OS, true. I was also thinking this is a Bright Shiny Object for us to follow while much larger sums of money are shuffling around.
At the Task Force level, the S-3A is usually stuck with the "Pay-off" mission in the current COIN model. So he'd get literally pallets of cash, shrink wrapped; load it onto an MRAP, and he'd roll out with a security detail to meet with local leadership and divvy up the pie. It was left to the BN to come up with an accountability system, so ours actually did a contract bid process, and even did site followups to ensure work was being done, but it had no teeth. And the accountability didn't fully connect with anything higher. I know they were using contractors in similar capacities elsewhere so the temptation I'm certain was common. The new mission of the infantry battalion, Seek out, close with and pay off the enemy by small unmarked bills.
This is what you get when you put the state department in charge of the war.
