STATEMENT

OF

BRUCE C. SWARTZ
DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL
CRIMINAL DIVISION
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

BEFORE THE

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

CONCERNING

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PERSONNEL DEPLOYED TO AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ

OCTOBER 16, 2007

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am pleased to appear before you today to
discuss the role of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) personnel deployed to Afghanistan and
Iraq, the important and courageous work they do, and the challenges the Department faces in
deploying personnel to those countries.
As you know, promoting the rule of law is central to the creation of democratic
institutions. This requires sustained, long term efforts, to which the Department of Justice is
firmly committed. Through the use of reimbursable and non-reimbursable details, DOJ
employees have been (and continue to be) temporarily assigned in direct support of the
development of the judicial and law enforcement sectors in Iraq and Afghanistan. DOJ’s efforts
in both countries depends on our partnership with numerous other government agencies and our
ability to attract highly qualified civilian employees to support these development efforts.
To improve our ability to respond to overseas challenges and provide the personnel
expertise needed will require that we increase our numbers of available, trained, and deployable
personnel within our department and others and that we support them with a structure in
Washington that conducts planning and coordination. DOJ is working with interagency partners
and the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization at the Department of State to build that
capacity and to support development of a "civilian reserve corps" of outside experts that we can
also call on to fill additional requirements.
For decades, the Department of Justice has deployed federal prosecutors and law
enforcement agents overseas to serve as advisors and liaisons with our international partners.
Following U.S. military action in Afghanistan and Iraq, and with the support of the Department
of State, the Department quickly deployed teams of prosecutors and police experts to assess what
the United States Government could do to support the development of the judicial and law
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enforcement sectors of each country. Since that time, DOJ has deployed hundreds of full-time
personnel, and over eleven hundred contractors, in support of our missions in Afghanistan and
Iraq. All are volunteers who have sacrificed time with friends and families in order to further the
respect for the rule of law around the world, and to help fight crime and terrorism. I appreciate
this opportunity to share with you some of the fruits of their efforts, and how they are
compensated for their sacrifices, as well as the challenges the Department faces going forward.
DOJ personnel deployed internationally come from nearly every agency within the
Department. They include prosecutors and administrative personnel from Main Justice and the
U.S. Attorneys Offices (USAO) around the country; special agents from the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA); the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, and Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Deputies from the U.S. Marshals Service
(USMS); and intelligence analysts from the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC). At a
minimum, these personnel serve on three to six month temporary duty assignments to
Afghanistan and Iraq. Some serve longer: the Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSA) from around
the country and DEA agents who serve at the Criminal Justice Task Force in Kabul, and the
AUSAs who serve as Resident Legal Advisors throughout Iraq, spend at least one year or more
on assignments in these danger zones. In addition to our full time employees, the Department
has hundreds of contractors currently serving as police trainers in Iraq, and a smaller number of
contractors currently serving in Afghanistan.

