ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

TREY GOWDY, SOUTH CAROLINA
CHAIRMAN

<!Congress of tbe Wntteb �tates

ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, MARYLAND
RANKING MINORITY MEMBER

J!,ou.se of �epre.sentatibe.s

COMMITIEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM
2157

RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING

WASHINGTON,

DC 20515-6143

MAJORITY (202) 225-5074
MINOR!TV (202) 225-5051
htlp://overs.ght.house.gov

May 10, 2018

The Honorable James Mattis
Secretary
Department of Defense
1400 Defense Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301-1400
Dear Secretary Mattis:
As members of the Subcommittee on National Security, we are writing to express our
strong objection to the Trump Administration's most recent decision to redact U.S. troop
numbers for Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan from the Defense Department's quarterly public repo1is
on U.S. personnel strength. This data was publicly available to Congress and the American
people throughout the Bush and Obama Administrations and should continue to be so under the
Trump Administration, as it has facilitated the development of policies and measures designed to
maximize the protection of U.S. Forces deployed overseas. In the interest of continued force
protection, transparency, and accountability relating to our military presence in key combat
zones, we respectfully request that you immediately reverse this policy.
According to press accounts, the Defense Manpower Data Center "stripped" total U.S.
troop numbers for Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan from its quarterly report in December on the
number of active duty, reserve, National Guard, and civilian personnel assigned in the U.S. and
overseas. In place of this data, the Defense Depa1iment left "blank spaces where Iraq, Syria, and
Afghanistan figures used to be" and inserted a proviso indicating that, "with ongoing operations,
any questions concerning DoD personnel sh·ength numbers are defe1Ted to OSD Public
Affairs/Joint Chiefs of Staff." The Department also reportedly redacted personnel numbers for
Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan from last September's report. Moreover, it is our understanding that
the Defense Department has instructed the Defense Manpower Data Center to count personnel
going forward based on their pennanently assigned unit locations. As a result, thousands of
overseas personnel will be reported as stationed in the U.S. when they are actually deployed
overseas. 1
This data has been publicly available for more than a decade and provides Congress and
the American people with c1itical infonnation pertaining to Operation Enduring Freedom,
Pentagon Strips Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria Troop Numbersfi·om the Web, Military Times (Apr. 9, 2018)
(online at www. mili tarytimes. com/news/your-military/20 18/04/09Idod-strips-iraq-afghanis tan-syria-troop-numbers­
fro m-web).
1

  

The Honorable James Mattis
Page 2

Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Freedom?s Sentinel, Operation Inherent Resolve, and other
missions. An accurate and transparent accounting of deployed U.S. troops has enabled Congress
to make better-informed decisions regarding the equipment and personnel necessary to maximize
U.S. force protection in combat zones. It has also underscored whether our military strategies in
Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and other areas are achieving their desired results. As you may recall,
the U.S. troop ?gures released in November served to highlight signi?cant discrepancies
between the actual number of troops on the ground in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan and the much
lower, arti?cial ?force management levels? publicly acknowledged by the Pentagon.2 As a
result, the Defense Department undertook a policy review to ensure greater accuracy in reporting
U.S. troop deployment ?gures.

As Secretary of Defense, you have underscored your commitment ?to developing a more
transparent accounting of our troops in the ?eld.?3 We believe that an immediate reversal of the
decision by the DefenseDepartment to redact key data on U.S. personnel strength would help
ful?ll your commitment and greatly enhance transparency and accountability in this area.

We respectfully request the courtesy of a reply by Wednesday, May 23, 2018. Thank you
in advance for your consideration of this letter.

Sincerely,

  



 

Rep. Stephen F. 
Ranking Member

Rep. Peter Welch 



 

 

 

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier

   

 

2 26,000 US Troops 0m] in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, DOD Reports, Defense News (Nov. 27, 2017)
(online at 
syria-dod-reports).

3 Jim Morris Promises More Accurate Accounting of US Troop Deployments, Washington Examiner (Aug.
29, 2017) (online at 
deployments).

The Honorable James Mattis
Page 3

cc: The Honorable Trey Gowdy, Chairman

The Honorable Ron DeSantis, Chairman 
Subcommittee on National Security