Army Maintenance: Strategy Needed to Integrate Military and Civilian Personnel Into Wartime Plans
NSIAD-93-95
Published: Apr 29, 1993. Publicly Released: Apr 29, 1993.
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Highlights
GAO reviewed the effectiveness of the Army's general support (GS) maintenance strategy in meeting the expected support requirements of future conflicts.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of the Army | The Secretary of the Army should revise the existing GS maintenance strategy to reflect likely future conflicts, maintenance capabilities of military units, and the extent to which civilians are likely to be used in various scenarios. A revised strategy should consider, at a minimum: (1) the maintenance requirements for the various scenarios being discussed; and (2) the use of a mix of military and civilian maintenance resources to effectively meet those needs, where practical. |
The Army has recently completed a review of the practice of using civilians for maintaining equipment in various contingency scenarios. The results of the study provided a basis for establishing a logistical support activity, comprised primarily of civilians, for providing maintenance services for future scenarios.
|
| Department of the Army | On the basis of a revised strategy, the Secretary of the Army should assign specific missions among available military and civilian maintenance resources and develop a training program that provides for the required peacetime training needed to achieve those missions. |
The issues addressed in this report have been superseded by similar issues that have been reported in a broader, DOD-wide context in GAO's report, "DOD Force Mix Issues: Greater Reliance on Civilians in Support Roles Could Provide Significant Benefits" (GAO/NSIAD-95-5, Oct. 19, 1994). The report addresses the need to include requirements for civilian employees and contractors in contingency planning processes to ensure that they will be fully prepared to deploy to future conflicts, when needed. Future followup efforts should be performed under this report.
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| Department of the Army | The Secretary of the Army should revise maintenance doctrine to recognize the potential use of civilians in various scenarios and develop, as necessary, mobilization plans for deploying civilians for future conflicts. |
The issues addressed in this report have been superseded by similar issues that have been reported in a broader, DOD-wide context in GAO's report, "DOD Force Mix Issues: Greater Reliance on Civilians in Support Roles Could Provide Significant Benefits" (GAO/NSIAD-95-5, Oct. 19, 1994). The report addresses the need to include requirements for civilian employees and contractors in contingency planning processes to ensure that they will be fully prepared to deploy to future conflicts, when needed. Future followup efforts should be performed under this report.
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| Department of the Army | On the basis of a revised strategy, the Secretary of the Army should determine if reductions in the number of military maintenance units are warranted. Consideration should be given to retaining a minimum military capability to meet the needs of expected future conflicts. |
According to DOD, the Army continues to reduce the number of its maintenance units as DOD downsizes its forces. Through its Total Army Analysis process, the Army determines its minimum war-fighting requirements every 2 years. According to DOD, civilian usage will be factored into the next Total Army Analysis process.
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Topics
Armed forces reserve trainingCivilian employeesCombat readinessDefense contingency planningEquipment maintenanceEquipment repairsGround warfareStaff utilizationMilitary trainingMilitary forces