Army Readiness: Readiness Improved for Selected Divisions, but Manning Imbalances Persist

[摘要] A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In recent years, GAO has testified that personnel shortages, assignment priorities, and frequent peacekeeping deployments were undermining the combat readiness of the Army's five later-deploying divisions. In 2001, GAO reported on the Army Chief of Staff's manning initiative of October 1999, which seeks to ensure that all active Army units are assigned the numbers, grades, and skills needed to carry out wartime missions. Since then, terrorists have attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the Bush administration has formulated a new military strategy. These developments may change how, when, and where these divisions will be used--as seen in the deployment of soldiers from the 40th Infantry Division in Operation Enduring Freedom. As of June 2001 the five divisions reported they were ready and able to perform all or most of their combat missions. Enlisted personnel levels were at or near 100 percent of their authorization compared with 93 percent in March 1998. However, staffing imbalances persist for some combat support skills. Each division met its training requirements for combat missions. The amount of equipment on hand and the serviceability of that equipment indicated that the five divisions would be able to perform their combat missions. Army officials found it difficult to quantify the varied effects of peacekeeping operations on the five divisions' readiness."

[发布日期] 2001-12-20 [发布机构] United States. General Accounting Office.

[关键词] Government accountability -- United States.;national defense;army readiness;letter report