Military Readiness: Opportunities Exist to Improve Completeness and Usefulness of Quarterly Reports to Congress
Published: 2013-07-26T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: Congress and DOD need relevant, accurate, and timely readiness information to make informed decisions about the use of military forces, and related resource needs. To that end, Congress requires DOD to submit a quarterly readiness report addressing various elements related to overall readiness, personnel, training, and equipment. A committee report accompanying the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 mandated GAO report on the type of readiness information available to Congress and DOD decision makers and the reported readiness of U.S. forces. In May 2013, GAO provided a classified report on readiness trends of DOD forces. For this report, GAO evaluated (1) the extent to which DOD addressed required reporting elements in its quarterly readiness reports to Congress, and (2) what additional information, if any, could make the reports more useful. GAO analyzed various readiness reports and supporting documentation, and interviewed cognizant officials.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: In its quarterly readiness reports that covered the period from April 2012 through March 2013, the Department of Defense (DOD) addressed most but not all required reporting elements. Section 482 of Title 10 of the U.S. Code requires DOD to report on 26 elements including readiness deficiencies, remedial actions, and data specific to the military services in the areas of personnel, training, and equipment. In analyzing DOD's reports, GAO found that DOD addressed 18 of the 26 elements, partially addressed 3 elements and did not report on 5 elements. For the elements partially addressed--personnel stability, training operations tempo, and deployed equipment--reporting was incomplete because some services reported information and others did not report. When all the services reported on an element, they at times did so inconsistently, with varying amounts and types of information. For example, the services all reported information on training commitments and deployments, but used different timeframes when providing information on planned training events in the future. The services reported differently because DOD has not provided guidance on the information to be reported. For the elements that DOD did not address, including borrowed manpower and training funding, GAO found that information may exist in the department but is not being reported to Congress. For example, the Army now requires commanders to report monthly on the readiness impacts of borrowed military manpower and DOD's budget requests include data on training funding. However, DOD has not taken steps to analyze whether this information could be used to meet the related reporting element. Without issuing guidance on the type and amount of information to be included by each service and analyzing alternative information it could provide to meet the required elements, DOD risks continuing to provide inconsistent and incomplete information to Congress.
DOD has taken steps to improve its quarterly readiness reports to Congress, but additional contextual information would provide decision makers a more complete picture of DOD's readiness. Over time, based on its own initiative and congressional requests, DOD has added information to its reports, such as on operational plan assessments. In its most recent report, DOD added narrative information detailing the impact of readiness deficiencies on overall readiness and a discussion of how the services' budgets support their long-term readiness goals. Federal internal control standards state that decision makers need complete and relevant information to manage risks, and GAO found several areas where DOD could provide Congress with more comprehensive and understandable information if it added some additional context to its reports. For example, in some instances, the services report significant amounts of quantitative data, but do not include information on benchmarks or goals that would enable the reader to determine whether the data indicate a problem or the extent of the problem. For example, the Marine Corps and Air Force report mission capable rates for their specific equipment items, but do not provide information on related goals, such as the percentage of the inventory that should be kept at various capability levels. In other instances, the services have not fully explained any connections between the voluminous data they report on the required elements and the information DOD provides in the report on unit and overall readiness ratings. Without providing additional contextual information, DOD's quarterly reports may not provide clear information necessary for congressional oversight and funding decisions.
section_title: What GAO Recommends
paragraphs: GAO recommends that DOD analyze alternative sources of information that could be used to meet the required reporting elements, issue guidance on the type and amount of information to be included by each service, and incorporate contextual information to improve the clarity and usefulness of reported information. DOD generally agreed with the recommendations.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: Congressional and Department of Defense (DOD) officials need relevant,  accurate, and timely information on the readiness status of U.S. forces to  help them make decisions about the deployment and use of military  forces and related resource needs. As a result, the Congress has enacted  laws and DOD has instituted policies that require defense organizations  to collect, analyze, and report readiness information. For example,  section 482 of Title 10 of the United States Code requires DOD to report  quarterly to Congress on military readiness, which DOD does in its  Quarterly Readiness Report to Congress. DOD must report on 26  elements including each readiness problem and deficiency, key indicators  and other relevant information related to these problems and deficiencies,  and planned remedial actions, as well as service-specific information in  the areas of personnel, training, and equipment such as historical and  projected personnel trends, training operations tempo, and equipment  availability.
