The Air Force Needs to Exercise More Control Over Equipment Authorizations.
Abstract
The Air Force's support equipment inventory is enormous in both size and importance. In October 1981 Air Force units had nearly $14 billion invested in radios, generators, vehicles, and the thousands of other equipment items needed to operate and maintain the Air Force installations and major weapon systems. Accurately identifying the equipment these units need is an awesome but essential task if the Air Force is to operate effectively: this information is necessary to prepare budget requests and procurement plans, and to use as a basis for equipping individual units. If equipment needs are not accurately identified, the Air Force may waste millions of dollars acquiring and maintaining unneeded assets or, worse, shortages may prevent the Air Force from accomplishing its defense mission. The management system that the Air Force uses to identify equipment requirements is complex. Among other things, the system must forecast the support equipment needed for new weapons systems, assess the effect of organizational changes, and compute replacement factors for aging equipment. However, the process used to authorize equipment for individual units is the most important part of the system. It is during this process that requirements are established for each Air Force unit. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 27, 1982
- Accession Number
- ADA117930
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office