Defense Transportation: Streamlining of the U.S. Transportation Command is Needed.
Abstract
A number of studies since World War II have found that defense traffic management processes are fragmented and inefficient, reflecting the conflicts and duplication inherent in a traffic management organizational structure consisting of multiple transportation agencies, each with separate service and modal responsibilities. As a result, various actions have been taken to move functions from one transportation agency to another and improve military transportation effectiveness. In 1987, the Secretary of Defense, recognizing the need for additional improvements, established the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) to unify defense transportation under a single manager during war, contingencies, and exercises. In 1992, the Secretary expanded USTRANSCOM's role to include peacetime transportation. The former Chairman of the Subcommittee on Readiness, House Committee on Armed Services, asked GAO to determine whether the Department of Defense (DOD) can provide efficient and effective defense transportation in a changing national security environment. Specifically, GAO'S objectives were to determine (1) whether DOD is providing cost-effective and efficient transportation, (2) what factors drive transportation costs, and (3) whether any actions are necessary to ensure a successful reengineering of defense transportation that will improve efficiency and reduce costs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA314965
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office