Inventory Management: Strengthened Controls Needed to Detect and Deter Small Arms Parts Thefts
NSIAD-91-186
Published: Jul 17, 1991. Publicly Released: Aug 20, 1991.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Army's management of small arms parts for all the services, focusing on whether inventory controls, oversight by higher commands, and physical security were adequate to deter or detect thefts at four depots.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of the Army | The Secretary of the Army should direct the Army Materiel Command (AMC) to monitor the implementation of Red River's corrective actions to ensure that depot inventory control is consistent with Army priorities and with the level of resources made available to carry out the overall depot mission. |
Closed – Implemented
AMC monitored the corrective action plan through the completion of all the action milestones.
|
| Department of the Army | The Secretary of the Army should direct AMC to modify the depot storage capacity reports to permit a depot to report over 100-percent capacity by capturing both covered and unauthorized outdoor storage in one statistic. |
Closed – Implemented
The Army submission to the DOD Storage Space Utilization and Occupancy Report was revised to provide visibility of materiel in outside storage, which should occupy covered storage space.
|
| Department of the Army | The Secretary of the Army should direct AMC to develop an indicator to assist in judging the degree of saturation of storage space. |
Closed – Implemented
The DOD Space Utilization and Occupancy Report has been revised to include cubic capacity and cubic requirements.
|
| Department of the Army | The Secretary of the Army should direct the Army Materiel Command to modify the Depot Inventory Program Status Report to reflect that an inventory has actually been completed. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD stated that the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) will be assuming responsibility for all depots and that the DLA system does not update the date of inventory until counts and adjustments have been accepted.
|
| Department of the Army | The Secretary of the Army should direct AMC to require inventory control points to ensure that depots are performing their annual inventories of controlled material. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD stated that AMC will require inventory control points to review their records to identify those controlled items for which inventories have not been met. Further, depot commanders will be required to certify that all required inventories of controlled items have been completed for the fiscal year. The new requirements were transmitted to the depots/inventory control points on June 28, 1991.
|
| Department of the Army | The Secretary of the Army should direct AMC to slow down the flow of material to Red River and reduce the volume of material currently stored at the depot. |
Closed – Implemented
AMC has taken action to divert shipments of all types to Red River Depot until such time as storage space becomes available at Red River.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy to review the minimum acceptable standards for physical security at depot warehouse areas to ensure that both DLA and the services have consistent and appropriate standards for similar assets. These standards should: (1) address methods for restricting access, with or without fencing; (2) stipulate the circumstances under which employees may park privately owned vehicles within the warehouse area; (3) limit the circumstances under which material should be left outside overnight; (4) spell out the necessary elements for an effective depot vehicle inspection program; and (5) identify other internal surveillance measures to control material. |
Closed – Implemented
The Army Materiel Command has issued clarifying security guidance. The guidance addressed inspection and search policies and directed the designation of selected warehouse areas as restricted areas.
|
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Topics
Accounting proceduresArmy suppliesFacility securityInternal controlsInventory control systemsLarcenyMilitary inventoriesReporting requirementsSpare partsWeaponsBaseline security controls