AFGHANISTAN
The Department’s largest presence in Afghanistan comes from the DEA, but our
personnel there include Special Agents from the FBI, Deputies from the USMS, a limited
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number of police investigation trainers/mentors, and four specially selected Senior Federal
Prosecutors. The prosecutors serve as trainers/mentors to a select group of Afghan investigators,
prosecutors and judges at the recently established Criminal Justice Task Force and the Central
Narcotics Tribunal located in Kabul.
DEA Activities in Afghanistan
The DEA’s commitment to counternarcotics enforcement is demonstrated by its global
assignment of personnel and material to stem the flow of illicit drugs into the United States. The
importance of that commitment is particularly acute in Afghanistan, where the illicit narcotics
trade threatens the very viability of that nation’s nascent democracy, and helps to fund and
support the activities of the Taliban and terrorist groups that attack our allies and our own forces.
As part of this effort, the DEA has expanded its presence by stationing Special Agents and
Intelligence Analysts to enhance counternarcotics capabilities in Afghanistan. The DEA also
provides counternarcotics training to Afghan security forces such as the Counternarcotics Police
– Afghanistan (CNP-A). Together with the Department of Defense, DEA trainers have
embarked on a multi-year mission to make the CNP-A’s National Interdiction Unit capable of
independent operations within Afghanistan. Progress in this area is on a steady pace.
In addition to an expanded country team in Afghanistan, DEA has established specially
trained, Foreign-deployed Advisory Support Teams (FAST). The FAST program is a key tool
by which DEA advances its enforcement and training operations. FAST currently consists of
three teams of ten specially trained agents and analysts, who deploy to Afghanistan for 120 days
at a time to assist the Kabul Country Office and the CNP-A in the development of their
investigations. FAST members possess a unique skill set. As DEA agents they are trained
criminal investigators, but because of the environment in which they operate in Afghanistan and
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the demands posed by the work they perform, military training is also needed. To facilitate the
latter, the Department of Defense has created a seven week program consisting of operations and
weapons training, emergency medical care, and explosive and demolition training.
The first FAST deployments to Afghanistan were in April 2005 and teams have regularly
rotated to Afghanistan since then. They provide guidance to their Afghan counterparts while also
conducting bilateral investigations aimed at the region’s narcotics trafficking organizations.
FAST operations, which are supported and largely funded by DOD, also help with the
destruction of existing opium storage sites, clandestine heroin processing labs, and precursor
chemical supplies directly related to our investigations.
Criminal Division Activities in Afghanistan
One of the significant, lesser known success stories from Afghanistan is the work of
DOJ’s four Senior Federal Prosecutors and three senior criminal investigator trainers/mentors at
the Criminal Justice Task Force (CJTF) and the Central Narcotics Tribunal (CNT). Since 2005,
the Criminal Division has deployed two to four experienced AUSAs to Kabul to work with the
DEA, international colleagues from the United Kingdom and Norway, and our Afghan partners,
to help develop the CJTF and the CNT. Currently, we have four AUSAs stationed at the U.S.
Embassy in Kabul. They serve a minimum of one year tours, and several have elected to extend
their initial commitment. The successes of their efforts are dramatic. Working within an Afghan
judicial system nearly destroyed by decades of war, our AUSAs helped the Afghans craft new
counternarcotics laws that created a specialized investigative/prosecutorial task force and a
specialized court that has exclusive nationwide jurisdiction for mid and high level narcotics
trafficking cases in Afghanistan. With the new laws, and with training and mentoring from our
AUSAs, the Afghans have begun the use of new and advanced investigative techniques and
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prosecutorial methods and tools. To date, the Central Narcotics Tribunal has successfully heard
hundreds of cases. One significant example of their accomplishments is the recent sentencing of
Haji Baz Mohammed (“Mohammed”) in the United States District Court for the Southern
District of New York. Just two weeks ago, the Court sentenced Mohammed, an Afghan heroin
kingpin closely aligned with the Taliban, and the first defendant extradited to the United States
from Afghanistan, to 15 years in prison for managing an international narcotics trafficking
organization that imported millions of dollars of heroin into the United States. Between 1990
and 2005, Mohammed’s heroin trafficking organization was responsible for manufacturing and
distributing millions of dollars in heroin in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and ultimately in the United
States. He operated under protection from the Taliban, funded their efforts, and bragged that his
activities were part of a Jihad against Americans by poisoning them with heroin. His extradition
to the United States would not have been possible without the efforts of the DEA personnel in
Afghanistan, and the work of the AUSAs assigned to the CJTF at the time of his extradition.
The Criminal Division also has one full-time employee detailed to the Department of
State who is serving in Afghanistan as the Deputy to the Commanding General of Combined
Security Transition Command – Afghanistan, who has responsibility for U.S. police
development and training efforts in Afghanistan.
ATF Activities in Afghanistan
Last month, the ATF successfully completed its first Military Postblast Investigation
Techniques course for all services in Afghanistan. The Department of Defense has already
requested a second course for its Explosive Ordinance Disposal personnel in Afghanistan.