The committee report accompanying a proposed bill for the National  Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 mandated that GAO  submit a report to the congressional defense committees on the types of  readiness information available to Congress and DOD decision makers  and on the reported readiness of U.S. forces. In May 2013, GAO provided a classified report on the readiness trends of DOD forces to the  defense committees. For this report, we evaluated (1) the extent to which  DOD addressed required reporting elements in its quarterly readiness  reports to Congress, and (2) what additional information, if any, could  make the reports more useful.
For our first objective, we reviewed legislation governing DOD readiness  reporting, including section 482 of Title 10, and interviewed DOD officials.  We analyzed DOD’s four most recent quarterly readiness reports, which  covered the period from April 1, 2012 through March 31, 2013, and  compared the reported readiness information in these reports to the Title  10 requirements to identify any trends, gaps, or reporting  inconsistencies.Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, the Joint Staff  Readiness Division, and each of the military services to obtain additional  information and the officials’ views of our assessments, as well as obtain  explanations for why certain items were not addressed or not fully  addressed.
We also interviewed officials from the Office of the  For our second objective, we reviewed the types of readiness information  DOD uses internally to manage readiness contained in documents such  as the Joint Force Readiness Review and various service-specific  readiness products and compared their formatting and contents to the  four reports identified above. We reviewed the content of these reports in  the context of federal internal control standards, which state that decision  makers need complete and relevant information to manage risks.interviewed officials from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for  Personnel and Readiness, the Joint Staff Readiness Division, and each of  the military services to discuss the procedures for submitting readiness  information for inclusion in the quarterly readiness reports and the  process for compiling the full report. We also identified adjustments DOD  has made to its reports, including changes the Office of the Under  Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness made in preparing the  January through March 2013 report, and the underlying reasons for these  adjustments, as well as obtained the views of officials as to opportunities  to improve the current reporting.
We conducted this performance audit from August 2012 through July  2013 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. A more detailed  discussion of our scope and methodology can be found in appendix 1.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: Section 482 of Title 10 of the United States Code requires DOD to report  quarterly to Congress on military readiness. The report is due to  Congress not later than 45 days after the end of each calendar-year  quarter (i.e. by May 15th, August 14th, November 14th, and February  14th of each year). Congress first mandated the report in 1996 to  enhance its oversight of military readiness, requiring that DOD describe  each readiness problem and deficiency, the key indicators and other  relevant information related to these problems and deficiencies, and  planned remedial actions. DOD submitted its first quarterly report in May  1996. Since that time, Congress has added additional reporting  requirements. Specifically, in 1997, the initial reporting requirement was  expanded to require DOD to include additional reporting elements in the  quarterly reports. Examples of these additional reporting elements  include historical and projected personnel trends, training operations  tempo, and equipment availability. In 2008, an additional reporting  element was added to require the inclusion of an assessment of the  readiness of the National Guard. For a listing of the 26 reporting  elements currently required by section 482, see table 1.
Since DOD provided its first quarterly readiness report in May 1996, DOD  and the services have invested significant resources in upgrading the  systems they use to collect and report readiness information. As a result,  the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the combatant  commands, and the services have added numerous new readiness  reporting capabilities such as the capacity to assess the ability of U.S.  forces to meet mission requirements in specific operational plans. In  addition, the services have also refined their respective service-specific  metrics to enhance their ability to measure the readiness of their forces.
The Quarterly Readiness Report to Congress is a classified report that  includes a summary of the contents of the report and multiple classified  annexes that provide the required information. The report is typically  hundreds of pages long. For example, the July through September 2012  Quarterly Readiness Report to Congress totaled 443 pages and the  January through March 2013 report is 497 pages long. The Office of the  Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness assembles and  produces the quarterly report to Congress. To do so, it compiles  information from multiple DOD organizations, including the Joint Staff and  military services, and its own information such as a summary of overall  readiness status and prepares a draft report. It then sends the draft report  to DOD components to review it for accuracy, and coordinates any  comments. Once finalized, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for  Personnel and Readiness officials provide the report to the congressional  defense committees (see figure 1).
