How Well Do the Military Services Perform Jointly in Combat? DOD Joint Test-and-Evaluation Program Provides Few Credible Answers
PEMD-84-3
Published: Feb 22, 1984. Publicly Released: Mar 22, 1984.
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Highlights
In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) joint test-and-evaluations (JT&E) program, which was established in 1971, to determine how well the military services can perform their missions and roles in joint operations under combat conditions.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should ascertain the need for joint tests that focus on the joint operations of the armed services. The JT&E program should be continued if the Secretary concludes that DOD has such a need. |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. DOD stated that the need for these tests and the desire to get the results expeditiously was strongly voiced by all members of the Senior Advisory Council in March 1984. It is the position of DOD that this assessment corroborates the need for the joint test program and further special study is not required.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should, if he determines that DOD needs the JT&E program, take the further steps that are necessary to: (1) ensure that priorities are established for conducting JT&E programs; (2) endow the JT&E program with enough independence, permanence of expert staff, and control of resources to allow the program to conduct and report on joint tests and evaluations that are high in quality and provide relevant information to their requesters and other users; and (3) require the JT&E program director to develop routine procedures that will ensure that thorough records of test data, test results, and their use are maintained. |
DOD concurred with this recommendation and is implementing it. The JT&E manual is being updated, and DOD is examining the approach used by GAO to analyze the results of tests for inclusion of applicable elements in the manual. The House Armed Services Committee requested that GAO do a follow-up study to examine the quality and reporting of DOT&E, the independent office.
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