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FBI Activities in Afghanistan
The FBI personnel in Afghanistan work on criminal investigations and counter-terror
missions. Currently, the FBI has a Legal Attaché and two Assistant Legal Attachés stationed at
the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, as well as more than 33 Special Agents, technicians, and analysts
who serve 90 day details in Afghanistan. Their priorities include conducting detainee interviews
and biometric processing; providing technical support and intelligence in order to identify trends,
target IED makers and enable both offensive and defensive counter operations by coalition
forces; exploiting the thousands of documents seized from Al Qaeda and Anti-Coalition Forces;
and providing counterterrorism training to our Afghan allies and US military personnel.
USMS Activities in Afghanistan
Rotating teams of Deputies from the USMS provide security to our team in Kabul at the
CJTF, and are helping to establish a judicial security force for the CNT. Additionally, they have
provided security design advice for the soon to open Counternarcotics Justice Center in Kabul.
This new facility will not only provide a secure environment for the daily activities of the CJTF
and CNT, but will also include prisoner detention facilities, secure courtrooms, and a dining
facility for the Afghan security forces and judicial personnel.

IRAQ
As in Afghanistan, the Department has deployed federal employees as well as contracted
police trainers to Iraq as part of the U.S. partnership with the Iraqis to rebuild the judicial and
law enforcement sectors within their country.

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Rule of Law Coordinator
The Rule of Law Coordinator is a position recently assigned to Assistant U.S. Attorney
James Santelle by the U.S. Ambassador as part of a complete reorganization of United States
rule of law efforts in Iraq. The Embassy vested AUSA Santelle “plenary authority and complete
responsibility for ensuring that all participants in the Rule of Law work of the Embassy are
designing and implementing their programs and programs and projects consistent with and in
promotion of a unified vision and plan.” As a result, approximately 300 U.S. employees and a
dozen organizations come under his guidance. We are grateful for the scope of the trust and
confidence reposed in a Department of Justice employee at a U.S. embassy.
Justice Attaché
The Justice Attaché is responsible for formulating strategy and ensuring coordination of
DOJ activities in theater. The current Justice Attaché is a former judge from North Carolina.
CRM/ICITAP
One of the largest DOJ programs in Iraq is managed by the Criminal Division’s
International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP). Created in 1986,
ICITAP, in partnership with, and funding from, the United States Department of State, has
become a leader in law enforcement development and training worldwide, with active programs
in 48 countries around the globe. ICITAP’s mission is to help achieve U.S. criminal justice and
foreign policy goals by assisting in developing sustainable foreign law enforcement institutions
that promote democratic principles, instill respect for human rights and human dignity, and
reduce the threat of transnational crime and terrorism.
ICITAP’s activities, implemented at the direction of State, USAID, or other funding USG
funding entity, encompass three principal types of assistance projects: (1) enhancing capabilities
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of existing law enforcement institutions in emerging democracies; (2) assisting nations on the
frontlines of the fight against terrorism; and (3) developing law enforcement institutions in the
context of post-conflict reconstruction or international peacekeeping operations. In all of its
assistance projects, ICITAP seeks to avoid piecemeal training efforts, and to instead focus on the
comprehensive, long-term development of police forces and corrections institutions. Further, and
whenever possible, ICITAP and its sister agency - DOJ’s Overseas Prosecutorial Development,
Assistance, and Training (OPDAT) - seek to integrate their assistance programs, and to work
with other federal law enforcement agencies, in order to simultaneously develop all three pillars
of the criminal justice system: police, courts, and corrections.
Worldwide, ICITAP has 21 federal Senior Law Enforcement Advisors (SLEAs) deployed
overseas. They are usually attached to the local U.S. embassy or mission, and oversee the
management and delivery of the police development programs in-country. Programs that are too
small to support an in-country SLEA are managed by federal ICITAP headquarters (HQ) staff in
Washington. Depending on the particular program, ICITAP also may utilize subcontractors to
staff their programs. While ICITAP sometimes uses a contract to procure certain personnel and
services, at all times, it is ICITAP employees that develop, manage, and evaluates all of its
programs.
Earlier this year, I testified before the House Armed Services Subcommittee in greater
specificity about ICITAP’s efforts in Iraq, but it bears repeating that ICITAP’s budget comes
almost exclusively from project-specific funding provided by the Department of State, the U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of Defense (DOD), and,
recently, the Millennium Challenge Corporation. ICITAP receives no direct appropriations for

