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Defense Infrastructure: DOD Needs to Periodically Review Support Standards and Costs at Joint Bases and Better Inform Congress of Facility Sustainment Funding Uses

GAO-09-336 Published: Mar 30, 2009. Publicly Released: Mar 30, 2009.
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Highlights

The 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission recommended that the Department of Defense (DOD) establish 12 joint bases by consolidating the management and support of 26 separate installations, potentially saving $2.3 billion over 20 years. In response to a direction from the House Armed Services Committee report accompanying the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009, GAO evaluated DOD's (1) efforts and expected costs to deliver installation support at joint bases and (2) funding for facility sustainment, which includes the maintenance and repair activities necessary to keep facilities in good working order, at all installations. GAO compared new support standards with the current support levels, visited nine installations that will become four joint bases, and compared facility sustainment funding levels with requirements and goals.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense To address the expected increased installation support costs from joint basing implementation and the use of budgeted facility sustainment funds for purposes other than sustainment, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environment) to periodically review the installation support standards as experience is gained with delivering installation support at the joint bases and make adjustments, if needed, to ensure that each standard reflects the level of service necessary to meet installation requirements as economically as possible.
Closed – Implemented
DOD partially agreed with our recommendation to periodically review the installation support standards and make adjustments, if needed, to ensure that each standard reflects the level of service necessary to meet requirements as economically as possible. In January 2011, DOD stated that it had taken several actions to implement our recommendation. Specifically, DOD stated that the department now reviews the standards annually on a regular schedule for appropriateness, applicability, and performance. Also, in addition to the annual review, the department implemented a cost and performance visibility framework under which the joint bases report how well the standards are being met. DOD stated that the reported information can assist in determining whether any adjustments need to be made to the standards. In view of DOD's actions, DOD has implemented our recommendation.
Department of Defense To address the expected increased installation support costs from joint basing implementation and the use of budgeted facility sustainment funds for purposes other than sustainment, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environment) to periodically review administrative costs as joint basing is implemented to minimize any additional costs and prevent the loss of existing installation support efficiencies.
Closed – Not Implemented
DOD partially agreed with our recommendation to periodically review administrative costs as joint basing is implemented to minimize any additional costs and prevent the loss of existing installation support efficiencies. DOD stated that it had already established a process to periodically review joint basing costs as part of DOD's planning, program, budget and execution system and that the joint base memorandum of agreement template requires periodic reviews of mission and resource impacts. Thus, DOD stated that further action to implement the recommendation was not necessary. DOD's response to our recommendation describes the processes DOD intends to use to review costs after the joint bases have been implemented. However, our recommendation calls for reviewing costs during the joint base implementation process--not only after implementation has been completed. As illustrated by the examples cited in this report, the opportunity to reduce some joint base administrative costs and prevent the loss of existing installation support efficiencies exists during the time that the individual installations are working out the details on how to combine into a joint base. Thus, we continue to believe that DOD needs to take additional steps to perform periodic reviews to try to avoid losing existing efficiencies during the joint base implementation process and to help ensure that each joint base is established as economically and efficiently as possible. Because DOD plans no further action on this recommendation, we have closed the recommendation as not implemented.
Department of Defense To address the expected increased installation support costs from joint basing implementation and the use of budgeted facility sustainment funds for purposes other than sustainment, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environment) to complete a detailed analysis of the estimated installation support costs from the initial joint bases and report the results of the analysis to the Congress in the department's documents supporting the administration's annual budget submission or another document deemed appropriate.
Closed – Implemented
DOD partially agreed with our recommendation to complete a detailed analysis of the estimated installation support costs from the initial joint bases and report the results of the analysis to the Congress. In July 2011, DOD stated that it has established procedures for collecting installation support costs at the 12 joint bases and that by using a cost and performance visibility framework, the joint bases report cost and manpower annually six weeks after the end of the fiscal year. DOD stated that the information is analyzed in conjunction with performance data, which is reported quarterly, to get an overall assessment of how well the standards for installation support are being met, and the costs associated with those standards. Also, DOD stated that it will continue to respond to requests for information from Congress with regard to the joint basing initiative. We believe that DOD's actions met the intent of our recommendation.
Department of Defense To address the expected increased installation support costs from joint basing implementation and the use of budgeted facility sustainment funds for purposes other than sustainment, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environment) to increase the attention given to facility sustainment spending by summarizing and reporting to the Congress the amount of budgeted sustainment funds spent on other purposes in the department's documents supporting the administration's annual budget submission or another document deemed appropriate.
Closed – Implemented
DOD partially agreed with our recommendation to increase the attention given to facility sustainment spending by summarizing and reporting to the Congress the amount of budgeted sustainment funds spent on other purposes. DOD partially agreed with our recommendation and stated that it will collect and summarize the amount of budgeted sustainment funds spent on other purposes and that the information will be provided if the Congress requests it. In July 2011, DOD stated that the department monitors the budgeting and execution of facilities sustainment in order to determine how much of the funding budgeted for sustainment is diverted to other purposes. DOD also stated that the department was currently collecting information on the sustainment tasks that are deferred in a given year at a sampling of installations across DOD and that the information will help inform decision-making with regard to facilities sustainment funding. We believe that DOD's actions implement the intent of our recommendation.

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Topics

Air Force basesArmy basesBase closuresBase realignmentsBudget functionsBudget obligationsDefense budgetsDefense procurementFacility maintenanceFacility managementFunds managementFuture budget projectionsMilitary basesMilitary facilitiesMilitary forcesNaval basesProgram evaluationRequirements definitionStandardsStrategic planningProgram implementation