incremental expenses’, with respect to a friendly foreign country, means the reasonable and proper costs of rations, fuel, training ammunition, transportation, and other goods and services consumed by such country as a direct result of that country’s participation in training conducted pursuant to subsection (a), except that such term does not include pay, allowances, and other normal costs of such country’s military or security force personnel.

“(3) The term ‘other security forces’ includes national security forces that conduct border and maritime security, but does not include civilian police.

“(h)Expiration.—The authority under this section may not be exercised after September 30, 2017.”