Summary
Joint seabasing is one of several evolving concepts for projecting and sustaining forces without relying on immediate access to nearby land bases and could be the source of billions of dollars of investment. In future security environments, the Department of Defense (DOD) expects to encounter situations of reduced or denied access to areas of operation. Even where forward operating bases are otherwise available, their use may be politically undesirable or operationally restricted. GAO was asked to address the extent to which (1) DOD has employed a comprehensive management approach to joint seabasing, (2) DOD has developed a joint experimentation campaign plan for joint seabasing, and (3) DOD and the services have identified the costs of joint seabasing options. For this review, GAO analyzed joint requirements documents, experimentation efforts, and service acquisition plans.
While DOD has taken action to establish a joint seabasing capability, it has not developed a comprehensive management approach to guide and assess joint seabasing. GAO's prior work showed that sound management practices for developing capabilities include involving top leadership, dedicating an implementation team, and establishing a communications strategy. DOD is developing a joint seabasing concept and various DOD organizations are sponsoring seabasing initiatives. However, DOD has not provided sufficient leadership to guide joint seabasing development and service initiatives are outpacing DOD's analysis of joint requirements. DOD also has not established an implementation team to provide day-to-day management to ensure joint seabasing receives the focused attention needed so that efforts are effective and coordinated. Also, DOD has not fully developed a communications strategy that shares information among the organizations involved in seabasing. Without a comprehensive management approach containing these elements, DOD may be unable to coordinate activities and minimize redundancy among service initiatives. DOD has not developed a joint experimentation campaign plan, although many seabasing experimentation activities--including war games, modeling and simulation, and live demonstrations--have taken place across the services, combatant commands, and other defense entities. No overarching joint seabasing experimentation plan exists to guide these efforts because the U.S. Joint Forces Command has not taken the lead in coordinating joint seabasing experimentation, although it has been tasked with developing a biennial joint experimentation campaign plan for future joint concepts. While the U.S. Joint Forces Command is in the process of developing the plan, it is unclear the extent to which this plan will address joint seabasing or will be able to guide joint seabasing experimentation efforts. Without a plan to direct experimentation, DOD and the services' ability to evaluate solutions, coordinate efforts, and disseminate results could be compromised. While service development efforts tied to seabasing are approaching milestones for investment decisions, it is unclear when DOD will complete development of total ownership cost estimates for a range of joint seabasing options. Joint seabasing is going through a capabilities-based assessment process that is intended to produce preliminary cost estimates for seabasing options. However, DOD has not yet begun the specific study that will identify potential approaches, including changes to doctrine and training as well as material solutions, and produce preliminary cost estimates. DOD officials expect the study will not be complete for a year or more. Meanwhile, the services are actively pursuing a variety of seabasing initiatives, some of which are approaching milestones which will guide future program investments. Until total ownership cost estimates for joint seabasing options are developed and made transparent to DOD and Congress, decision makers will not be able to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of individual service initiatives.
Recommendations
Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.
Director:
Team:
Phone:
Janet A. St. Laurent
Government Accountability Office: Applied Research and Methods
(202) 512-4402
Recommendations for Executive Action
Recommendation: To assist decision makers in developing a comprehensive management approach to guide and assess joint seabasing as an option for force projection and sustainment in an antiaccess environment and integrate service initiatives, the Secretary of Defense should assign clear leadership and accountability for developing a joint seabasing capability and coordinating supporting initiatives to incorporate sound management principles into DOD's management of joint seabasing.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: Open
Comments: The Department stated that Joint Seabasing continues to progress through the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS) and the Seabasing Capability Based Assessment will continue to operate under the guidance and leadership of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Instruction (CJCSI) 3170.01F until completion of the Functional Solution Analysis (FSA) phase; however as of May 2008 there was no estimated completion date for the FSA.
Recommendation: To assist decision makers in developing a comprehensive management approach to guide and assess joint seabasing as an option for force projection and sustainment in an antiaccess environment and integrate service initiatives, the Secretary of Defense should establish an overarching, dedicated implementation team to provide day-to-day management oversight over the services, combatant commands, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and others involved in joint seabasing to incorporate sound management principles into DOD's management of joint seabasing.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: Closed - not implemented
Comments: The Department stated it considers it premature to establish additional oversight and the Force Management Joint Capabilities Board (which includes the Joint Staff, all four Services, the Combatant Commands, and OSD) is providing the appropriate level of management oversight for development of the Joint Seabasing Concept. We believe that this oversight is not sufficient because the Board's responsibilities do not constitute the type of oversight needed to ensure ongoing or planned service initiatives that may support joint seabasing are coordinated and complement each other. The Department has closed this recommendation and does not plan to take any further action.
