Defense Acquisitions: DOD Needs to Establish an Implementing	 
Directive to Publish Information and Take Actions to Improve DOD 
Information on Critical Acquisition Positions (08-SEP-06,	 
GAO-06-987R).							 
                                                                 
During the course of our work for Congress examining the space	 
acquisition workforce, we learned that the Department of Defense 
(DOD) may not be periodically publishing a list of designated	 
critical acquisition positions as required by statute. We are	 
bringing this matter to your attention not only because it is a  
requirement to publish this data, but because having it is	 
critical to effectively managing DOD's current workforce.	 
Operating without this critical information may result in flawed 
decisions regarding this part of the workforce and may put the	 
organization's ability to sustain its mission or function	 
effectively at risk. The designation "critical acquisition	 
positions," according to the 1990 Defense Acquisition Workforce  
Improvement Act (DAWIA), refers to certain senior-level military 
and civilian positions that carry significant responsibility and 
primarily consist of supervisory, oversight, and management	 
duties in the DOD acquisition system. They are a key factor in	 
ensuring that DOD acquisitions--some of which are very expensive 
and critical to the success of current combat operations--are	 
effectively managed. In accordance with DAWIA and as was later	 
codified in Title 10 of the United States Code, the Secretary of 
Defense is required to periodically publish a list of critical	 
acquisition positions. The service Secretaries are responsible to
ensure that the individuals who hold these positions have the	 
appropriate skills, experience, and rank to perform their duties 
effectively. According to a DOD instruction on the reporting of  
DOD acquisition personnel data, the services are required to	 
provide data on their critical acquisition positions to the	 
Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC). We sought to determine	 
whether DOD is publishing a list of critical acquisition	 
positions, as required by statute.				 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-06-987R					        
    ACCNO:   A60607						        
  TITLE:     Defense Acquisitions: DOD Needs to Establish an	      
Implementing Directive to Publish Information and Take Actions to
Improve DOD Information on Critical Acquisition Positions	 
     DATE:   09/08/2006 
  SUBJECT:   Accountability					 
	     Data integrity					 
	     Defense procurement				 
	     Employees						 
	     Federal personnel administrative law		 
	     Noncompliance					 
	     Personnel management				 
	     AT&L June 2006 Human Capital Strategic		 
	     Plan						 
                                                                 
	     Defense Manpower Data Center			 

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GAO-06-987R

     

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September 8, 2006

The Honorable Terry Everett

Chairman

Subcommittee on Strategic Forces

Committee on Armed Services

House of Representatives

Subject: Defense Acquisitions: DOD Needs to Establish an Implementing
Directive to Publish Information and Take Actions to Improve DOD
Information on Critical Acquisition Positions

Dear Mr. Chairman:

During the course of our work for you examining the space acquisition
workforce, we learned that the Department of Defense (DOD) may not be
periodically publishing a list of designated critical acquisition
positions as required by statute. We are bringing this matter to your
attention not only because it is a requirement to publish this data, but
because having it is critical to effectively managing DOD's current
workforce. To ensure that an organization's workforce is able to meet its
mission, the organization must develop strategies to address management
challenges such as any gaps that may exist in personnel resources.
Strategic workforce management entails having accurate and comprehensive
data concerning the workforce,1 and especially concerning those positions
deemed critical to the success of the organization's mission. Operating
without this critical information may result in flawed decisions regarding
this part of the workforce and may put the organization's ability to
sustain its mission or function effectively at risk.

The designation "critical acquisition positions," according to the 1990
Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA)2, refers to certain
senior-level military and civilian positions that carry significant
responsibility and primarily consist of supervisory, oversight, and
management duties in the DOD acquisition system. They are a key factor in
ensuring that DOD acquisitions-some of which are very expensive and
critical to the success of current combat operations-are effectively
managed. In accordance with DAWIA and as was later codified in Title 10 of
the United States Code, the Secretary of Defense is required to
periodically publish a list of critical acquisition positions. The service
Secretaries are responsible to ensure that the individuals who hold these
positions have the appropriate skills, experience, and rank to perform
their duties effectively. According to a DOD instruction on the reporting
of DOD acquisition personnel data, the services are required to provide
data on their critical acquisition positions to the Defense Manpower Data
Center (DMDC).3 In the course of conducting a broader review of the space
acquisition workforce at your request, we also we sought to determine
whether DOD is publishing a list of these positions.

1GAO, Social Security Administration: Strategic Workforce Planning Needed
to Address Human Capital Challenges Facing the Disability Determination
Services, GAO-04-121 (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 27, 2004).

2 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991, Pub. L. No.
101-510, S:S: 1201-1211 (1990) (codified as amended at 10 U.S.C. S:S:
1701-1764). In 1990, Congress passed DAWIA in order to enhance the quality
and professionalism of the defense acquisition workforce. DAWIA specifies
the minimum qualification standards of those personnel performing
functions integral to the acquisition process, formalizes career paths for
personnel who wish to pursue careers in acquisition, and defines critical
or senior management acquisition positions.

