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GAO-12-916R 1 (2012-09-20)

handle is hein.gao/gaobacgnu0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GAO Acontblty * integrity* Reliability United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548 September 20, 2012 Congressional Committees Subject: Prepositioned Materiel and Equipment: DOD Would Benefit from Developing Strategic Guidance and Improving Joint Oversight The Department of Defense (DOD) positions materiel and equipment at strategic locations around the world to enable it to field combat-ready forces in days rather than the weeks it would take if equipment had to be moved from the United States to the location of a military conflict. In addition, DOD uses prepositioned materiel and equipment to support a variety of needs including security cooperation activities, multilateral training exercises abroad, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief. Fiscal challenges require DOD to carefully balance the investment in prepositioned materiel and equipment to achieve both national military objectives and other DOD priorities. Prepositioned materiel and equipment played an important role in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, sustained operations have taken a toll on the condition and readiness of military materiel and equipment. DOD has reported to Congress that the military services are committed to reconstituting prepositioned materiel and equipment but must balance these efforts with the department's other priorities, such as restructuring capabilities within its prepositioned materiel and equipment and changes in its overseas military presence. For example, DOD issued a new defense strategy in January 20122 that discusses the impending drawdown in Afghanistan and a future emphasis on the Asia Pacific region, which are likely to have implications for prepositioned materiel and equipment. Section 2229a of Title 10 of the United States Code requires DOD to report annually to the congressional defense committees on the status of prepositioned stocks as of the end of the fiscal year that precedes the fiscal year during which the report is submitted.3 Reports are to be submitted no later than the date of the submission of the President's budget request for a given fiscal year. The reporting requirement was established by section 352 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, and was amended by section 341 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012, which created additional reporting requirements. Prior to the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2012, DOD's reports were required to address the following six elements: 1DOD uses the terms, prepositioned materiel and equipment and prepositioned stocks interchangeably in its report for 10 U.S.C. §2229a. Thus, at times in this report, we refer to prepositioned materiel and equipment as prepositioned stocks. 2DOD, Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense, January 2012, The White House. (Washington, D.C.: January 3, 2012). 310 U.S.C. §2229a, as established by Pub. L. No. 110-181, §352 (2008) and amended by Pub. L. No. 112-81, §341 (2011). GAO-12-916R Prepositioned Materiel and Equipment

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