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its work, and looks to other U.S. Government agencies with regard to both the selection and
funding of overseas law enforcement development projects as they are required.
ICITAP personnel were some of the first federal civilian employees to deploy to Iraq in
2003. With funds provided by the State Department’s Bureau for International Narcotics and
Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), DOJ deployed a select team of 25 career senior justice
practitioners into Iraq to assess the state of law enforcement and justice sector institutions. This
team produced three comprehensive assessments, which were provided to the Coalition
Provisional Authority (CPA) leadership, on the state of the Iraqi police service, the judiciary, and
the correctional system.
The ICITAP component of the assessment team remained on the ground in Iraq to help to
stand up the key components of the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Justice: the Iraqi
Police Service (IPS), the Department of Border Enforcement (DBE), and the Iraq Correctional
Service (ICS). Today, almost four years later, DOJ continues to provide support in three vital
program areas: the Iraq Police and Border Services, the Iraq Correctional Service, and the
Commission on Public Integrity. In each of these programs – police, corrections, and public
integrity -- ICITAP has helped develop and implement institutional development strategies, has
delivered basic and advanced instruction programs, and has operationalized and managed several
training academies.
At present, ICITAP’s in-country staffing levels supporting these three programs consist
of four authorized federal senior management personnel positions and approximately 307
authorized contractor personnel. Funding to support these three program efforts has totaled
approximately $285.7 million to date and has been provided by INL via inter-agency
agreements. This funding is used almost exclusively to manage program efforts and fund the
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salaries of instructors and advisors. All support requirements (e.g., logistics, security, equipment)
for all ICITAP personnel working in Iraq are provided by INL’s contractor.
Police Program
Within six months of deploying into Baghdad in 2003, an ICITAP team of experts,
working with coalition partners, assisted in the development of a comprehensive police
assessment; helped to: reconstitute the Ministry of Interior, stand up the Iraqi Police Service in
Baghdad, and design the Iraqi Department of Border Enforcement; developed the basic police
skills course curriculum; and contributed trainers and expertise to the Jordan International Police
Training Center. ICITAP’s efforts in these first critical months helped to launch what is
arguably the largest international police development and training program ever undertaken. In
early 2004, ICITAP contributed to the establishment of what is now known as the Multinational
Security Transition Command’s Civilian Police Assistance Training Team (CPATT), under the
command of U.S. Central Command. From 2004 to 2006, ICITAP’s federal senior law
enforcement advisor in Iraq served as the deputy of CPATT and as the senior civilian advisor to
each of the three succeeding CPATT commanding generals.
Funding for ICITAP’s Iraqi policing initiatives comes entirely from the Departments of
State and Defense, and totals more than $219.5 million to date. ICITAP currently has
authorization for two federal civilian managers on the ground in Iraq to work with CPATT in the
police training mission, along with 191 subcontracted senior police trainers and advisors.
Personnel provided by ICITAP and its contractor are primarily engaged in training, mentoring,
and advising Iraqi Police Service personnel and Iraqi Police Service trainers at police academies.
Under the CPATT mission, to date, more than 204,000 Iraqi police have graduated from
courses developed and/or delivered by ICITAP and/or ICITAP-trained Iraqi police instructors.
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Additionally, ICITAP has provided assistance to CPATT to help establish a functional
and sustainable border security department in Iraq that is capable of preventing violence,
narcotics, and human trafficking, and of preserving the human rights and dignity of all who cross
the Iraqi borders. Currently ICITAP provides up to 14 subcontractor border security instructors
and advisors to provide basic skills and advanced training at the regional DBE training
academies throughout Iraq. To date, ICITAP has assisted with the training of approximately
12,800 Iraqis in basic border security. Advanced and specialized training started earlier this year.
Corrections Program
Since 2003, ICITAP has led U.S. efforts to reconstitute an Iraqi corrections system, and it
has worked collaboratively with the State Department to implement prison reform initiatives in
Iraq. The program is headed by two ICITAP federal civilian managers in Iraq who oversee
approximately 80 contractor personnel serving as International Corrections Trainers (ICTs) to
support the development of the Iraq Corrections Service (ICS). Unlike the ICITAP police
trainers who are under CPATT’s control, the ICT mission remains under the authority of the U.S.
Ambassador. To date, ICITAP has received approximately $65.5 million from INL for this
effort.
In practice, the correctional system in Iraq consists of the ICS national system and an
independently operated system in the country’s northern Kurdish region. ICITAP has
successfully built an indigenous training capacity within the ICS, providing instructor
development courses to Iraqi instructors, who in turn provide advanced courses in weapons,
emergency response team training, transportation, personal security details, and biometrics.
ICITAP also established the National Corrections Training Academy and regional training
academies, which have graduated more than 7,500 new staff from pre-service training.
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In addition, ICITAP has facilitated the transfer of authority at the Baladiyat Prison from
the Iraqi Ministry of Interior (MOI) to the Ministry of Justice. Baladiyat is an 860-bed, newly
constructed MOJ-operated detention facility. Following the completion of renovations funded by
the U.S. military, the facility now houses ICS inmates.
The Commission on Public Integrity (CPI)
The Commission on Public Integrity (CPI) was created in 2004 as an independent
governmental body with the mission to prevent and investigate corruption, and to promote
transparency and the rule of law throughout Iraq. The Iraqi Governing Council vetted Iraqi
civilians with legal backgrounds to carry out the commission's investigative functions. Since
2004, INL has provided more than $14.9 million in funding to ICITAP to provide institutional
support, training, mentoring, and investigative surveillance equipment needed to establish and
train an effective CPI investigative corps. ICITAP has deployed 16 contractor advisors incountry to oversee this effort and support the investigators assigned to the CPI. To date, ICITAP
has successfully trained over 380 anti-corruption investigators.
Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT)
Since 2003, OPDAT has deployed 36 AUSAs and judicial officers (including State and
Federal judges, Federal Public Defenders, attorneys, and Clerks of Court) to serve with the
Regime Crimes Liaison Office, the Major Crimes Task Force, and Assessment Personnel, and as
Resident Legal Advisors (RLAs) in Baghdad and as part of Provincial Reconstruction Teams
(PRT) located throughout Iraq. The PRTs are a mainstay of U.S. efforts to build capacity for
Iraq’s local, municipal, and provincial governments to deliver goods and services to the Iraqi
people. Currently, DOJ has eight AUSAs serving as RLAs performing one year tours of duty.

