Military Prepositioning: Army and Air Force Programs Need to Be Reassessed
NSIAD-99-6
Published: Nov 16, 1998. Publicly Released: Nov 16, 1998.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the readiness of the Department of Defense (DOD) prepositioning programs, focusing on the: (1) basis for the program requirements; and (2) rates of inventory fill and maintenance condition of prepositioned stocks and the reliability of this readiness data.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
| Matter | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| To reliably assess DOD's readiness status and evaluate its future budget requests, Congress may wish to consider having the Secretary of Defense periodically report on the: (1) progress by DOD, the Army, and the Air Force to address the recommendations made in this report; and (2) impact of any shortages that remain after requirements and reporting problems are addressed, including how DOD and the services would mitigate shortages in the event of a major conflict. |
Closed – Implemented
|
Congress has required several related informal reports from DOD on prepositioning issues. In addition, Section 364 of the fiscal year 2000 Authorization Conference Report, requires that GAO look at military assumptions used to determine war reserve requirements, the adequacy of supplies available to fight two Major Theater Wars, and supplies available through the industrial base. |
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretaries of the Army and the Air Force to reassess their prepositioning programs with the goal of establishing sound requirements based on the two-war strategy and develop reliable inventory information to measure the readiness of all programs. |
Closed – Implemented
The Office of the Secretary of Defense directed the implementation of this recommendation by the Army and Air Force. The Army and Air Force have several ongoing efforts to refine their programs as the military strategy has evolved.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretary of the Army to reevaluate the requirements for European prepositioning, including whether the current brigade set configurations best meet the envisioned missions. |
Closed – Implemented
Army has approved a plan for smaller configuration in Europe. Excess equipment is being redistributed. This plan was accelerated after the September 11 attacks.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretary of the Army to take steps to ensure that the operational projects requirements meet operational needs and are prioritized in accordance with DOD's current wartime strategy. |
Closed – Implemented
The Army has continued to revalidate operational project authorizations; however, this process is expected to take approximately 2 more years. Data integrity problems have slowed implementation. Army expects to significantly decrease requirements for aircraft matting in Europe, which is questioned in the report. As of August 2003, the Army Audit Agency was finishing a report on the operational project program where they questioned requirements for some projects. However, some projects have been validated.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretary of the Army to complete ongoing efforts to improve the processes used to determine sustainment requirements and work with other DOD stakeholders to determine what stocks will be available from the industrial base and host nations. |
Closed – Implemented
The Army has completed studies to identify the requirements for sustainment, especially secondary items such as spare parts. Overall, by closely examining requirements and stocks on-hand, the Army has reduced the secondary item shortfall from approximately $3.5 billion in 1995, to $1.8 billion in 1999 (a $1.7 billion reduction). In addition, the Army completed an industrial base study in 1999, and has incorporated these findings into the updated secondary item calculation.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretary of the Army to develop reliable reports of inventory fill and maintenance conditions for the operational projects and sustainment programs so that their readiness can be reliably measured. |
Closed – Not Implemented
The operational project and sustainment programs are still plagued by data reliability problems, and this will take considerable years to resolve, according to the Army. The Army Audit Agency has conducted a series of reviews of these programs that show that many of the problems that GAO reported continued to linger.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretary of the Army to dispose of unneeded stocks. |
Closed – Implemented
The Army has determined its war reserve end-state and is developing disposition instructions for excess equipment.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretary of the Air Force to determine current requirements for European prepositioning. |
Closed – Implemented
The Air Force has used excess stocks in Europe to fill requirements in other theaters. Some stocks were used in Bosnia. The Air Force is using the results of a large-scale 1999 study to (1) develop a worldwide prepositioning strategy, (2) improve requirements determination process, and (3) improve asset visibility.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretary of the Air Force to develop precise bare base requirements by assessing the infrastructure available in the Persian Gulf region. |
Closed – Implemented
This recommendation has been partially implemented. The Air Force has completed additional base support plans to assess the infrastructure available in the Persian Gulf region; however, the Air Force said that efforts had been hindered by difficulties in obtaining country clearances and personnel rotation in theater.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretary of the Air Force to complete efforts to determine worldwide vehicle requirements, considering what is or will be available from the host nations. |
Closed – Implemented
The Air Force has developed authorization documents for most operating locations, including what is projected to be available from host nations/leasing, though a few locations are pending the outcome of base support plans in some nations.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretary of the Air Force to develop reliable reports of inventory levels and maintenance conditions for the vehicle program so that its readiness can be reliably measured. |
Closed – Implemented
The Air Force reports that asset visibility is improving. Air Force reports that it has full asset visibility in SWA, based on contractor inputs.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretary of the Air Force to maintain needed prepositioned vehicles in good condition. |
Closed – Implemented
Air Force is making attempts to improve vehicle condition, and closely monitoring vehicle status.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretary of the Air Force to dispose of unneeded stocks. |
Closed – Implemented
Excess vehicles, many of which have outlived their useful life, have been excessed and redistributed in most locations.
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Topics
Combat readinessData integrityDefense contingency planningDefense operationsEquipment maintenanceInventory control systemsLogisticsMilitary land vehiclesMilitary materielMobilization