**GAO-09-220R**                      Published: Jan 28, 2009. Publicly Released: Jan 28, 2009.                  

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## Highlights

Since September 11, 2001, U.S. military forces have sought to adapt to an expanded battlefield--one in which rear areas are no longer considered safe and secure. As a result, both the Navy and the Air Force determined that, in order to prepare to operate more effectively in combat, servicemembers in specific occupations required additional standardized combat skills training in such areas as land navigation, first aid, and weapons qualification. The Navy has developed and implemented the Expeditionary Combat Skills (ECS) course for select Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) personnel. Through ECS, NECC intended to standardize the training curricula and eliminate inefficiencies and wide divergences in existing combat skills training. To provide similar training to designated enlisted personnel, the Air Force began planning the Common Battlefield Airmen Training (CBAT) program, but decided to cancel the program in August 2008, which was during the course of our work. Despite the Air Force's decision, we included in this report an analysis of CBAT to identify lessons learned applicable to ongoing and future Air Force efforts to establish new training programs.

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## Topics

National Defense

Agency missionsAir Force procurementBest practicesCombat readinessDefense procurementFlight trainingInternal controlsLessons learnedMilitary forcesMilitary trainingMission essential operationsNaval trainingProgram evaluationStandardsStrategic planningTraining utilization