How Human Trafficking Affects Warfighter Mission Readiness

Trafficking in persons impacts the United States Military’s mission and readiness in many ways:

• Sex traffickers who operate near U.S. military installations target Service members (making service members vulnerable to blackmail/espionage).
• Subcontractor employees performing under U.S. government contracts on military installations have been subjected to steep recruitment fees, unsafe working and living conditions, or violence and abuse on the job. This negatively affects their performance and may even turn workers against the U.S. (creating possible insider threat situations).
• Children are being trafficked into rogue and extremist militias where they serve as soldiers, spies, cooks, porters, messengers, medics, guards, or sex slaves (resulting in possible future adversaries of U.S. soldiers).
• Terrorist organizations, organized crime, and extremist groups use trafficking in persons to fund their operations (posing threat to national security and safety of Americans).