Military Operations and Capabilities Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years
1995-98 (Letter Report, 04/01/97, GAO/IAP-97-2).
GAO provided information on its Military Operations and Capabilities
issue area plan for fiscal years 1995-98.
GAO plans to assess the: (1) accuracy of budget estimates for the
Department of Defense's (DOD) operation and maintenance account and the
potential for greater savings and efficiencies; (2) capability of
military forces, weapons, and support systems to carry out their
expected roles in the National Military Strategy and their performance
in actual operations; (3) readiness and sustainability of military
forces to perform their assigned missions and the potential to enhance
or sustain readiness at less cost; and (4) effectiveness of DOD's
efforts to recruit and retain a quality force, and maintain needed
quality of life programs.
--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------
REPORTNUM: IAP-97-2
TITLE: Military Operations and Capabilities Issue Area
Plan--Fiscal Years 1995-98
DATE: 04/01/97
SUBJECT: Combat readiness
Military operations
Defense contingency planning
Defense capabilities
Defense cost control
Mission budgeting
Military recruiting
Defense budgets
Military forces
IDENTIFIER: JCS National Military Strategy
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Cover
================================================================ COVER
National Security and International Affairs Division
April 1997
MILITARY OPERATIONS AND
CAPABILITIES ISSUE AREA PLAN -
FISCAL YEARS 1995-98
GAO/IAP-97-2
Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV
DOD - Department of Defense
O&M - operation and maintenance
FOREWORD
============================================================ Chapter 0
As the investigative arm of Congress and the nation's auditor, the
General Accounting Office is charged with following the federal
dollar wherever it goes. Reflecting stringent standards of
objectivity and independence, GAO's audits, evaluations, and
investigations promote a more efficient and cost-effective
government; expose waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in federal
programs; help Congress target budget reductions; assess financial
information management; and alert Congress to developing trends that
may have significant fiscal or budgetary consequences. In fulfilling
its responsibilities, GAO performs original research and uses
hundreds of databases or creates its own when information is
unavailable elsewhere.
To ensure that GAO's resources are directed toward the most important
issues facing Congress, each of GAO's 32 issue areas develops a
strategic plan that describes the significance of the issues it
addresses, its objectives, and the focus of its work. Each issue
area relies heavily on input from congressional committees, agency
officials, and subject-matter experts in developing its strategic
plan.
The Military Operations and Capabilities issue area covers programs
of the Department of Defense, the individual military services, and
other supporting defense agencies. GAO's work in this issue area
includes assessments of military planning activities; the Department
of Defense's (DOD) budgeting for operation and maintenance (O&M); the
capability, performance, readiness, and sustainability of military
forces, weapons, and support systems; and initiatives aimed at
maintaining a quality force. The principal issues covered are
the accuracy of budget estimates for DOD's O&M account and the
potential for greater savings and efficiencies;
the capability of military forces, weapons, and support systems to
carry out their expected roles in the National Military Strategy
and their performance in actual operations;
the readiness and sustainability of military forces to perform
their assigned missions and the potential to enhance or sustain
readiness at less cost; and
the effectiveness of DOD's efforts to recruit and retain a quality
force, and maintain needed quality of life programs.
In the pages that follow, we describe our key planned work on
these critical defense issues.
Because events may significantly affect even the best of plans and
because periodic measurement of success against any plan is
essential, our planning process allows for updating and the
flexibility to respond quickly to emerging issues. If you have any
questions or suggestions about this plan, please call me at (202)
512-5140.
Mark E. Gebicke
Director, Military Operations
and Capabilities Issues
CONTENTS
============================================================ Chapter 1
FOREWORD
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:1
1
TABLE I: KEY ISSUES
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:2
4
TABLE II: PLANNED MAJOR WORK
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:3
6
TABLE III: GAO CONTACTS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:4
7
TABLE I: KEY ISSUES
============================================================ Chapter 2
Issue Significance Objectives Focus of Work
--------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------
Planning and budgeting: Members of Congress have had dual concerns that Examine adequacy of justifications associated Critical reviews of DOD's annual O&M
Have DOD and the military services DOD has overbudgeted for some items while with DOD's O&M budget requests with an emphasis budget requests to identify potential
prepared accurate O&M budgets, and are underbudgeting for others. The latter concern is on identifying requests that are greater than savings.
there opportunities to reduce these apt to take on even greater significance as documented requirements.
costs? budget pressures continue and pressures build to
devote a greater portion of defense resources to Target selected budget/program items for in- More detailed reviews of selected DOD
modernization. At the same time, both Congress depth evaluation to better identify the O&M programs to identify potential
and the administration are eager to identify potential for reductions. reductions.
opportunities to reduce O&M costs. Our
identification of potential reductions can Examine outsourcing/privatization and other Critical reviews of outsourcing/
interject greater accountability into the options for meeting base operations and privatization initiatives and case
budgeting process and permit reallocation of facilities infrastructure needs at less cost. studies to identify industry best
funds where needed. practices applicable to government.