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The RLAs currently advise and mentor trial and investigative judges under the authority
of the Higher Juridical Council; provide advice on changes in law and policy within the Higher
Juridical Council; and provide counsel, support, and assistance on a variety of court
administration, management, security, and case-specific matters. The RLA programs are
conducted pursuant to agreements with the State Department, and State funding for the effort
since 2003 has totaled approximately $25.4M.
United States Marshals Service
Currently, 12 Deputy U.S. Marshals from the USMS Special Operations Group (SOG)
serve in Iraq on four-month rotational assignments. Their duties included security assistance to
the Regime Crimes Liaison Office during the trials of Saddam Hussein and the members of his
regime. With the Department of State funding, they also provide technical assistance and
training support to the Iraqi judicial sector on security for witnesses, judges, prosecutors and
other court personnel, as well as security and design and construction for five state-of-the-art
courthouses funded by DOD and adjacent witness security sites funded by INL. Additionally,
SOG has assigned Deputies to the Major Crimes Task Force, and they have started to provide
support for an INL program to create a counterpart Judicial Protection Service modeled after the
US Marshals Service. Since its initial deployment to Iraq in 2003, SOG has rotated
approximately 75 of its 95 personnel through overseas assignments. To date, USMS programs
have received $53M from INL and IRRF appropriations for these efforts.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
ATF has participated since October 2003 in the planning and implementation of
counterterrorism/explosives training for the Iraqi Police in support of CPATT. ATF has
completed numerous post-blast investigation courses and basic explosives courses for over 300
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Iraqi Police Service officers. In addition, ATF has deployed 24 personnel to Iraq in support of
the Combined Explosives Exploitation Cell (CEXC), including Certified Explosives Specialists
and Explosives Enforcement Officers assigned to incident response teams, who provide technical
explosives and post-blast investigative expertise. Since March 2004, ATF also has deployed a
Certified Explosives Specialist and Special Agent Canine Handlers to Iraq to perform missions
related to sensitive critical infrastructure protection, including searching vehicles, individuals,
and facilities to reduce and counter the threat of improvised explosive devices. Since that time,
21 ATF canine handlers have deployed to Iraq on temporary 90-day rotational assignments.
In 2005, ATF began to support the Regime Crimes Liaison Office with 13 90-day
rotations of special agents (four special agents per rotation). Since 2006, the ATF has deployed
seven 90-day rotation teams of two special agents to the Major Crimes Task Force.
This year, ATF has received over two million dollars in supplemental funding for Iraq
operations. A portion of these funds will be used to establish an ATF presence at the U.S.
Embassy in Baghdad. ATF will station four full time personnel to the embassy including an
Attaché, two Assistant Attachés, and an Intelligence Research Specialist.
Drug Enforcement Administration
Although the DEA has no permanent presence in Iraq, it has delivered courses in
intelligence and intelligence analysis to the Iraqi police agencies in support of CPATT, and it
supports the Regime Crimes Liaison Office and the Major Crimes Task Force by assigning
Special Agent teams to 90-day rotations to each office. As of October 2007, 50 DEA agents
have been deployed to Iraq, and six of those agents have served two or more 90-day assignments.

