GAO: Army Is Rebuilding Readiness
Friday, February 15, 2019
The Army has made progress in rebuilding readiness lost during a period of declining end strength, but still faces challenges filling slots in cyber and electronic warfare units, maintenance depots and ballistic missile defense units, according to a new government report.
The February Government Accountability Office report also says unit manning shortages lead to longer periods away from home on official duties for soldiers, which negatively affects readiness.
According to the report, Army officials project the service will reach its readiness goals by 2022, but the service has “struggled to meet its authorized end strength because it has had difficulty meeting recruiting goals.†It cites as an example fiscal 2018, when the Army missed its goal by 6,500 soldiers.
Accelerating by eight months the deployment of the first security force assistance brigade “posed challenges to manning the unit,†the report says. The Army plans to complete five more SFABs by the end of 2019 by pulling senior leaders and soldiers with specific skills away from active-duty brigades, which will compromise their readiness for large-scale combat, the report says.
https://www.ausa.org/news/gao-army-rebuilding-readiness
