Search

DOD relies on access to military land, airspace, sea space, and frequency spectrum to provide its forces a realistic training environment and ranges that will prepare them to face combat or complex missions around the globe. Section 366 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 (as amended) required DOD to submit a comprehensive plan to address training constraints caused by limitations on the use of military lands, marine areas, and airspace available in the United States and overseas for training, and provide annual progress reports on these efforts through 2018. The act also mandated that GAO submit annual evaluations of DOD s reports to Congress within 90 days of receiving them from DOD. In this report, GAO determined the extent to which DOD s 2014 Sustainable Ranges Report met the legislative requirements., Report to Congressional Committees

The USS Port Royal, one of the Navy's newest cruisers, ran aground in 2009. Although it was repaired by the Navy, it was slated for decommissioning in fiscal year 2015. Two separate mandates directed the Navy to comprehensively assess the condition of the ship before its decommissioning. This report evaluates the extent to which (1) the Navy's 2013 assessment and report to Congress addressed congressional direction; and (2) Navy's decision to decommission the Port Royal aligns with current information and Navy decommissioning requirements. GAO reviewed the Navy's assessment and supporting documentation. In addition, GAO interviewed Navy personnel who performed the assessment or evaluated the results. GAO also interviewed officials from the independent organizations that reviewed the Navy's assessment and discussed the findings of their reviews. Finally, GAO interviewed Navy officials responsible for maintaining the Port Royal and officials involved with the decommissioning decision. GAO recommends the Secretary of Defense direct the Secretary of the Navy to reevaluate the decision to decommission the Port Royal in light of the Navy's 2013 assessment and internal and external experts assessments subsequently provided to the Navy. The Department of Defense concurred with GAO's recommendation, and the Navy has subsequently decided to retain the Port Royal and place it in a phased modernization program along with several other ships., Report to Congressional Committees.

The Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (USD[I]) has the authority to oversee DOD's ISR enterprise; however, the broad scope and complex funding arrangements of DOD's ISR enterprise make it difficult to manage and oversee. The scope of the ISR enterprise and capabilities include many different kinds of activities conducted by multiple agencies. As a result, ISR activities may be funded through any of several sources, including the Military Intelligence Program, the National Intelligence Program, overseas contingency operations funding, and military service funds. To manage DOD's large ISR enterprise, the USD(I) serves as DOD's senior intelligence official, responsible for providing strategic, budget, and policy oversight over DOD's ISR enterprise. However, the USD(I) does not have full visibility into several budget sources that fund DOD's ISR enterprise, such as national intelligence capabilities, dual use assets, urgent operational needs, and military personnel expenses related to ISR. The USD(I)'s inability to gain full visibility and clarity into all of DOD's ISR financial resources hinders efforts to develop an investment strategy for ISR and to achieve efficiencies. DOD has developed general guidance in directives and other documents emphasizing the need to identify efficiencies and eliminate duplication or redundancies in its capabilities, which provides a foundation for further action. In August 2010, the Secretary of Defense directed that the department begin a series of efficiency initiatives to reduce duplication, overhead, and excess. However, the scope of the review pertaining to ISR was limited to analysis activities and excluded activities associated with collecting ISR data--one of the largest areas of growth in ISR spending.