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Federal Bureau of Investigation
Since 2003, the FBI has deployed rotating teams of personnel to provide specialized
counterterrorism and complex criminal case training to the Iraqi police in support of CPATT
pursuant to interagency agreements with the State Department. In addition, the FBI has ten
personnel at the Legal Attaché Office in Iraq to perform investigations and other operational
activities. The FBI also provides rotating teams of 5 personnel to the Major Crimes Task Force.
The Department also has 70 agents and support staff at the Baghdad Operations Center (BOC)
and throughout Iraq; the majority of these agents serve on rotating details. These details include
70 FBI personnel per rotation. Since 2003, the Bureau has deployed approximately 1,500
personnel to Iraq.
Major Crimes Task Force
In 2005, Embassy Baghdad established an FBI-lead interagency USG team to advise,
train, and mentor a newly created Iraqi Major Crimes Task Force (MCTF), which assists the
Iraqi police agencies and judicial investigations with the investigation of major crimes, such as
murder and kidnapping. Using a train-the-trainer approach, ten federal law enforcement
personnel from the FBI, DEA, USMS, and ATF enhance the Iraqi police officers’ abilities to
conduct complex criminal investigations with the intent of restoring law and order. The State
Department has provided $13.2M in IRRF and INCLE funding for the MCTF.
The Regime Crimes Liaison Office (RCLO)
The RCLO was established in May 2004, to assist the Government of Iraq in
investigating and prosecuting crimes by Saddam Hussein and key members of his regime, and in
establishing the Iraqi High Tribunal (IHT) to try former regime members for their crimes.
Currently, four DOJ attorneys support its efforts. At its peak, the RCLO included 13 AUSAs as
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well as DOD Judge Advocates, DOJ and international investigators (including agents from the
FBI, DEA, ATF, and USMS), forensic scientists, administrative personnel (including
intelligence analysts from NDIC), and contractors, under the leadership of the Regime Crimes
Liaison, a DOJ employee.
The Law and Order Task Force (LAOTF) and Rule of Law Complex
DOJ also supports the Multi-National Force-Iraq’s (MNF-I) recently established Law and
Order Task Force by providing special agents, and attorneys to serve as its Director (on detail
from his position as Director of NDIC), and as trial attorneys to work with Iraqi counterparts.
The LAOTF Director supervises the operation of the 91 member task force to accelerate the Iraqi
capacity for independent, evidence-based, and transparent investigation and trial of major crimes
in the Central Criminal Court of Iraq (CCCI). The CCCI, which was created in June 2003 by the
Coalition Provisional Authority to try terrorism and insurgency-related cases, has been a
successful venue for the prosecution of major crimes. DOJ also provides personnel support for
MNF-I’s establishment of the Rule of Law Complex in Baghdad to provide a secure location
combining police, courts, forensic labs, corrections functions, judicial housing and detention
facilities.
Benefits and Challenges Facing DOJ
The men and women from the Department of Justice who have volunteered for service in
Afghanistan and Iraq deserve, I believe, our thanks and praise. The majority of those employees
who deploy to these danger zones do so on 90-120 day rotations. Some have repeated those
tours. Other DOJ employees, such as the attorneys who work at the embassies in Kabul and
Baghdad, and the RLAs living and working at the PRTs throughout Iraq, serve minimum one
year tours of duty. To date, seven AUSAs from around the country have served at least one year
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tours in Kabul, and 18 AUSAs and DOJ trial attorneys and have served one year tours in Iraq.
Several of these attorneys have extended their tours beyond their initial one year commitment.
For example, an AUSA from Wisconsin, who is now the Rule of Law Coordinator in Iraq has
served nearly two years in Baghdad. Another AUSA from Arizona, working as a RLA in Mosul,
has served nearly 18 months in northern Iraq, where he has helped establish the Major Crimes
Court in Mosul, the first court in predominantly Sunni areas other than the Central Criminal
Court in Baghdad to hear insurgent-related trials.
Funding for the DOJ personnel in Afghanistan and Iraq varies according to the
program that supports their particular effort in their respective countries. The AUSAs serving as
Senior Federal Prosecutors in Afghanistan are fully funded via DOJ-INL agreements. The U.S.
Attorneys Offices who consent to the deployment of these attorneys do not suffer any financial
consequences for the loss of their AUSA, but they do have to address the absence of a typically
long experienced AUSA from their offices. DOJ funds the positions of those AUSAs who
deploy to six month positions with the Regime Crimes Liaison Office, the Major Crimes Task
Force, or as Embassy personnel such as the Rule of Law Coordinator and the Justice Attaché.
Attracting qualified and experienced attorneys to spend a year away from their friends
and families in Iraq and Afghanistan is a challenge the Department works to address every day.
To ease this challenge, the Department, like its sister agencies, offers certain incentives to those
willing to volunteer for service in these danger zones. While on detail, an individual may be
eligible for certain monetary and non-monetary benefits and entitlements. Most of these
allowances are established in law, with rates and rate changes being managed by the Department
of State, as described in the Department of State Standardized Regulations. Typically, these
allowances/benefits are used government wide; thereby, providing equity for employees serving
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in similar areas and situations. It should be noted that several of the monetary benefits
associated with assignment to a PRT are directly related to the elevation of the “Pay Cap”. As
such, The National Defense Authorization Act (Public Law 109-364), signed by President Bush
on October 17, 2006, authorized an increase to the annual limitation on basic pay and premium
pay up to $212,100 for calendar year 2007. Normally, the ceiling on basic pay and premium pay
for employees overseas would be $136,200 for 2007. The President’s action, however, allowed
the cap for DOJ to be lifted for designated overseas areas in support of the war.
In addition to the “Pay Cap” elevation, DOJ employees deploying to Afghanistan and
Iraq may be eligible for the following benefits:

