Page 1 GAO-14-530R Warfighter Support 

441 G St. N.W.

Washington, DC 20548

April 23, 2014

Congressional Committees 

Warfighter Support: DOD Policy and Implementation Plan for Reconstitution of Forces

This report summarizes our work to date in response to the National Defense Authorization Act 

for Fiscal Year 2014, Pub. L. No. 113-66. Section 324 of this act requires GAO to review the 

Department of Defense (DOD) Strategic Policy and Implementation Plan for the Retrograde, 

Reconstitution, and Replacement of Operating Forces. The law further requires that not later 

than 120 days after the enactment of the act, GAO is to submit a report to the defense 

committees describing the findings of such a review and describing the progress DOD has 

made toward meeting the goals of the plan. 

 

Our objectives were to describe the extent to which DOD has (1) established a policy for 

retrograde, reconstitution, and replacement of operating forces as described in Section 324, and 

(2) established an implementation plan for that policy as described in Section 324. 

To conduct this work, we reviewed previous GAO work concerning retrograde, reconstitution, 

and replacement of operating forces. We also reviewed relevant DOD documents and service 

guidance. We contacted the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and 

Readiness, designated by DOD as responsible for the submission of the Strategic Policy and 

Implementation Plan for the Retrograde, Reconstitution, and Replacement of Operating Forces 

to the congressional defense committees, to discuss DOD’s progress in developing the policy 

and plan. 

We conducted this performance audit from March 2014 through April 2014 in accordance with 

generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and 

perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 

findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained 

provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. 

We found that, as of April 15, 2014, DOD has not established a policy or submitted an 

implementation plan to congressional committees as mandated by Public Law 113-66. 

According to a senior DOD official, DOD is in the process of developing the strategic policy and 

implementation plan. DOD estimates completion of the policy and plan on or about November 

15, 2014.

Because the policy and plan have not been finalized, we cannot yet review these documents as 

mandated. However, we will continue to monitor DOD’s progress and will review the policy and 

implementation plan as mandated by Public Law 113-66 when they are available. We will work 

with your staff on the timing of our final report. 
Page 2 GAO-14-530R Warfighter Support 

We provided a draft of this report to DOD for advance review and comment. DOD provided 

technical comments, which we have incorporated as appropriate. 

- - - - - 

We are sending copies of this report to the appropriate congressional committees and to the 

Secretary of Defense. The report is also available at no charge on the GAO website at 

http://www.gao.gov. 

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact me at (202) 512-5431 or 

russellc@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs 

may be found on the last page of this letter. 

Cary Russell 

Director 

Defense Capabilities and Management 
Page 3 GAO-14-530R Warfighter Support 

List of Committees 

The Honorable Carl Levin

Chairman

The Honorable James M. Inhofe 

Ranking Member 

Committee on Armed Services 

United States Senate 

The Honorable Richard J. Durbin

Chairman 

The Honorable Thad Cochran

Ranking Member 

Subcommittee on Defense

Committee on Appropriations

United States Senate 

The Honorable Howard P. “Buck” McKeon

Chairman

The Honorable Adam Smith 

Ranking Member

Committee on Armed Services

House of Representatives

The Honorable Rodney Frelinghuysen 

Chairman

The Honorable Pete Visclosky

Ranking Member

Subcommittee on Defense

Committee on Appropriations 

House of Representative

(351916)
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