Munitions

United States Government Accountability Office
Washington, DC 20548
August 12, 2005

The Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld
The Secretary of Defense

Subject: Defense Management: Munit ons Requirements and Combatant
CommanderÂ’s Needs Still Require Linkage

In October 2002 we reported1 that inadequate linkage existed between near-term
munitions needs of the combatant commanders and the purchases made by the
military services.
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The gist of the 9-page letter states that DOD Instruction 3000.4, DOD failed in oversight capacity, and a Conference held in November 2004 determined to reissue it. The GAO has currently found that the reissuance also failed to correct the problem. They found the basic problem was the lack of Combat Commander participation in the Risk Assessment needs for the munitions. The Letter also complained that defense agencies were not complying with the reissued Instruction, most specifically Purchase decisions had to rely on previous Year data.

A previous Post by this Author noted the Defense Dept. currently maintains three Plants for the production of Small and Medium caliber ammunition, and this was insufficient. Defense has had to turn to Private Contractors for the necessary supply, and most Sources could not meet the requirements of the Military. This Shortage of Production facilities exists in all areas of Munitions Purchase. The failure of defense agencies to comply with the terms of the Instruction comes from upper-level refusal to okay Purchase levels demanding Munitions plant expansion owned by the Government, or more importantly, from requiring the reopening or creation of new Plant facilities.

This remains an important Issue, as the National Security of the United States is at risk. lgl