Recommendation: To assist decision makers in developing a comprehensive management approach to guide and assess joint seabasing as an option for force projection and sustainment in an antiaccess environment and integrate service initiatives, the Secretary of Defense should develop and implement a communications strategy to ensure communication between and among the services, combatant commands, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and to provide information on all joint seabasing activities across DOD to incorporate sound management principles into DOD's management of joint seabasing.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: Closed - not implemented
Comments: The Department stated that the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS)process, Joint Capabilities Boards, and the Joint Requirements Oversight Council provide for communication between the Joint Staff, all four services, the Combatant Commands, and OSD. However, as we discussed in our report, we found that while the Joint Staff, all four services, the combatant commands, OSD and others participate in the JCIDS process, the information shared is not inclusive and it is not always clear who is involved in joint seabasing and what they are doing. The Department has closed this recommendation and does not plan to take any further action.
Recommendation: To better guide joint seabasing experimentation and inform decisions on joint seabasing as an option for force projection and sustainment in an antiaccess environment, the Secretary of Defense should direct the U.S. Joint Forces Command to lead and coordinate joint seabasing experimentation efforts, under the purview of the joint seabasing implementation team. U.S. Joint Forces Command should be responsible for developing and implementing a joint seabasing experimentation campaign plan to guide the evaluation of joint seabasing. Such an experimentation plan should include a clear focus and objectives for joint seabasing that encompass near-, mid-, and long-term experimentation plans.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: Open
Comments: The Joint Capabilities Document includes some key elements for an experimentation plan. For example, the Analytic Enabling Package (AEP), Appendix G: Joint Experimentation Recommendations and DOTMLPF Recommendations, Appendix H: Modeling and Simulation Way Ahead, and Appendix I: Proposed Functional Solutions Analysis (FSAs), all put forth aspects of the experimentation plan. However, the Joint Staff is working with the Services, OSD, and the Combatant Commanders to identify appropriate sponsorship, participation, data collection, analysis efforts, and feedback mechanisms as part of FSA planning.
Recommendation: To better guide joint seabasing experimentation and inform decisions on joint seabasing as an option for force projection and sustainment in an antiaccess environment, the Secretary of Defense should direct that the services collaborate with the U.S. Joint Forces Command in developing, implementing, and using the joint seabasing experimentation campaign plan.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: Open
Comments: According to DOD, the Services and Combatant Commands collaborate on the development of the Joint Seabasing concept through the Joint Staff's Joint Seabasing Working Group and Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System process. As we reported in GAO-05-10, according to Joint Staff officials, the working group can ask the services and combatant commands to participate and provide input to the analyses, but they have no authority to force their participation in the development of the analyses nor do they have authority over service initiatives that may support joint seabasing.
Recommendation: To better guide joint seabasing experimentation and inform decisions on joint seabasing as an option for force projection and sustainment in an antiaccess environment, the Secretary of Defense should direct that the services utilize and contribute to the U.S. Joint Forces Command's knowledge management portal by providing their observations, insights, results, and planned activities to the portal for use by the joint seabasing experimentation community.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: Open
Comments: According to DOD, the Force Management Functional Capabilities Board continues to oversee the Seabasing Capabilities Based Assessment. In addition, the Joint Requirement Oversight Council (JROC) directed the Joint Staff Director for Force Structure, Resources, and Assessment to form a Seabasing Integration Team (SIT) responsible to the Board for overseeing the daily conduct of the Capabilities Based Assessment. The JROC-directed SIT will lead the next phase of the Capabilities Based Assessment, the Joint Seabasing Analysis and Wargaming effort, and integrate the Functional Solutions Analyses. The SIT is responsible for implementing the Joint Capabilities Document assessment plan, including review of the recommended experimentation plan. The SIT will continue to use and expand the current Seabasing Web Page until a new common portal is established on the new Joint Staff Decision Support Environment.
Recommendation: To assist decision makers in evaluating the costs of joint seabasing options against the capabilities that joint seabasing could provide the joint warfighter as a means for force projection and sustainment in an antiaccess environment, the Secretary of Defense should direct the implementation team or other appropriate entity to synchronize development of total ownership cost estimates for the range of joint seabasing options so decision makers have sufficient information to use in making investment decisions on service seabasing initiatives.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: Open
Comments: The Joint Seabasing Joint Capabilities Document (JCD) was approved which advances the Capabilities Based Assessment toward the Functional Solution Analysis (FSA) phase of the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS)process. According to DOD, when the FSAs are complete, the total ownership cost estimates will be developed for each proposed solution as part of the Department's Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE) and DoD 5000 Acquisition process. As of May 2008, there is no estimated completion date for the FSA.
