GAO: Pentagon lacks management plan for protecting personnel, installations

The Defense Department lacks an effective program to protect personnel and facilities against weapons of mass destruction attacks, and needs a single organization to coordinate preparedness efforts, according to government auditors.

Defense has spent billions of dollars on protection efforts but lacks a comprehensive management plan that provides guidance and measures results, the Government Accountability Office said in a new report (GAO-04-855) on combating terrorism.

"While many of the department's past efforts have focused on enhancing protection and response capabilities against high-yield explosives, the new security environment underscores the need for the department to expand its safeguards to include chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents," GAO concluded. "Until organization roles and responsibilities are clarified, and an integrating authority is designated, DOD will be limited in its ability to develop a comprehensive approach, promulgate departmentwide guidance, and effectively coordinate ongoing billion-dollar improvement initiatives at the installation level."

Congress required the Pentagon to develop a comprehensive plan for installation protection as part of the 2003 National Defense Authorization Act. Defense submitted a report to Congress on its plan in September 2003. GAO found that the report generally met congressional requirements but did not describe a comprehensive process or define how results are being measured.

Additionally, the report did not fully describe the kinds of national, regional and local military response capabilities that will be developed, or how those capabilities will be integrated with local civilian capabilities.

GAO concluded that two obstacles impede Defense's ability to effectively develop a comprehensive approach for installation preparedness.

First, a large number of organizations are engaged in efforts to improve preparedness, but the responsibilities of the Pentagon's assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense, Paul McHale, and Northern Command are still evolving. Second, no single entity has been given the authority and responsibility to integrate and manage departmentwide efforts.

Defense was supposed to submit an updated protection plan to Congress last March but missed that deadline.

GAO recommended that the Pentagon take steps to fully incorporate results-oriented management practices in the next update, clarify the responsibilities of the assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense, and designate a single authority with the responsibility to coordinate global installation preparedness.

Defense estimated it would need about $8.5 billion in fiscal 2004 for antiterrorism and consequence management. GAO noted, however, that without a sound management plan, the department faces possibly inappropriate or redundant allocation of resources and limited or lost preparedness and response capabilities. In addition, Congress and Defense managers may not be able to determine if desired program outcomes are being achieved.

McHale replied to GAO at the end of July, saying Defense agrees with all of the recommendations. He added that the assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense is being given responsibility for oversight and policy development of worldwide installation preparedness.