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Defense Management: High-Level Leadership Commitment and Actions Are Needed to Address Corrosion Issues

GAO-07-618 Published: Apr 30, 2007. Publicly Released: Apr 30, 2007.
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Highlights

Corrosion can have a deleterious effect on military equipment and infrastructure in terms of cost, readiness, and safety. Recognizing this concern, the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2003 required the Department of Defense (DOD) to designate an official or organization to oversee and coordinate efforts to prevent and mitigate corrosion. Recently, the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2006 directed GAO to examine the effectiveness of DOD's corrosion prevention and mitigation programs. In addition, GAO evaluated the extent to which DOD has incorporated corrosion prevention planning in acquiring weapon systems. GAO reviewed strategy documents, reviewed corrosion prevention planning for 51 recent major weapon system acquisitions, and interviewed DOD and military service officials.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense To ensure that DOD's Corrosion Office provides oversight and coordination of the services' proposed funding requests for corrosion prevention and mitigation programs, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics to require the military services to provide comprehensive data about their annual funding requirements for corrosion prevention and mitigation efforts to the DOD Corrosion Office, before annual funding requests are sent to Congress.
Closed – Implemented
DoD Instruction 5000.67, dated 1/25/08, titled "Prevention and Mitigation of Corrosion on DoD Military Equipment and Infrastructure" addresses this recommendation. Specifically, paragraphs 1.3.2,4.5 and 5.1.3 apply. As of March 2019, DOD Instruction 5000.67 (Prevention and Mitigation of Corrosion on DOD Military Equipment and Infrastructure) continues to require the military departments to submit information on the proposed corrosion programs and corrosion-related research, development, test, and evaluation funding levels to the Corrosion Office during the annual internal DOD budget process.
Department of Defense To ensure that DOD's Corrosion Office provides oversight and coordination of the services' proposed funding requests for corrosion prevention and mitigation programs, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force to designate a corrosion official or a corrosion office within each service that is responsible for corrosion prevention and mitigation, and that the responsibilities of this official or office include identifying the annual funding requirements for corrosion prevention and mitigation efforts throughout the service.
Closed – Implemented
DoD Instruction 5000.67, dated 1/25/08, titled, "Prevention and Mitigation of Corrosion on DoD Military Equipment and Infrastructure", addresses this recommendation. Specifically, paragraphs 5.2.1 and 5.2.2 apply.
Department of Defense To ensure that DOD does not miss opportunities for achieving long-term corrosion cost savings, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics to develop an action plan for using the information contained in the Army ground vehicle and Navy ship segments of DOD's cost impact study. This plan should be completed as expeditiously as possible and be updated in time to support the fiscal year 2009 budget request. This plan should include information on corrosion cost areas having the highest priority and a strategy for reducing these costs. DOD should develop comparable action plans for the information to be derived from cost segments completed in the future.
Closed – Implemented
Starting with FY09 and FY10 budget cycles, DoD will use cost studies to make an impact. DOD Corrosion Prevention and Mitigation Policy Working Integrated Product Teams will select and fund corrosion research projects using the cost studies as well as other relevant documents. As of March 2019, when DOD organizations propose projects for Corrosion Office funding, their project proposal submission are to note whether the project is related to the cost of corrosion reports (which are issued by a DOD contractor on a recurring basis) in their project proposal submission. In addition, the Corrosion Office considers whether proposed projects will address cost issues identified in the cost-of-corrosion reports when making funding decisions.
Department of Defense To improve DOD's ability to avoid or limit corrosion problems experienced by weapon systems, the Secretary of Defense should require major defense acquisition programs to prepare a corrosion prevention plan and establish a corrosion prevention advisory team as early as possible in the acquisition process.
Closed – Implemented
DoD Instruction 5000.67, dated 1/25/08, titled, "Prevention and Mitigation of Corrosion on DoD Military Equipment and Infrastructure", addresses this recommendation. Specifically, paragraphs 1.3.3, 1.3.4, 4.4, 5.2.4 and 5.2.4.1.1

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Topics

CorrosionCost analysisDefense cost controlDefense economic analysisDefense procurementProcurement planningProgram evaluationStrategic planningWeapons systemsGovernment agency oversightProgram coordination