Combating Terrorism: Actions Needed to Guide Services' Antiterrorism Efforts at Installations
Abstract
After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, domestic military installations increased their antiterrorism measures1 to their highest levels.These measures were reduced in the weeks following the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, but because of the persistent nature of the threat, the antiterrorism posture at domestic installations remains at a higher than normal level more than 1 year later. The Department ofDefenses (DOD) budget request for fiscal year 2003 includes over $10 billion for combating terrorism activities,2 which includes a substantialincrease in funding for antiterrorism measures to safeguard personnel and strategic assets. We previously examined the implementation of DODs antiterrorism initiatives, and focused on the measures taken by domestic military installations to reduce vulnerabilities last year. We reported that at the departmental level, the antiterrorism efforts lacked critical management elements, such as a strategic plan containing long-term goals and a performance plan to measure results, assess progress, and identify corrective actions.3 To strengthen the management of the antiterrorism program, we recommended that DOD establish a management framework containing these elements, which could then provide a vehicle to guide resource allocations and measure the results of DODs improvement efforts. DOD agreed with this recommendation and initiated steps to develop the framework but temporarily suspended these efforts after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The Department has recently restarted these efforts. If consistent with our previous recommendation, this forthcoming Department-wide framework should represent a significant and important shift in management focusfrom measuring program activities and processes to measuring program results. To supplement and support this results-oriented approach, a comprehensive risk management process can be an effective foundation for allocating antiterrorism resources.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- AD1156864
Entities
People
- Alan Byroade
- Bob Repasky
- Corinna Wengryn
- J. P. Newton
- Marc Schwartz
- R. K. Wild
- Ray Decker
- Richard Yeh
- Susan Woodward
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office