Consolidating Military Base Support Services Could Save Billions

Military base support services, such as payroll and administrative activities, base supply and transportation, maintenance and construction of buildings and roads, trash and sewage disposal, and personnel management, cost the Department of Defense (DOD) about 10 percent of the total Defense budget in fiscal year 1978. Studies have shown that the elimination of duplicate base support services, through consolidation, can achieve large savings without impairing mission effectiveness. In order to reduce costs, DOD established the following programs: (1) the Defense Retail Interservicing Support (DRIS) program; (2) the military services' programs to consolidate support services within each service; and (3) Commercial and Industrial-Type Activities, a program to contract for support services from private industry.