We gathered information regarding critical acquisition positions during an
engagement we are conducting for you on the space acquisition workforce.
In response to your June 2005 request, we conducted a review of the Air
Force portion of DOD's space acquisition workforce. One of our objectives
was to determine the extent to which the Air Force's space acquisition
workforce is managed using a strategic workforce planning approach. While
conducting our work, we learned that DOD may not have published a list of
critical acquisition positions, as required by statute. In order to
address the broader issue of whether the workforce, including that segment
that occupies critical acquisition positions, is managed under a strategic
approach, we then investigated whether DOD had the ability to identify
whether these critical positions were filled. To do this, we interviewed
officials in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition,
Technology, and Logistics, Alexandria, Virginia; as well as a database
management official at the Defense Manpower Data Center, Monterey,
California. In keeping with the space cadre focus of our original request,
we also discussed the issue with officials in the office of the Assistant
Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition. We asked each of these
officials for lists of space-related critical acquisition positions,
compared the answers we received to each other and to Air Force Space
Command's space professional database, and examined these lists for
internal consistency. We conducted our review from October 2005 through
June 2006 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards. We expect to issue our final report on strategic management of
the space acquisition workforce in September 2006.

Results in Brief

It is not clear that the Secretary of Defense has published a list of
critical acquisition positions, as he is required to do by Title 10 of the
U.S. Code. In reviewing the DAWIA requirement to publish the data,
officials in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition,
Technology, and Logistics (AT&L) said that the information on critical
acquisition positions is publicly available through DMDC; however, they
were unsure whether this availability constitutes compliance with the
DAWIA requirement to publish the data. We believe that the information has
not been published in a more direct method because the Secretary and
Deputy Secretary of Defense have not established a specific implementing
policy to direct AT&L to create such a list and to publish it.4 The
Director of AT&L Workforce and Career Management stated that he planned to
seek a legal interpretation of the DAWIA requirement in order to clarify
whether AT&L needed to produce a paper document or DMDC's information on
these positions, which is publicly available, would satisfy the
requirement to "publish" the information. In any event, however, we found
that AT&L and DMDC data on these positions may not be accurate. We asked
DMDC for information on critical acquisition positions, but DMDC officials
told us that the services, including the Air Force and the civilian
personnel data reporting system, were not providing them accurate
information. For example, of those personnel who are reported, it is not
clear how many work for organizations outside the military services, such
as the joint staff or defense agencies.5 Additionally, when we asked AT&L
to list space-related critical acquisition positions, we received two
different replies, each containing data that were nearly a year old.
According to the AT&L June 2006 Human Capital Strategic Plan, AT&L will be
undertaking a number of initiatives, including actions to improve the
accuracy of the acquisition personnel data that reside at DMDC. Having
accurate personnel information is critical to an organization's analyzing
its workforce and determining what actions need to be taken to improve it.
Without accurate data on critical acquisition positions, DOD decisions
regarding the management of these positions may be flawed. Moreover,
without maintaining and periodically publishing a list of critical
acquisition positions as well as maintaining a reliable methodology for
identifying who occupies these positions, the Secretary of Defense cannot
ensure that key positions in critical programs are filled by individuals
of sufficient expertise and experience. Further, he cannot be in a sound
position to assure Congress that these positions are adequately filled.

3 DODI 5000.55 S: 5.3.3.

We are making recommendations to publish DOD critical acquisition position
data as required by statute, and to improve the accuracy of that data. In
its comments, AT&L concurred with our recommendations. AT&L comments are
reprinted in enclosure I.

Background

Congress enacted the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA)
as part of the fiscal 1991 Defense Authorization Act. DAWIA directed the
Secretary of Defense to establish policies and procedures for the
effective management of people serving in DOD acquisition positions6 and
delegated implementation of the law to the Under Secretary for
Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.7 DAWIA also required that the
Secretary of Defense designate which positions are critical acquisition
positions, and periodically publish a list of the positions so
designated.8

Within DOD, the Office of the Under Secretary for Acquisition, Technology,
and Logistics office (AT&L) is responsible for establishing DOD
acquisition workforce policies and procedures and for maintaining a
suitable management information system to ensure that the DOD acquisition
workforce is effectively managed. To better manage the acquisition
workforce, AT&L issued its Human Capital Strategic Plan in June 2006,
which includes initiatives to improve its data management of the DOD
acquisition workforce. The Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), also
within DOD, is responsible for maintaining all automated records on DOD
personnel, and it provides personnel, manpower, training, and financial
data to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, including AT&L. DOD
components report information on critical acquisition positions to DMDC,
but AT&L can also request this information from the DOD components.

4 AT&L officials expressed uncertainty about what the requirement to
publish entails. An implementing policy might include such a definition.

5 Defense agencies are not service-specific and typically conduct
operations that are DOD-wide, such as the Defense Logistics Agency, which
provides certain DOD-wide logistics operations.

6 10 U.S.C. S:1701.

7 10 U.S.C. S:1702.

8 10 U.S.C. S:1733 (b).

