To obtain copies of Office of the Assistant Inspector General for Auditing Reports, contact the Secondary Reports Distribution Division of the Audit Followup and Technical Support Directorate at (703) 604-8937 or FAX (703) 604-8932.
Who Should Read This Report and Why? Acquisition professionals and individuals who assist in the development of organizational structures should read this report. This report discusses topics of significant congressional, national, and international interest.
Background. This report, which is one in a series requested by the Deputy Secretary of Defense, discusses the organizational arrangements between the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics; the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy; and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. The objectives of the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program are to destroy chemical, nuclear, and other weapons; to transport, store, disable, and safeguard weapons until their destruction; and to establish verifiable safeguards against proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This report discusses the organizational arrangements of the CTR Program. We previously reported on individual CTR projects for building disposal facilities for liquid propellant and solid rocket motors, storage facilities for fissile materials, and destruction facilities for chemical weapons.
Results. The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics did not fulfill his responsibilities for managing the implementation and execution of CTR Projects. For the four CTR projects on which we previously reported, the Government lost $195.2 million because the disposal facilities for liquid propellant and solid rocket motors will not be used for their intended purposes. Also, although DoD has invested $576.7 million on storage facilities for fissile materials and destruction facilities for chemical weapons, those projects are at risk of not being fully used for their intended purposes. The Director, Administration and Management should coordinate with the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics; the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy; and the Director, Defense Threat Reduction Agency to update DoD directives to clarify the CTR responsibilities. Although the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics established a position to oversee CTR implementation in July 2003, he needs to determine the appropriate staffing level for that office, fill those positions, and determine what management information is needed to fulfill the roles, responsibilities, and coordination requirements for the CTR Program. (See the Finding section of the report for the detailed recommendations.)
Management Comments. The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics and the Director, Administration and Management concurred with the recommendations. Although not required to comment, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and the Director, Defense Threat Reduction Agency agreed with the recommendations. See the findings section of the report for a discussion of the management comments and the Management Comments section for the complete text.
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