Recommendation: To better guide joint seabasing experimentation and inform decisions on joint seabasing as an option for force projection and sustainment in an antiaccess environment, the Secretary of Defense should direct the U.S. Joint Forces Command to lead and coordinate joint seabasing experimentation efforts, under the purview of the joint seabasing implementation team. U.S. Joint Forces Command should be responsible for developing and implementing a joint seabasing experimentation campaign plan to guide the evaluation of joint seabasing. Such an experimentation plan should include a near-term plan for joint seabasing experimentation that includes events for the next fiscal year, participants, timelines, and resources that will be used to support the events.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: Open
Comments: The Joint Capabilities Document includes some key elements for an experimentation plan; however, components of the plan are incomplete at this time. For example, the Analytic Enabling Package (AEP), Appendix G: Joint Experimentation Recommendations and DOTMLPF Recommendations, Appendix H: Modeling and Simulation Way Ahead, and Appendix I: Proposed Functional Solutions Analysis (FSAs), all put forth aspects of the experimentation plan. However, the Joint Staff is working with the Services, OSD, and the Combatant Commanders to identify appropriate sponsorship, participation, data collection, analysis efforts, and feedback mechanisms as part of FSA planning.
Recommendation: To better guide joint seabasing experimentation and inform decisions on joint seabasing as an option for force projection and sustainment in an antiaccess environment, the Secretary of Defense should direct the U.S. Joint Forces Command to lead and coordinate joint seabasing experimentation efforts, under the purview of the joint seabasing implementation team. U.S. Joint Forces Command should be responsible for developing and implementing a joint seabasing experimentation campaign plan to guide the evaluation of joint seabasing. Such an experimentation plan should include a spectrum of joint experimentation activities that include wargaming, comprehensive modeling and simulation, live demonstrations, workshops, symposiums, and analysis.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: Open
Comments: The Joint Capabilities Document includes key elements for an experimentation plan; however, some components of the plan are incomplete at this time. For example, the Analytic Enabling Package (AEP), Appendix G: Joint Experimentation Recommendations and DOTMLPF Recommendations, Appendix H: Modeling and Simulation Way Ahead, and Appendix I: Proposed Functional Solutions Analysis (FSAs), all put forth aspects of the experimentation plan. However, the Joint Staff is working with the Services, OSD, and the Combatant Commanders to identify appropriate sponsorship, participation, data collection, analysis efforts, and feedback mechanisms as part of FSA planning.
Recommendation: To better guide joint seabasing experimentation and inform decisions on joint seabasing as an option for force projection and sustainment in an antiaccess environment, the Secretary of Defense should direct the U.S. Joint Forces Command to lead and coordinate joint seabasing experimentation efforts, under the purview of the joint seabasing implementation team. U.S. Joint Forces Command should be responsible for developing and implementing a joint seabasing experimentation campaign plan to guide the evaluation of joint seabasing. Such an experimentation plan should include a data collection and analysis plan to capture and evaluate results.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: Open
Comments: The Joint Capabilities Document includes key elements for an experimentation plan; however, some components of the plan are incomplete at this time. For example, the Analytic Enabling Package (AEP), Appendix G: Joint Experimentation Recommendations and DOTMLPF Recommendations, Appendix H: Modeling and Simulation Way Ahead, and Appendix I: Proposed Functional Solutions Analysis (FSAs), all put forth aspects of the experimentation plan. However, the Joint Staff is working with the Services, OSD, and the Combatant Commanders to identify appropriate sponsorship, participation, data collection, analysis efforts, and feedback mechanisms as part of FSA planning. The Marine Corps' Title X wargame, Expeditionary Warrior 08, looked at the joint, interagency and multinational implications of the Seabasing concept. The objectives of the game were to develop a common understanding of the Seabasing concept and examine the interoperability and integration issues faced in working with and from a joint sea base. All five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, USSOCOM, USJFCOM, TRANSCOM, representatives from the intelligence and interagency communities, academia/think-tanks, and 11 multi-national partners participated. The results of this wargame were captured in a Quick Look Report and a final assessment report is expected to be available in July 2008. The Quick Look Report provides a game overview of the methodology and approach, the game insights, and a way forward.
Recommendation: To better guide joint seabasing experimentation and inform decisions on joint seabasing as an option for force projection and sustainment in an antiaccess environment, the Secretary of Defense should direct the U.S. Joint Forces Command to lead and coordinate joint seabasing experimentation efforts, under the purview of the joint seabasing implementation team. U.S. Joint Forces Command should be responsible for developing and implementing a joint seabasing experimentation campaign plan to guide the evaluation of joint seabasing. Such an experimentation plan should include a method for communicating observations, results, upcoming activities, and feedback across the joint seabasing experimentation community.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: Open
Comments: The Joint Capabilities Document includes some key elements for an experimentation plan; however, components of the plan are incomplete at this time. For example, the Analytic Enabling Package (AEP), Appendix G:Joint Experimentation Recommendations and DOTMLPF Recommendations, Appendix H: Modeling and Simulation Way Ahead, and Appendix I: Proposed Functional Solutions Analysis (FSAs), all put forth aspects of the experimentation plan. However, the Joint Staff is working with the Services, OSD, and the Combatant Commanders to identify appropriate sponsorship, participation, data collection, analysis efforts, and feedback mechanisms as part of FSA planning.