Capabilities and performance: Successful military operations are predicated on Alert Congress and DOD to limitations and Reviews to assess whether imbalances
Has DOD fielded capable forces, weapon the presumption that critical functional force imbalances in selected operational capabilities. exist in ways, means, and ends of
systems, and support elements, and are elements and weapon systems can achieve their selected capability areas in
they performing as expected? mission. Our assessments will identify critical Evaluate the adequacy of DOD actions taken to relationship to requirements. Also,
shortfalls that could jeopardize operations as properly size forces according to their reviews of the adequacy of actions
well as excess capabilities that might be anticipated missions. taken to correct shortfalls and
eliminated and thereby assist future decisions eliminate excesses in various
on force structure, training, and capital capability areas.
investments. Examining performance in exercises Identify performance shortfalls that could
and actual operations provides the best undermine success in future operations. Assessments of the performance of
indicator of capability. selected functional capabilities in
recent operations.
Readiness and sustainability: Congress wants to avoid a return to a "hollow" Provide Congress with data important to Aggregation, retention, and analysis
Are U.S. military forces ready to force, unprepared to fight the nation's wars. tracking trends in readiness and identifying of readiness indicator data developed
effectively carry out their assigned Readiness problems, however, may, in fact, reasons for any variances. Also, determine by the services and reported to the
missions, can supporting systems reflect poor resource allocation decisions, or whether readiness indicators used by DOD and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
sustain them, and can readiness be failure to recognize more cost-effective services provide a reliable and comprehensive
sustained or enhanced at less cost? opportunities to sustain or even enhance assessment of readiness.
training. Better management of defense resources Reviews to determine effectiveness of
may be the key to ensuring needed readiness in a Identify ways to maintain readiness at lower training and exercises in preparing
constrained resource environment. cost. forces for combat, and identify
opportunities to accomplish this at a
lower cost.
Reviews of sustainment functions to
Assess whether maintenance, supply, and other identify excesses that divert funds
support systems effectively and efficiently from more productive uses and shortages
ensure readiness. that hamper readiness.
Quality of the force: A smaller military must emphasize quality, Assess DOD's efforts to provide the necessary Assessments of DOD and service force
Do DOD and the military services have continuity, and high morale. Sound recruiting incentives to recruit and retain a quality management issues such as recruiting,
effective programs to recruit and efforts, meaningful training, career development force. attrition, and grade structure.
retain a quality force, and maintain opportunities, and effective quality-of-life
needed quality-of-life programs? programs are essential if DOD is to retain a Assessments of the force balance
quality force. Determine if DOD's drawdown is achieving a occurring through various downsizing
balanced active, reserve, and civilian actions (military and civilian).
workforce.
Evaluations of quality-of-life
initiatives such as enlisted and family
Assess the efficacy of ongoing quality-of- housing, and other family support
life initiatives. programs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE II: PLANNED MAJOR WORK
============================================================ Chapter 3
Issue Planned Major Job Starts
------------------ --------------------------------------------------
Planning and Evaluation of DOD's fiscal year 1998 O&M budget
budgeting request
Lessons learned from large-scale base support
contracting
Reducing O&M in family housing
Reserve component planning and budgeting for
infrastructure
Capabilities and DOD's role in antiterrorism
performance DOD's critical battlefield information systems
DOD's determination of future medical personnel
requirements
Bosnia lessons learned
Conflicts/impediments to increased jointness
Readiness and Review of safety principles used in dangerous
sustainability military training
Potential savings from increased use of
simulation training
Impact of the Army's battlefield digitization
effort
Best practices in applying distance learning to
training
Update on comprehensive system to measure
readiness
Follow-up on ammunition management in the United
States
Quality of the Improvements in DOD's joint manpower process
force Enlisted force grade structure increases
First-term attrition
Military recruiters' quota systems
DOD's unaccompanied housing program
----------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE III: GAO CONTACTS
============================================================ Chapter 4
DIRECTOR
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.1
Mark E. Gebicke (202) 512-5140
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.2
Sharon A. Cekala (202) 512-5140
ASSISTANT DIRECTORS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.3
Edward M. Balderson
William E. Beusse
Brenda S. Farrell
Barry W. Holman
Reginald L. Furr, Jr.
Valeria G. Gist
William C. Meredith
Donald L. Patton
Elliott C. Smith
William M. Solis
*** End of document. ***