Army Modernization: Actions Needed to Support Fielding New Equipment
Fast Facts
The Army has been trying to develop weapons and equipment and put them into use faster.
Since FY 2021, the Army has used new approaches to rapidly develop multiple types of modernized equipment. It has fielded 6 new equipment priorities, including upgraded air and missile defenses. It has invested $46.5 billion in these efforts.
But sometimes, the Army has put new equipment into the field before plans for the facilities, personnel, and training were ready. Our recommendations include more complete planning before fielding new equipment.
One Army priority is a new system mounted on Stryker vehicles that can combat drones, and more.
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Army's new approach to generate ready forces, the Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model (ReARMM), is key to the Army realizing its modernization investments. These investments have totaled $46.5 billion since fiscal year 2021. The Army has adopted new acquisition approaches to rapidly develop multiple types of modernized equipment, which it has categorized into six modernization priorities. Using ReARMM, the Army had fielded six new priority equipment efforts as of November 2023, with ten more scheduled over the next 2 years (see table).
Army Modernization Priorities with Number of Efforts Fielded or Planned by Fiscal Year 2025, as of November 2023
Since it began implementing ReARMM in fiscal year 2020, the Army has generally met its deployment requirements, according to officials. It has organized most of its units, such as brigade combat teams, into ReARMM phases, including one designated for equipping. It has also aligned the units to specific geographic regions. However, some Army National Guard units received equipment, transferred from regular Army units, that was in poor condition. This led the National Guard units to incur unexpected costs, additional labor hours, and training delays. For example, beginning in May 2022, the Army transferred 138 displaced Bradley Fighting Vehicles to the Tennessee Army National Guard. The Army is planning to transfer additional equipment to the Army National Guard under ReARMM. Identifying and implementing corrective actions to reasonably assure that transferred equipment meets mission-capable condition standards would reduce the risk of units incurring unexpected costs and delays in their modernization and training.
The Army has fielded new equipment to the first units before completing some key planning elements, such as building facilities, assigning personnel, and planning for training. The Army is required to use a process to identify, approve, and resource new requirements within each relevant planning element. However, GAO analysis of Army documents found that as of November 2023, the Army fielded six of the previously discussed new priority equipment items with at least one incomplete planning element at the time that the first unit received them. Further, the Army fielded the majority of these items with three or more incomplete planning elements at the time that the first unit received them. When the Army fields new equipment to units without fully completing the planning elements, units may not be well positioned to operate the new equipment. By adjusting its planning elements processes so that they are completed earlier and documenting these changes, the Army will be better able to complete all elements in time for fielding. The Army would also be better able to support units that are operating and maintaining the new equipment.
Why GAO Did This Study
In 2019, the Army revised its core process to organize, staff, equip, and train forces. The Army uses ReARMM to prepare forces for combat, while intending to field new equipment on a more predictable schedule, to ensure that units train and deploy with the most modern weapon systems.
House Report 117-397 accompanying a bill for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 includes a provision for GAO to assess the status, progress, budget implications, and potential challenges of implementing ReARMM. In this report, GAO describes the Army's (1) investments in modernization and examines the extent to which the Army has (2) made progress in implementing ReARMM and (3) supported planning for new equipment to be fielded through ReARMM. This is a public version of a sensitive report GAO issued in April 2024. GAO omitted information DOD deemed Controlled Unclassified Information.
GAO reviewed Army budget materials, analyzed information on the implementation of ReARMM and efforts to support planning for new modernized equipment, and interviewed Army officials.
Recommendations
GAO is making the following three recommendations. The Army should (1) implement corrective actions to ensure equipment meets condition standards before transfer, (2) determine and adjust processes to better complete planning elements before fielding, and (3) document those process adjustments. The Army concurred with GAO's three recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of the Army | The Secretary of the Army should ensure the ReARMM proponent, Headquarters, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans, and Training (G-3/5/7), in coordination with other stakeholders as appropriate, identifies and implements corrective actions the Army can take to reasonably assure that equipment sets meet required condition standards before they are transferred to other units. (Recommendation 1) |
The Army concurred with our recommendation. In comments on our report, the Army stated that it will enforce and improve regulatory guidance where necessary to ensure that equipment standards are met and that adequate resources are in place. In April 2024 -- after the release of our CUI version of this report, but before we published GAO-24-107566 -- the Army clarified that additional instructions may be required to successfully cascade equipment, including instructions to synchronize divestment, conduct technical inspections, plan and resource depot maintenance activities, and/or adjust the timing of activities within units' ReARMM lifecycles. As of July 2024, this recommendation remains open.
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| Department of the Army | The Secretary of the Army should ensure that process managers, in coordination with Headquarters, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans, and Training (G-3/5/7), review and determine opportunities for adjustments to their planning element processes, where appropriate, so that the Army can better complete the planning elements by the time it fields new equipment. (Recommendation 2) |
The Army concurred with this recommendation. In comments on our report, the Army stated (among other things) that it has initiated several processes to synchronize the planning for doctrine, organizations, training, leadership development, personnel, facilities, and policies that are to accompany the fielding of new weapon systems and equipment. In April 2024 -- after the issuance of the CUI version of this report, but before we published GAO-24-107566 -- the Army added that it will continue to adjust and optimize these processes, especially for prototypes and emerging systems. As of July 2024, we are leaving this recommendation open.
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| Department of the Army | The Secretary of the Army should ensure that process managers, in coordination with Headquarters, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans, and Training (G-3/5/7), document, where appropriate, any planning element process adjustments determined necessary to better complete the planning elements by the time the Army fields new equipment. (Recommendation 3) |
The Army concurred our recommendation. In comments on our report, the Army stated that it is codifying these process changes in a key Army regulation and in annual orders. In April 2024 -- after the issuance of our CUI version of this report, but before we published GAO-24-107566 -- the Army stated that it also has developed formats for initial training strategies, initial programs of instruction (POI), and initial basis of issue plans (BOIP) that will assist in defining requirements earlier in the materiel development process. As of July 2024, this recommendation remains open.
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