We have previously examined the extent to which DOD’s quarterly  readiness reports met section 482 reporting elements, and found that  DOD’s reports lacked detail, or in some cases, information required by  law. For example:  In 1998, we reported that DOD’s quarterly readiness reports did not  discuss the precise nature of identified readiness deficiencies, and   information on planned remedial actions could be more complete and  detailed to include specifics on timelines and funding requirements.
In 2003, we reported that DOD’s quarterly reports still contained broad  statements of readiness issues and remedial actions, which were not  supported by detailed examples. We also identified gaps in the extent  to which DOD addressed the required reporting elements. For  example, DOD was not reporting on borrowed manpower, personnel  morale, and training funding.
In both reports, we recommended actions DOD could take to improve its  readiness reporting. Since our 2003 review, DOD has made adjustments  and expanded its readiness reporting to Congress in some areas.
section_title: DOD Addressed Most, but Not All, Required Elements in Its Recent Quarterly Readiness Reports to Congress
paragraphs: In its quarterly readiness reports that covered the period from April 2012  through March 2013, DOD addressed most of the 26 reporting elements  required by section 482 but partially addressed some elements and did  not address some other elements. We found that, for the areas that were  addressed or partially addressed, the services submitted different  amounts and types of information because the Office of the Secretary of  Defense has not provided guidance on the information to be included in  the quarterly reports. Further, we found that information may exist in the  department on some of the reporting elements DOD did not address, but  that DOD has not analyzed alternative information that it could provide to  meet the required reporting elements.
subsections: section_title: DOD Addressed Most but Not All Required Reporting Elements in Its Readiness Reports for the April 2012 through March 2013 Period
paragraphs: DOD’s four quarterly readiness reports that cover the period from April 1,  2012 through March 31, 2013 mostly addressed the 26 required reporting  elements. In analyzing the three reports that covered the period from April  1 through December 31, 2012, we found that DOD addressed 17  elements, partially addressed 3 elements, and did not address 6  elements. In the January 1 through March 31, 2013 report, DOD’s  reporting remained the same except that it addressed an additional  element that had not previously been addressed. As a result, our analysis  for this report showed it addressed 18 elements, partially addressed 3  elements and did not address 5 elements. Figure 2 summarizes our  assessment of the extent to which DOD’s quarterly reports addressed the  section 482 reporting elements.
We assessed elements as being addressed when the information  provided in the report was relevant to the reporting elements set out in  section 482. For example, for training unit readiness and proficiency,  each of the services provided their current and historical training  readiness ratings. Similarly, for recruit quality, each of the services  provided high school graduation rates of recruits.
section_title: In Addressing Some Reporting Elements, DOD Reported Incomplete or Inconsistent Information
paragraphs: For some of the elements, DOD reported information that was incomplete  or inconsistent across the services. Specifically, as shown below, for the  three required reporting elements that DOD partially addressed, the  information was incomplete, with only some services providing  information on personnel stability, training operations tempo, and  deployed equipment:
Personnel stability: The Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy provided  information on retention rates, but the Army did not provide any  information on this element.
Training operations tempo: The Marine Corps and Navy provided  information on the pace of training operations, but the Army and Air  Force did not provide any information on this element.
Deployed equipment: The Navy provided information on the number  of ships deployed, but the other three services did not provide any  information on this element.
Further, in instances when the services reported information on a  required element, they sometimes did so inconsistently, with varying  amounts and types of information. For example:
The Air Force and Marine Corps both reported information on the age  of certain equipment items, but they did not report the same amount  and type of information. The Air Force reported the average age of  equipment by broad types of aircraft (e.g., fighters, bombers), while  the Marine Corps reported average age of specific aircraft (e.g., F/A- 18, MV-22), as well as the age of its oldest equipment on hand,  expected service life, and any impact of recapitalization initiatives on  extending the expected service life of the equipment.
The services all reported information on training commitments and  deployments, but did not report the same amounts and types of  information. First, the services used different timeframes when  providing information on training commitments and deployments. The  Army provided planned training events for fiscal years 2012 through  2018, the Air Force and Marine Corps provided planned training  events for fiscal years 2012 through 2014, and the Navy did not  provide any information on planned training events in the future.  Second, the Air Force and the Navy provided information on the  number of training events executed over the past two years, while the  Army and Marine Corps did not.
