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Who Should Read This Report and Why? DoD civilian and military personnel responsible for the availability, maintainability, and reliability of small arms for warfighters should read this report. The report not only identifies potential small arms availability issues of nondeployed units but also explains actions the Army took for maintainability and reliability of small arms.
Results. The Army equipped its deployed forces in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) with the small arms necessary to meet Combatant Commanders requirements. However, before deployment, some units were not fully equipped with the types of small arms required to do their assigned mission and obtained those small arms from other sources, such as nondeployed units. Nondeployed units face a potential shortage of small arms and may not have the ability to adequately train and maintain equipment and personnel readiness at an acceptable level. Implementing and monitoring the Army Force Generation Program will ensure that the unit’s readiness is not degraded. Outlining requirements and developing a plan for small arms distribution will avert future small arms shortages. (See Finding A for the detailed recommendations.)
The Army generally had adequate controls for maintainability and reliability of small arms fielded to the warfighter. As a result of the Army’s proactive approach to maintenance and reliability, the warfighter is provided with reliable small arms capabilities to sustain operations in varying environments. Following up on findings and recommendations made by the Soldier Weapons Assessment Team will address small arms maintainability risks identified. (See Finding B for detailed recommendations.)
Management Comments and Audit Response. The Director of Operations, Readiness and Mobilization nonconcurred with the draft recommendation. However, ongoing initiatives and management actions were responsive to the initial findings. We agree with the actions the Army took. The Deputy Director, Forces Development did not concur or nonconcur with the recommendation. Although they did not concur or nonconcur, we believe the management actions meet the intent of the recommendation. The Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology) concurred with the recommendation. See the Finding section of the report for a discussion of management comments on the recommendations and our audit response. See the Management Comments section of the report for the complete text of the comments.
Any comments or suggestions should be sent to: auditnet@dodig.mil