Defense Management: Fully Developed Management Framework Needed to Guide Air Force Future Total Force Efforts
GAO-06-232
Published: Jan 31, 2006. Publicly Released: Jan 31, 2006.
Skip to Highlights
Highlights
The Air Force is in the process of transforming its force to meet today's new and emerging threats. Its "Future Total Force" concept is intended to maximize future capabilities by integrating its active, National Guard, and reserve components to a greater degree. While the Air Force was making force structure decisions and developing its 20-year plan, the Air National Guard embarked on its own "Vanguard" transformation initiative to ensure its role and relevance in the new Air Force. This report discusses (1) the processes and events that surrounded the Air Force's development of its 20-year force structure plan, including the involvement of key stakeholders and the development of the Guard's Vanguard initiative, and (2) the extent to which the Air Force is utilizing key results-oriented management tools to guide its effort to identify new missions for the Air National Guard and integrate active and Guard forces as part of its Future Total Force effort.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | To establish a results-oriented management framework that can be used to guide the implementation of the Future Total Force transformation process, measure effectiveness and overall results, and clearly communicate plans for implementing and evaluating the concept to all key stakeholders and decision makers within the Air Force and DOD, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretary of the Air Force to require the Future Total Force Directorate to fully develop a comprehensive, results-oriented management framework to guide the Future Total Force transformation effort and measure overall results. Specifically, the management framework should include a strategic plan that contains, but is not limited to long-term goals and objectives, strategies to be used to accomplish goals, performance goals, performance criteria for measuring progress, and evaluation and corrective action plans. |
Closed – Implemented
The Air Force Future Total Force Directorate has developed a strategic plan to guide the implementation of the Future Total Force transformation process which contains many of the key management tools we described in our report.
|
| Department of Defense | To establish a results-oriented management framework that can be used to guide the implementation of the Future Total Force transformation process, measure effectiveness and overall results, and clearly communicate plans for implementing and evaluating the concept to all key stakeholders and decision makers within the Air Force and DOD, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretary of the Air Force to set a specific time frame to accelerate the approval of the Future Total Force Directorate's strategic plan. |
Closed – Implemented
In response to our recommendation, the Air Force accelerated finalizing its Future Total Force Strategic Plan and approved the plan on December 16, 2005.
|
| Department of Defense | Further, to establish a clear understanding of the approach and mechanisms to be used to evaluate the Future Total Force initiatives to test new organizational constructs, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretary of the Air Force to establish a stand-alone, comprehensive, and clearly articulated plan for evaluating the Future Total Force test initiatives to measure results, identify and apply lessons learned, and build on current efforts to increase the transparency of the process for Air Force and DOD decision makers and outside organizations. |
Closed – Implemented
In response to GAO's recommendation, the Air Force has taken two actions. In June 2006, it published Air Force Policy Directive 90-10 which established the policy for implementing initiatives integrating the Regular Air Force and the Air Reserve Components of the Air Force as part of the Total Force Integration concept (the new name of the Future Total Force). The policy directive directed the major commands to develop metrics for evaluating whether integration initiatives are creating the desired effects. Subsequently, in May 2007, the Air Force issued Air Force Instruction 90-1001, which outlines responsibilities for Total Force Integration. The instruction codifies the development of metrics and reinforces the Defense Readiness Reporting System (DRRS) requirement to provide measures of a unit's capability to be reported a minimum of every 30 days. In addition, the Air Force instruction also tasked the units to track, at a minimum, crew ratios, dwell times, absorption rates, utilization rates, operational tempo, personnel tempo, quality of life indicators, and training success rates. These non-DRRS indicators are to be captured by the units and forwarded to their respective major commands and/or the National Guard Bureau for inclusion in the Total Force Integration Tracking Tool database. Additionally, the Air Force intends to continue to fine-tune the measures collected on integration initiatives as new initiatives are developed. GAO believes that these steps respond to the intent of our recommendation.
|
Full Report
GAO Contacts
Office of Public Affairs
Topics
Agency missionsInternal controlsMilitary forcesForce structureMilitary personnelMilitary policiesNational GuardPolicy evaluationStrategic forcesStrategic planningStakeholder consultations