We found that the services have submitted different amounts and types of  information to meet reporting elements because the Office of the  Secretary of Defense has not provided guidance on the information to be  included in the quarterly reports. Service officials told us they have  received informal feedback from the Office of the Secretary of Defense  regarding the data and charts they submit for inclusion in the quarterly  readiness reports. For example, they have received informal suggestions  for changes to how the readiness information is presented. However,  service officials explained that they have not received clear guidance or  instructions on the type and amount of information to present. As a result,  the services have used their own judgment on the scope and content of  readiness information they provide to meet the required reporting  elements.
Because the services report different types and amounts of information  and DOD has not clarified what information should be reported to best  address the required elements, the users of the report may not be getting  a complete or consistent picture of the key indicators that relate to certain  elements.
section_title: DOD Did Not Report on Some Elements, Although Relevant Information May Be Available
paragraphs: For its three quarterly readiness reports that covered the period from April  1 through December 31, 2012, DOD did not provide any information on 6  of the 26 required elements, although in its January through March 2013  report DOD did provide information on 1 previously unaddressed element,  specifically planned remedial actions. The required elements that remain  unaddressed are personnel serving outside their specialty or grade,  personnel morale, training funding, borrowed manpower, and the  condition of nonpacing items. We found instances where information may  exist within the department for some of these elements DOD did not  report on. For example:
Extent to which personnel are serving in positions outside their  specialty or grade: The Navy internally reports fit and fill rates, which  compare personnel available by pay grade and Navy skill code  against the positions that need to be filled. Such information could  potentially provide insight into the extent to which the Navy fills  positions using personnel outside of their specialty or grade.
Personnel morale: We found multiple data sources that provide  information related to this required reporting element. For example,  DOD’s Defense Manpower Data Center conducts a series of Web- based surveys called Status of Forces surveys, which include  measures of job satisfaction, retention decision factors, and perceived  readiness. Also, DOD’s Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Customer  Satisfaction Surveys regularly provide information on retention  decision indicators. Finally, the Office of Personnel Management  conducts a regular survey on federal employees’ perceptions of their  agencies called the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey; the results  of this survey are summarized in an Office of Personnel Management  report, and provide insights into overall job satisfaction and morale at  the department level.
Training funding: DOD’s fiscal year 2014 budget request contained  various types of information on training funding. For example, the  request includes funding for recruit training, specialized skills training,  and training support in the Marine Corps and similar information for  the other services.
Borrowed manpower: We found that the Army now requires  commanders to report on the readiness impacts of borrowed military  manpower in internal monthly readiness reports. Specifically, on a  quarterly basis, beginning no later than June 15, 2013, senior leaders  will brief the Secretary of the Army on borrowed manpower with a  focus on training and readiness impacts.
For the condition of nonpacing items element, officials from the Office of  the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness noted that  there is not a joint definition of nonpacing items across the services. The  Army defines pacing items as major weapon systems, aircraft, and other  equipment items that are central to the organization’s ability to perform its  core functions/designed capabilities, but service officials reported that  they do not collect any information related to nonpacing items.
As noted previously, section 482 requires that DOD address all 26  reporting elements in its quarterly readiness reports to Congress. When  asked why DOD did not provide information on certain required reporting  elements, officials from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for  Personnel and Readiness cited an analysis included in the  implementation plan for its readiness report to Congress in 1998. This  analysis concluded that DOD could not provide the required data at that  time because, among other reasons, they lacked the metrics to capture  the required data. In the 1998 implementation plan, DOD noted that  addressing the section 482 reporting elements was an iterative process,  recognizing that the type and quality of readiness information was likely to  evolve over time as improvements to DOD’s readiness reporting and  assessment systems came to fruition. DOD stated that it intended to  continue to review and update or modify the readiness information as  necessary to improve the report’s utility in displaying readiness. However,  since it issued its initial implementation plan, DOD has not analyzed  alternative information, such as Navy fit and fill rates or satisfaction  survey results, which it could provide to meet the required reporting  elements. DOD officials told us they intend to review the required  reporting elements to determine the extent to which they can address  some of the elements that they have consistently not reported on and, if  they still cannot address the elements, to possibly request congressional  modifications on the required content of the reports. However, they said  that they had not yet begun or set a specific timetable for this review.  Without analyzing alternative information it could provide to meet the  required reporting elements, DOD risks continuing to provide incomplete  information to Congress, which could hamper its oversight of DOD  readiness.
