Army Force Structure

The Army based its decision to relocate the 513th Military Intelligence Brigade to Fort Gordon, Georgia, on operational considerations, although GAO notes that the Brigade's current location in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, could also meet the 513th's wartime deployment requirements. The Fort Gordon site should boost unit training opportunities since it has many more open training areas and on-post firing ranges. Since 1982, the Army has invested about $11 million in facilities and other projects supporting the 513th's operations at Fort Monmouth. The Army expects the relocation of the 513th to Fort Gordon to yield savings in construction and renovation costs, housing and cost-of-living allowances, and training expenses. Moving 513th units from Fort Monmouth to Fort Gordon should have no effect on the missions of either the 513th or other groups that will stay at Fort Monmouth--the Army's Communications-Electronics Command and the FBI's regional computer facility.

GAO found that: (1) the Army has decided to relocate the 513th's operational intelligence units from Fort Monmouth to Fort Gordon because it believes that consolidating these units will correct command, control and deployment concerns identified in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm; (2) the 513th Brigade's current wartime deployment requirements can be met at either Fort Monmouth or Fort Gordon; (3) the brigade's relocation should enhance its unit training because Fort Gordon has greater brigade-level training areas and firing ranges; (4) since 1982, the Army has invested $11 million at Fort Monmouth to support the brigade's operations; (5) the Army's Communications-Electronics Command will move into the space vacated by the brigade at Fort Monmouth; (6) the Army expects the relocation to result in savings in construction and renovation costs, housing and cost-of-living allowances, and training costs; and (7) the brigade's relocation will not significantly impact other organizations remaining at Fort Monmouth.