Summary

The Pentagon is not effectively implementing its Telecommunications Management Program, which was intended to analyze communications management shortcomings and suggest ways to overcome them. The program began with a sound strategy for achieving long-term improvements in communications management on the basis of systematic, top-down analyses and restructuring of current business processes. The Defense Department (DOD), however, has shown little commitment to the program. DOD has neither developed a clearly articulated vision of how its communications business and management practices should be conducted in the future nor clarified departmentwide communications management roles and responsibilities. Moreover, DOD has siphoned off program resources to obtain immediate cost savings by consolidating existing communications networks. By taking this short-term, "band-aid" approach, DOD will not have the information, processes, and systems needed to solve its costly communications problems and meet the program's goal of fundamentally improving telecommunications management.

GAO found that: (1) less than 1 year after the program's start, DOD redirected TMP resources before TMP had completed functional analyses and established DOD telecommunications management requirements; (2) DOD originally developed a sound TMP strategy and methodology, but failed to articulate a strategic vision and precisely define roles and responsibilities; and (3) DOD changed priorities to achieve immediate cost savings by consolidating existing information networks through the Defense Information System Network, which may not support the fundamental improvements needed for more effective and efficient DOD-wide communications management.