Army's Ability To Support Initial Combat Operations in Europe
Highlights
GAO discussed the Army's ability to support its essential force in initial combat operations in Europe. GAO found that the force requires: (1) European-based U.S. forces; (2) forces in the United States for deployment to Europe during mobilization; (3) European host-nation support forces; (4) prepositioned equipment and supplies in Europe; and (5) strategic lift capabilities. GAO also found that: (1) the Army had fewer personnel and less prepositioned equipment and airlift capabilities than required; (2) there were significant numbers of units that were not combat-ready; (3) although the Army is addressing support forces' problems and host-nation support improvements, shortages will remain if the Army continues to support less than the wartime requirement; and (4) since the Army projected substantial funding increases to implement its equipment initiatives, recent fund limitations in the defense budget restricted the initiatives.