section_title: DOD Has Taken Steps to Improve Quarterly Readiness Reports to Congress, but Additional Contextual Information Would Be Useful
paragraphs: DOD has taken steps to improve the information in its Quarterly  Readiness Reports to Congress over time. However, we found several  areas where additional contextual information, such as benchmarks or  goals, and clear linkages between reported information and readiness  ratings, would provide decision makers a more complete picture of DOD’s  readiness.
subsections: section_title: DOD Has Taken Steps to Add Information to Its Quarterly Readiness Reports to Congress
paragraphs: Over time, based on its own initiative and specific congressional requests  for information, DOD has added information to its reports. For example, in  2001, it added data on cannibalizations—specifically the rates at which  the services are removing serviceable parts from one piece of equipment  and installing them in another. This information was added in response to  a requirement in the 2001 National Defense Authorization Act that the  readiness reporting system measure “cannibalization of parts, supplies,  and equipment.”data from the Defense Readiness Reporting System and detailed  information on operational plan assessments. Operational plan  assessments gauge combatant commands’ ability to successfully execute  key plans and provide insight into the impact of sourcing and logistics  shortfalls and readiness deficiencies on military risk. In 2009, it added  brigade and regimental combat team deployment information.
In 2006, DOD added capability-based assessment  In compiling its January through March 2013 Quarterly Readiness Report  to Congress, DOD made several structural changes to expand its  reporting on overall readiness. Specifically, the Office of the Secretary of  Defense added narrative information and other sections, and made more  explicit linkages between resource needs and readiness deficiencies in  order to convey a clearer picture of the department’s readiness status and  concerns. In that report, DOD added:
Narrative information detailing the impact of readiness deficiencies on  overall readiness.
Discussions of how the military services’ fiscal year 2014 budgets  support their long-term readiness goals.
Examples of remedial actions to improve service readiness.
A section highlighting significant changes from the previous quarter.
Office of the Secretary of Defense officials told us that they plan to  sustain these changes in future quarterly readiness reports to Congress.
section_title: Additional Contextual Information in the Quarterly Reports Would Be Useful
paragraphs: We found several areas where adding contextual information to the  quarterly readiness reports, such as benchmarks or goals, and clearer  linkages between reported information and readiness ratings, would  provide Congress with a more comprehensive and understandable report.  Federal internal control standards state that decision makers need  complete and relevant information to manage risks. This includes  providing pertinent information that is identified and distributed in an  understandable form.
In some instances, the services report significant amounts of quantitative  data, but do not always include information on benchmarks or goals that  would enable the reader to distinguish between acceptable and  unacceptable levels in the data reported. For example, when responding  to the required reporting element on equipment that is not mission  capable:
The Marine Corps and Air Force report mission capable rates for all of  their equipment, but do not provide information on related goals, such  as the percentage of each item’s inventory that should be kept at  various mission capability levels.
The Navy reports on the number of ships that are operating with a  mechanical or systems failure. While the Navy explains that this may  or may not impact the mission capability of the vessel, it does not  provide what it considers an acceptable benchmark for the number of  ships that operate with these failures or the number of failures on  each ship.
In the absence of benchmarks or goals, the reader cannot assess the  significance of any reported information because it is not clear whether  the data indicate a problem or the extent of the problem.
In other instances, the services have not fully explained the voluminous  data presented on the required reporting elements or set the context for  how it may or may not be connected to the information DOD provides in  the report on unit equipment, training, and personnel readiness ratings  and overall readiness. For example:
The services provide detailed mission capable rate charts and  supporting data for dozens of aircraft, ground equipment, and other  weapons systems. For example, for the January through March 2013  readiness report, the services collectively provided 130 pages of  charts, data, and other information on their mission capable  equipment rates; this accounted for over 25 percent of the entire  quarterly report. However, the services do not explain the extent to  which these mission capable rates are, or are not, linked to equipment  readiness ratings or overall readiness that is also presented in the  quarterly reports.
