Battlefield Automation

Army Needs to Determine Command and Control Priorities and Costs Gao ID: NSIAD-94-12 November 19, 1993

Given shrinking budgets and a downsized military, the Army recognizes that it must change its command and control structure and has made laudable progress toward that goal. In its 1993 action plan, the Army concluded that a major shift was needed from the cold war command and control architecture based on a European scenario to a post-Cold War scenario. It identified 51 issues, significantly changing acquisitions needed to implement the concepts envisioned for post-Cold War command and control. The Army has not yet, however, prioritized these issues or identified the plan's impact on costs. Therefore, it cannot target funding to the appropriately sequenced critical issues. In addition, the plan's effect on command and control systems' requirements and procedures is still sketchy.

GAO found that the: (1) Army has recognized that major changes are needed in post-Cold War command and control systems to support a versatile, downsized force; (2) Army's action plan does not prioritize the issues that would restructure ACCS or identify the impact of cost increases or savings associated with the plan; (3) Army has not fully determined the plan's effect on command and control system requirements; and (4) Force Protection Army Command and Control Action Plan will give the Army the capability to meet future command and control requirements.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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