Army Force Structure:

Attention Needed to Ensure an Ample Supply of Ready Support Forces

T-NSIAD-93-1: Published: Apr 20, 1993. Publicly Released: Apr 20, 1993.

Additional Materials:

Contact:

Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
youngc1@gao.gov

GAO discussed the Army National Guard's and Army Reserve's combat service support forces, focusing on: (1) the need to maintain reserve support forces; (2) combat support forces' readiness problems resulting from equipment policy difficulties during the Gulf war; and (3) Army options that could strengthen its support forces during current defense downsizing and restructuring. GAO noted that: (1) the Army relied heavily on National Guard and Reserve support forces for supply functions during the Persian Gulf War; (2) critical functions performed by support forces included supply services, prisoner detention, transportation operations, and medical services; (3) the Army reserve and supply forces experienced mobilization delays, supply difficulties, and shortages of personnel for the most needed operations during the war's early stages; (4) the Army deployed support services personnel at a lower readiness level than combat units because of lower authorized peacetime personnel ceilings for support units and a shortage of required pre-mobilization equipment; (5) the Army procurement policies of procuring less equipment for its support services and assigning low priorities to support service needs may have contributed to readiness problems; (6) the redistribution of equipment, as a result of ongoing force reductions, would not affect the support forces' equipment shortage problem, since it is a low priority in the Army's equipment distribution system; and (7) the Army could strengthen the support forces by expanding the participation of reserve forces in its contingency force and shifting some functions from active forces to the reserves.

Oct 11, 2018

Oct 10, 2018

Oct 9, 2018

Sep 24, 2018

Sep 20, 2018

Sep 10, 2018

Sep 6, 2018

Sep 5, 2018

Sep 4, 2018

Looking for more? Browse all our products here