| Contingency operation | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| United States Congress | |
| Citation | 10 U.S.C. § 101a |
| Territorial extent | United States Federal Government |
| Enacted | 2011 |
| Commenced | January 3, 2012 |
| Related legislation | |
| Authorization for Use of Military Force | |
| Status: In force | |
A contingency operation is a military operation involving United States Armed Forces, conducted in response to natural disasters, terrorists, subversives, or as otherwise directed by appropriate authority to protect national interests.[1] The designation is made by a finding by the discretion of the Secretary of Defense, and triggers the implementation of a variety of wartime plans and preparations throughout the federal government, and within each of the military branches. Contingency operations are often referred to more specifically as overseas contingency operations (OCO), a term which is often substituted because there has not been a recent war on United States soil. The term's best known use is in the United States Congress' Overseas Contingency Operations funding, a discretionary budget appropriation sometimes described as a slush fund[2][3][4] used originally for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but now used more broadly for other expenditures associated primarily with the War on Terror.[2]
- ^ Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. Washington, DC: The Joint Staff. p. 47. OCLC 58924036.
- ^ a b McCabe 2021.
- ^ Tolliver, Sandy (2021-05-21). "The Biden administration is poised to absorb the Pentagon's 'slush fund'". The Hill. Retrieved 2021-07-17.
- ^ "Overseas Contingency Operations: The Pentagon Slush Fund". National Priorities Project. Archived from the original on 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2021-07-17.