MILITARY TRAINING: Limitations Exist Overseas but Are Not Reflected in Readiness Reporting
Abstract
Rigorous, realistic training is one of the keys to military readiness. All United States military forces, including the approximately 240,000 military personnel stationed outside the continental United States (CONUS), conduct frequent training exercises to home and maintain their warfighting skills. About 110,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed in Europe and 130,000 in the Pacific, including the states of Hawaii and Alaska. (See app. I for maps showing the two theaters and what units are stationed there and app. II for a map of each location and its major training areas.) Concerned that growing restrictions by host governments are limiting the training opportunities available to U.S. military forces, you requested that we examine a number of issues related to the ability of non-CONUS-based forces to train. Accordingly, our objectives in this report were to assess (1) the types of training constraints that non-CONUS forces face and whether they are likely to increase in the future, (2) the impact these constraints have had on the ability of military units to meet their training requirements and on their reported readiness, and (3) alternatives that exist to increase training opportunities for these forces. As agreed with your office, we included all U.S. forces based outside the 48 contiguous states in our examination, which includes those based in Hawaii and Alaska. A more detailed description of our scope and methodology is included in appendix III.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA401003
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office