MONETARY BENEFITS:
Danger Pay: Danger pay is designed to provide additional compensation to employees who
serve in hostile or dangerous areas where it has been determined that there is a threat of
imminent danger. Danger pay, as determined by the Department of State, is currently 35% of an
employee’s base pay (not including locality pay) for a 40-hour workweek. Danger Pay is paid to
a DOJ employee upon arrival to Afghanistan or Iraq, provided that he or she will be at post for a
minimum of 4 hours and payments will stop immediately upon departure of post designated as a
Danger Pay post. It is not earned for overtime, is a taxable benefit and subject to change without
notice. Payments are subject to the aggregate pay limitation, but they are not, however, subject
to the bi-weekly premium pay limitation.
Post Differential (Hardship Duty Pay): Post differential is designed to provide added
compensation to employees assigned in foreign areas where conditions of environment differ
substantially from the environmental conditions in the continental United States. Again, the
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amount is determined by the Department of State and is currently 35% of base pay (not including
locality pay) for a basic 40-hour workweek. This is separate and different benefit than the
danger pay discussed above. In order to qualify for this payment, the employee must be assigned
at the post for 42 consecutive days. Subsequently, on the 43rd day, post differential must
commence. For employees who are detailed to Afghanistan or Iraq, post differential continues to
be paid while the employee is away from post for up to 30 days. If the detailed employee has not
returned to post by the end of the 30 days, post differential shall be terminated. In order to reestablish eligibility, the detailed employee must again, remain at post for another 42 days and
commence post differential on the 43rd day. Post differential is not earned for overtime or
weekends, is a taxable benefit and subject to the aggregate pay limitation. However, post
differential is not subject to the bi-weekly premium pay limitation.
Overtime: Employees are eligible to receive additional compensation for time worked outside
their regular shift (overtime). Overtime pay is typically subject to the bi-weekly premium pay
limitation, however, the Attorney General authorized the application of the higher cap of
$212,100 to be applied to employees currently detailed and assigned overseas (e.g., Afghanistan
or Iraq).
Sunday Premium Pay: Sunday Premium Pay is paid to employees whose work schedule
reflect that the employee is scheduled to work ‘regularly’ on Sundays. Sunday Premium Pay
may only be paid for work ‘actually’ performed on Sundays and is paid at a rate of 25% of the
employee’s hourly rate (including locality). This payment is subject to both the aggregate pay
limitation and the bi-weekly premium pay limitation.

