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Army Reserve Forces: Process for Identifying Units for Inactivation Could Be Improved

NSIAD-93-145 Published: May 12, 1993. Publicly Released: May 12, 1993.
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Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated the process the Army used to identify Army National Guard and Army Reserve Units for force reduction, focusing on: (1) the key entities involved in developing the Army's reserve force reduction plans; and (2) whether the criteria used to inactivate specific units were consistent.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Army The Secretary of the Army, in refining the Army's reserve force reduction plans, should ensure that progress made in coordinating force reduction decisions among NGB, OCAR, Forces Command, and USARC officials is continued by formalizing coordination procedures among the entities.
Closed – Implemented
Additional procedures were adopted by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs to coordinate inactivations for all 6 reserve components.
Department of the Army The Secretary of the Army, in refining the Army's reserve force reduction plans, should better document the reasons why specific units are selected for inactivation or reduction.
Closed – Implemented
The National Guard and Army Reserve have adopted a selection methodology which will have an audit trail. By using computer modeling, decisionmakers will have access to data about each unit to assist them in their selection.
Department of the Army The Secretary of the Army, in refining the Army's reserve force reduction plans, should consider the merits of adopting a more objective methodology, such as the one being developed by USARC, for selecting specific units for inactivation.
Closed – Implemented
The Army developed a computer model that weighs attributes of each unit. The computer results will be used to assist decisionmakers.

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Topics

Army reservistsCombat readinessFederal agency reorganizationStaff utilizationInteragency relationsMilitary reserve personnelMobilizationNational GuardReductions in forceStrategic mobility forces