United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office National Security and International Affairs Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1998-01-21 monographic deposited born digital 38 p. GA 1.13:NSIAD-98-55 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-55 P0b002ee1803858d2 f:ns98055 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-55 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-55 NSIAD-98-55 Federal agency reorganization Military facilities Armed forces reserves Military aircraft Military cost control Military aviation Combat readiness Cost effectiveness analysis Military downsizing Defense contingency planning KC-135 Aircraft C-130 Aircraft Hercules Aircraft Letter Report NSIAD

GAO assessed the cost-effectiveness of organizing the Air Force's airlift and refueling force into fewer, larger-sized squadrons and wings, focusing on: (1) the effect that reorganization may have on mission accomplishment; (2) whether costs could be reduced through redistributing aircraft among fewer wings; and (3) five possible options for redistributing C-130 and KC-135 aircraft among fewer wings at lower operating costs.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) the Air Force could reduce costs and meet peacetime and wartime commitments if it reorganized its C-130 and KC-135 aircraft into larger-sized squadrons and wings at fewer locations; (2) these savings would primarily result from fewer people being needed to operate these aircraft; (3) for the reorganization options GAO developed, up to $209 million dollars could be saved annually; (4) creating larger-sized squadrons and wings would still allow the Air Force to accomplish its peacetime and wartime missions with the existing number of aircraft; (5) in peacetime deployments, reserve component C-130 and KC-135 personnel do not participate as part of entire squadrons or wings but rather as individual volunteers; (6) thus, creating larger-sized squadrons and wings should not compromise these missions; (7) for wartime deployments, requirements for C-130 and KC-135 aircraft are typically stated by the number of aircraft rather than by squadrons or wings; (8) moreover, war plans where existing flying squadrons are assigned can be changed to accomodate larger-sized squadrons; (9) specific reserve component wings are not usually assigned in existing war plans; (10) thus, the impact of reducing them would be minimal; (11) redistributing the reserve component's C-130 and KC-135 existing aircraft into fewer, larger-sized squadrons and wings would reduce operating costs; (12) for example, redistributing 16 C-130 aircraft from two 8-aircraft wings to one 16-aircraft wing would save about $11 million annually, primarily from personnel savings; (13) GAO developed five options to illustrate the kind of savings that can be achieved by creating larger-sized squadrons; (14) these savings range from about $51 million to $209 million annually; and (15) sufficient personnel could be recruited and most locations' facilities could be inexpensively expanded to accomodate the unit sizes in GAO's options. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-55/html/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-55.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-55/pdf/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-55.pdf GAO/NSIAD-98-55 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-55 Letter Report GAO/NSIAD-98-55; Air Force Aircraft: Reorganizing Mobility Aircraft Units Could Reduce Costs; Federal agency reorganization Military facilities Armed forces reserves Military aircraft Military cost control Military aviation Combat readiness Cost effectiveness analysis Military downsizing Defense contingency planning KC-135 Aircraft C-130 Aircraft Hercules Aircraft Title 10 Section 2687 10 U.S.C. 2687 Title 31 Section 720 31 U.S.C. 720