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Hazardous Duty Pay: Regardless of whether a DOJ employee is stationed in Afghanistan or
Iraq, in order to pay any General Schedule employee hazardous duty pay, the employee must
meet the requirements in 5 CFR part 550, Subpart I. In other words, hazardous duty pay may be
paid only to employees who are assigned hazardous duties or duties involving physical hardship
for which a differential is authorized (See 5 CFR part 550, Subpart I, Appendix A). It may not
be paid to an employee who undertakes to perform a hazardous duty on his or her own, without
proper authorization, either expressed or implied. When an employee performs a duty for which
a hazard pay differential is authorized, the agency must pay the hazard pay differential for all of
the hours in which the employee is in a pay status on the day on which the duty is performed.

NON-MONETARY BENEFITS
Home Leave: Department employees who are permanently stationed overseas must serve
continuously at least one 24-month period at the assigned post before home leave can be used.
Travel for home leave for these employees will not be paid by the Department. Home leave
must be taken in the U.S. or its territories or possessions.
The Department is working toward the discretionary granting of home leave to, and
funded home leave travel for, an employee who has been detailed to Afghanistan or Iraq
following the employee’s completion of a continuous 12-month period of service at either of
those posts. Whether an employee uses home leave as a result of serving continuously for 24 or
12 months, the home leave must be used during their continuing service overseas or within a
reasonable time after their return provided that the employee will return to service overseas

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either immediately or on completion of an assignment in the United States. (5 C.F.R. §
630.606(c)(2)).
Administrative Leave: In accordance with Department of State policy, DOJ is working toward
allowing for the granting of administrative leave for employees temporarily stationed in
Afghanistan or Iraq. Employees shall receive the necessary relief, or short periods of relaxation
and recovery, without charge to their leave from post of these two countries which have been
designated as a Special Rest and Recuperation post.

Conclusion
I want to thank the Committee for this opportunity to discuss the efforts of these
courageous DOJ employees in Afghanistan, Iraq, and around the world. They, like many other
Americans serving abroad, answered their nation’s call in ways they probably never anticipated.
They build skills and give hope to those in the countries where they serve. They fight crime and
terror, and each day they make it harder for those who wish to do us harm. They are a true
inspiration to all of us at the Department of Justice. As an institution, we try to find ways to
reward them and their families for their sacrifices. While a larger pay check or additional leave
may help to compensate financially for their service, nothing we can give them can make up for
the missed special family events, little league or soccer games, or a quiet weekend at the beach.
Nothing fully expresses our gratitude or can compensate for the debt we owe them. In closing, I
would like to acknowledge their courage, professionalism, and dedication. They are true
American heroes.

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