Defense Efficiency Initiatives: Observations on DOD's Reported Reductions to Its Headquarters and Administrative Activities
Abstract
Reducing the resources devoted to headquarters activities has been a long-standing challenge for the Department of Defense (DOD). Headquarters activities include organizations such as the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, military service secretariats and staff, and headquarters elements of the combatant commands, defense agencies, and DOD field activities. In 2010, the Secretary of Defense announced a department-wide efficiency initiative to reduce overhead costs and reinvest the savings in sustaining DODs current force structure and modernizing its weapons portfolio.1 Since then, the department has pursued reductions in the size of staff within headquarters activities. We have previously reported on the growth in DODs headquarters activities, the difficulties of accounting for related resources, and the departments efforts to pursue reductions in headquarters staff. For example, in March 2012, we recommended that DOD seek furtheropportunities to centralize administrative and command support services, functions, and programs and improve its ability to identify headquarters personnel.2 Further, in June 2014, we recommended, among other things, that DOD set clearly defined and consistently appliedbaselines and track management headquarters reductions against the baselines.3 DOD concurred with these recommendations and, as discussed later in this report, has taken some actions to implement them. Congress has also taken action to reduce DODs headquarters costs and find efficiencies related to these activities. Through section 904 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014, for example, Congress directed DOD to develop and report on a plan to streamline headquarters by changing or reducing the size of staffs, eliminating tiers of management, cutting functions that provide little or no added value, and consolidating overlapping and duplicative programs and offices.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 24, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1156867
Entities
People
- Alexandra Gonzalez
- Amanda Manning
- Carolynn Cavanagh
- Edward Malone
- Elizabeth Field
- John Van Schaik
- Margaret A. Best
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office