The Army Continues To Have Serious Problems Identifying Its Resource Requirements

The Army's systems for identifying, monitoring, and reporting the needs of its combat units for people and equipment are not compiling accurate information. As a result, inaccurate information is being used in critical management processes that ultimately determine whether the Army can efficiently and effectively accomplish its mission. Resource requirements are based on the requirements that major field commands report for individual combat units. Without accurate information on these requirements millions of dollars may be wasted in buying and maintaining the wrong equipment, recruiting and training programs may be aimed at providing the wrong job skills, crucial resources may be distributed to the wrong locations, and the Army may not be organized and equipped to accomplish its mission. These conditions may not be apparent through the Army's readiness reporting system. To identify resource needs the Training and Doctrine Command first translates approved plans into model organizations and requirements for prototype units. The major field commands pattern their actual units and requirements after the models, with modifications to reflect the needs of units with unusual missions or operating environments. The models must be periodically reviewed and revised and the major field commands must pattern their units after current models. To a large extent, neither of these conditions is being met and invalid requirements are being used in many critical management processes. Major field commands often fail to reorganize their units and revise their requirements as prescribed by changes in the Army's models; this affects the accuracy of their unit's readiness reports.