DOD Instruction 5000.55 implements a DOD-wide capability for monitoring,
reporting, and tracking the composition, education, experience, and
training status of the acquisition workforce. It also establishes uniform
procedures for submitting manpower, personnel, and assignment information
on selected civilian and military positions and personnel of DOD. DMDC is
designated as the custodian of all the information to be collected
according to the instruction. DOD components are required to establish and
maintain accurate management information systems to record this data, and
they are required to submit records on acquisition positions and
acquisition personnel to DMDC.

AT&L's June 2006 Human Capital Strategic Plan contains initiatives to
improve its ability to analyze its workforce. Goal 3 of the plan includes
such efforts as reviewing data requirements and reviewing the accuracy of
data submitted to DMDC.

It Is Not Clear That DOD Has Published Critical Acquisition Positions

It is not clear that DOD has published a list of its critical acquisition
positions, though it is required to do so by Title 10 of the U.S. Code.
DMDC officials told us that the information is available to the public
through DMDC; however they indicated that they were not sure that this
method meets the requirements of the statute. We believe that the
information has not been published in a more direct way because DOD has
not established a specific implementing policy to direct AT&L to create
such a list and to publish it. For lack of an implementing policy, AT&L is
still trying to determine what the requirement to publish entails.

DMDC receives, from the services and other DOD activities such as defense
agencies, position information that includes critical acquisition position
designators. But DMDC and AT&L told us they believe that information is
inaccurate. Officials told us that the services report only data about
filled civilian positions to DMDC, and that DMDC receives no information
to indicate how many total positions, including vacant ones, exist. DMDC
also expressed uncertainty regarding how many of the personnel who work
for defense agencies are reported. Thus, not only is the data list not
published, but the information that is available regarding critical
acquisition positions may not be accurate.

In the course of our review of the space acquisition workforce, we asked
AT&L to list space-related critical acquisition positions, and received
two different replies, each containing nearly year-old data. We noted
inconsistencies between the two AT&L lists. The Air Force portion of the
first submission contained only data bearing Space Command Unit Identifier
Codes, meaning that critical acquisition positions at the National
Reconnaissance Office and other offices or commands were omitted. Although
the second submission, which AT&L provided two weeks later, contained more
unit identifier codes, we noted that the total number and the number of
Air Force positions both declined. Therefore, it appears that the data
that is available is not a full, internally consistent, or accurate
listing of space-related critical acquisition positions.

We also asked the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for
Acquisition for information on Air Force critical acquisition positions
because of our work for you on the space acquisition workforce. That
office was able to identify critical acquisition positions within U.S. Air
Force Space Command, but we believe the list was incomplete because Space
Command's space professional database shows that there are also
senior-level space-related acquisition positions in other Air Force major
commands. Since the Under Secretary of Defense for AT&L relies on inputs
from the services and DMDC to compile his list, gaps in Air Force data
would likely indicate the existence of gaps in departmentwide knowledge.

Without maintaining and periodically publishing a list of critical
acquisition positions and assuring a reliable methodology for identifying
who occupies them, the Secretary of Defense cannot ensure that key
positions in critical programs are filled by individuals of sufficient
expertise and experience, or be in a sound position to assure Congress
that these positions are adequately filled.

In June 2006, AT&L issued its Human Capital Strategic Plan, which includes
a number of initiatives to improve its ability to analyze and manage the
DOD acquisition workforce. The Director of AT&L Workforce and Career
Management stated that the goal is to have the data reported as required
by DOD 5000.55 and to move to a Web-based system to improve transparency
of the DOD acquisition workforce. The Director stated that DOD components
have raised concerns about the quality of the data that resides with DMDC.
The Director also stated that in a few months AT&L will be issuing a
report on the status of its human capital plan initiatives.

Recommendations

In order to ensure that DOD has data needed to effectively plan and manage
its space acquisition workforce, we recommend that the Secretary of
Defense take the following two actions:

           o  Direct that the Under Secretary of Defense for AT&L issue
           implementing instructions that establish the method by which
           information on critical acquisition positions will be published.

           o  Direct the Under Secretary of Defense for AT&L, as part of its
           Human Capital Strategic Plan, to include in its initiatives a
           review of the accuracy of critical acquisition position data that
           DOD components submit to DMDC; identify the causes of any
           inaccuracies; and take corrective actions to ensure that this
           information is accurate and complete.

Agency Comments

In written comments on a draft of this report, DOD concurred with our
recommendations. These comments are reprinted in enclosure I.

We are sending copies of this report to the Secretaries of Defense, the
Army, the Navy, and the Air Force; the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and
the DOD components. Copies will be made available to others upon request.
In addition, this report will be available at no charge on our Web site at
http://www.gao.gov .

Major contributors to this report are Lorelei St. James, Assistant
Director; Gabrielle Carrington, Linda Keefer, Julie Matta, Sally Newman,
and Cheryl Weissman. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional
Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this report.
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact
me at 202-512-5431 or [email protected] .

Sincerely yours,

Davi M. D'Agostino

Director, Defense Capabilities and Management

Cristina Chaplain

Director, Acquisition Sourcing and Management

Enclosure I

Comments from the Department of Defense

(350898)

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