Army Acquisition

Palletized Load System Acquisition Quantity Overstated Gao ID: NSIAD-92-163 April 22, 1992

GAO reviewed the Army's acquisition of a new ammunition supply vehicle--the Palletized Load System. Consisting of a truck trailer with a demountable cargo bed, the vehicle will be used to move ammunition to and from transfer points. The Army has reduced the vehicle's acquisition quantity to reflect the approved force structure reduction from 28 to 20 divisions. Yet the requirements are still predicated on outdated threat assumptions that envisioned warfare against the Soviet-Warsaw Pact in Central Europe. With regional conflicts now considered the more serious threat to the United States, requirements for the vehicle may decline further. While acquisition quantities for the vehicle have been adjusted to reflect approved force structure reductions, it includes 450 trucks, 30 trailers, and 2,480 demountable cargo beds costing $141 million for requirements that are inappropriate based on their planned use.

GAO found that: (1) although the Army has reduced the PLS acquisition quantity to reflect the approved force structure reduction, the Army's requirements are still based on outdated Soviet-Warsaw Pact threat assumptions; and (2) the Army may further reduce its PLS requirements to reflect lower anticipated ammunition consumption rates and reduce the need for Pre-Positioning of Materiel Configured to Unit Sets (POMCUS) stored at European sites, due to the diminished Central European threat. GAO also found that, while the Army adjusted the PLS acquisition quantity to reflect approved force structure reductions, the quantity includes 450 trucks, 30 trailers, and 2,480 demountable cargo beds costing $141 million for inappropriate requirements to support: (1) National Guard and Army reserve artillery battalions until their 8-inch self-propelled howitzer artillery is replaced by the Multiple Launch Rocket System; and (2) two planned cadre divisions, which is inconsistent with the concept to equip low-priority units with earlier-generation systems.

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