(October 11, 2022)
Initially enacted as a provisional authority in 2004 and subsequently codified in 2016, § 127e allows U.S. forces to “provide support” to foreign militaries, paramilitaries, and private individuals that are “supporting” U.S. counterterrorism operations.
The kinds of support that U.S. forces may give and receive are not defined in § 127e. But the Department of Defense sought § 127e from Congress so that U.S. forces would have the ability to recruit, train, equip, and pay the salaries of foreign militaries, paramilitaries, and private individuals that would assist the United States in combating terrorism. According to Maj. Gen. J. Marcus Hicks, the former head of Special Operations Command Africa, putting these partners on payroll would give U.S. forces “full incentive authority” over them and enable U.S. forces to “command and control” them on missions.