Dedicated, innovative, and motivated—these are the sort of words that come to mind when I think about the women and men who worked in the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) during the last six months. This Semiannual Report to Congress presents the results, findings, and statuses of my team’s audits, inspections, evaluations, and investigations from April 1, 2021, to September 30, 2021.
The reconstitution from the impacts of the 2019 Coronavirus pandemic during this period was a unique experience. My staff rose to the challenge and was an Agency leader in receiving the vaccine, demonstrating their professionalism, and commitment to their work. Their dedication allowed OIG to continue to conduct relevant and timely oversight to detect and deter fraud, waste, and abuse, and help DIA address identified management challenges and achieve the desired end state in the Director’s 2021 DIA Strategy.
OIG efforts continue to focus on strategic issues facing the Agency. Work completed by both our Audits and Inspections and Evaluations Divisions addressed 2020 Top Management Challenges, including Financial Management, Information Security Governance, and Leadership Controls and Oversight. In addition, the evaluation of DIA’s Foreign Disclosure Program and the Fiscal Year 2021 Report on Classification both contributed to advancing the Allies and Partnerships line of effort in the Director’s 2021 DIA Strategy.
The Investigations Division continued its work investigating allegations of fraud, waste, reprisal, and abuses of authority; our Hotline branch screened thousands of communications, responding when appropriate and referred cases to our Investigations Division or Agency management for action. In this reporting period, we saw our investigative efforts result in a Federal District Court Conviction with a contract employee ordered to make restitution of over $107,000 and sentenced to confinement for over a year. Also, at our request, the Agency swiftly debarred the contract employee from further Federal contracts. Efforts by the investigators help strengthen integrity, accountability, and transparency, which lead to strengthening Agency leadership controls and oversight, again a persistent top management challenge.
As the Agency adjusts to the “new normal,” OIG’s ability to perform our mission in an effective and timely manner remains dependent on the collaborative efforts between my staff and Agency management to address OIG findings and to implement the recommended corrective actions. I would like to express my appreciation to DIA leadership for the sustained commitment to supporting our important work. The Director’s Agency-wide message highlighting the requirement to cooperate with OIG demonstrated this commitment.