Developing a Better Strategy for Maintaining Facilities
The Department of Defense (DOD) maintains and operates about 577,000 buildings and structures worth close to $712 billion at more than 5,300 sites worldwide. The department spends about $55 billion annually to support its facilities and installations. DOD has developed a facilities sustainment model that provides a reasonable framework for preparing estimates of DOD's annual facility sustainment funding requirements. Nonetheless, to improve and maintain the condition and operation of these facilities and installations and avoid greater recapitalization costs in the future, DOD needs to
- increase the reliability of the department's facilities sustainment model by ensuring compliance with guidance requiring verification of real property inventory records and by maintaining documentation on the basis for the sustainment cost factors used by the model;
- address the department's deferred facility sustainment requirements by developing guidance that provides a clear definition of deferred facility sustainment requirements, explains when deferred facility sustainment becomes a facility restoration requirement, and directs the military services to consistently measure and address deferred facility sustainment needs; and
- advance progress toward implementing the department's installation services model by establishing a milestone for its implementation and providing adequate management oversight to ensure that the milestone is met.
^ Back to topKey Reports
- Defense Infrastructure: Continued Management Attention Is Needed to Support Installation Facilities and Operations
- GAO-08-502, April 24, 2008
- Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 69 pages) Accessible Text Recommendations (HTML)
- Improvement Continues in DOD's Reporting on Sustainable Ranges, but Opportunities Exist to Improve Its Range Assessments and Comprehensive Plan
- GAO-08-10R, October 11, 2007
- Summary (HTML) Full Report (PDF, 25 pages) Accessible Text Recommendations (HTML)
- Defense Infrastructure: Issues Need to Be Addressed in Managing and Funding Base Operations and Facilities Support
- GAO-05-556, June 15, 2005
- Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 73 pages) Accessible Text Recommendations (HTML)
