Military Training: Better Planning and Funding Priority Needed to Improve Conditions of Military Training Ranges

DOD concurred with this recommendation, noting that a broader-based, collaborative effort among its various components and agencies would better address the full range of sustainment issues. It further noted that the Sustainable Ranges Integrated Product Team would address whether to expand its membership or develop working relationships with existing groups in the department that already have those responsibilities for addressing issues that could affect the long-term viability of military training ranges.

DOD concurred with this recommendation, noting that the full breadth of sustainable range management needs to be addressed in its efforts to transform military training and establish a joint national training capability. In addition, it noted that would be a long-term effort given the time and resources required to make substantive changes. Also, it commented that the department would continue to work towards a more complete integration of the maintenance and sustainment factors associated with its infrastructure and the environmental and encroachment factors of range sustainment in future updates of DOD's Training Transformation Implementation Plan. On September 25, 2009, OSD (Readiness) provided a copy of the Training Transformation Strategic Plan (February 2009), which replaced the Training Transformation Implementation Plan. The updated Strategic Plan states that, "The Sustainable Ranges Integrated Product Team (SRIPT) will continue to coordinate and address DoD range sustainment efforts." According to OSD (Readiness), the Strategic Plan "also clearly points out that the role of the SRIPT involves more than encroachment to include 'live training capability assessment and sustainment efforts.' This more encompassing role can be seen in the annual Sustainable Ranges Report to Congress which assesses not only encroachment on ranges, but the capacity of ranges to support their various missions measured in terms of adequacy of capability factors (i.e. range resources) such as targets, threats, and infrastructure."

DOD concurred with this recommendation, noting that each of the services must develop and implement a comprehensive range sustainment program. In addition, DOD's Sustainable Ranges Integrated Product Team plans to undertake a detailed review of each service range sustainment program and would widen this review to include an assessment of whether each service has a web-based range information management system that allows training range officials at all levels to share information, such as range conditions and their impact on training; funding sources, requirements and expenditures; and local range initiatives. Based on the results of this review, the need for additional DOD guidance would be assessed and appropriate action taken. According to DOD documents all of the services have developed some type of web-based information management system to share information as of September 25, 2009.

DOD concurred with this recommendation, noting that each of the services must develop and implement a comprehensive range sustainment program. In addition, DOD noted that the Sustainable Ranges Integrated Product Team plans to undertake a detailed review of each service range sustainment program and would widen this review to include an assessment of whether each service has implemented a process of periodically developed strategies to address factors contributing to funding shortages for ranges, including the reassessment of funding priorities for maintaining and modernizing ranges relative to other needs. Within the Navy, the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center elevated the training range office in its organizational structure so that the range commander reports directly to the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center commander. This organizational realignment will allow the range commander to identify range requirements and deficiencies to the commander who prioritizes funding for the command. In addition, as part of this review, we visited the Navy's Southern California Offshore Range, California, which is a primary training site for west coast Navy ships before deploying. The range operations director told us that due to the GAO report that the range received funds to refurbish the underwater range, which were not expected. Also, the director stated that the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations made an unplanned visit to the range and asked about issues affecting the range shortly after the Navy received the GAO report. Again, the director attributed this increased management attention to the GAO report. As of September 25, 2009: GAO is considering this recommendation implemented based on actions that DOD stated that it has done and continues to do in its 2008 and 2009 Section 366 reports to Congress.