In the area of training, the Navy provides data showing the number of  training exercises completed over the past two years, but does not  provide any explanation regarding how this information affects training  readiness ratings that are also presented in the quarterly reports.
In the area of logistics, although the Army and the Air Force provide  depot maintenance backlogs, they do not explain the effect the  backlogs have on unit readiness that is also discussed in the report.  Specifically, those services do not explain whether units’ readiness is  affected or could be affected in the future because maintenance was  not accomplished when needed.
Without providing additional contextual information, such as benchmarks  and clearer linkages, it is unclear how, if at all, the various data on the  required elements affected unit and overall readiness.
section_title: Conclusions
paragraphs: To oversee DOD’s efforts to maintain a trained and ready force, and  make decisions about related resource needs, congressional decision  makers need relevant, accurate, and timely readiness information on the  status of the military forces. DOD continues to address many of the  required reporting elements in its quarterly readiness reports to Congress  and has periodically revised the content of the information it presents,  which is an important step to making the reports more useful. However,  as reflected in its more recent reports for 2012 and 2013, DOD has not  always reported or fully reported on some elements, and sometimes  presents detailed readiness data without sufficient context on how this  information relates to or affects the information it provides on overall  readiness or readiness in specific resource areas, such as equipment,  personnel, and training. Without further analyzing whether information is  available within the department to address the elements that it is not  currently addressing, DOD cannot be sure that it has the information it  needs to enhance the quality of its reporting or present options to the  Congress for adjusting reporting requirements. Furthermore, unless DOD  provides guidance to the services on the amount and types of information  to be included in the quarterly reports, including requirements to provide  contextual information such as criteria or benchmarks for distinguishing  between acceptable and unacceptable levels in the data reported, DOD is  likely to continue to be limited in its ability to provide Congress with  complete, consistent, and useful information.
section_title: Recommendations for Executive Action
paragraphs: To improve the information available to Congress in its quarterly  readiness reports, we recommend that the Secretary of Defense direct  the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and  Readiness to take the following three actions:
Analyze alternative sources of information within DOD that it could  provide to meet required reporting elements that DOD has not  addressed in past reports; Issue guidance to the services on the type and amount of information  to be included in their submissions for the quarterly readiness report;  and  Incorporate contextual information in the quarterly readiness reports  such as clear linkages between reported information on the required  elements and readiness ratings, and benchmarks for assessing  provided data to enable the reader to distinguish between acceptable  and unacceptable levels in the data reported.
section_title: Agency Comments and Our Evaluation
paragraphs: In written comments on a draft of this report, DOD concurred with two  recommendations and partially concurred with one recommendation.  DOD’s comments are reprinted in their entirety in appendix II. DOD  provided technical comments during the course of the engagement, and  these were incorporated as appropriate.
In its overall comments, DOD noted that the goal of DOD is to provide the  most accurate and factual representation of readiness to Congress  through its quarterly reports and their ability to accomplish this relies upon  our recommendations, which should facilitate improvements.  DOD stated  that our recommendations will be incorporated in the ongoing process of  producing the quarterly readiness reports and will hopefully improve the  ability to interpret the product while assisting the services in relaying their  readiness concerns.
DOD also provided detailed comments on each of our recommendations.  DOD partially concurred with our recommendation that the Secretary of  Defense direct the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel  and Readiness to analyze alternative sources of information within DOD  that it could provide to meet required reporting elements that DOD has  not addressed in past reports. DOD stated the iterative process that is  used to improve quarterly readiness reports to Congress will continue to  seek alternative sources of information that could provide a more holistic  picture of readiness across the force and that improvements in reporting  capabilities and adjustments to reported readiness information should be  available to provide all of the information required by section 482 of Title  10. DOD noted that it provides information on one required element,  training funding, within its annual budget requests. DOD stated it will  investigate ways to incorporate surrogate methods of reporting in future  reports.
DOD concurred with our recommendation that the Secretary of Defense  direct the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and  Readiness to issue guidance to the services on the type and amount of  information to be included in their submissions for the quarterly readiness  report. DOD stated that it will continue to issue guidance to the individual  services regarding types and amounts of information that may improve  the readiness analysis and advance the comparative nature of separate  services.  DOD stated that the individual services may use distinct  measures to determine specific levels of their readiness and the ability to  compare these measures may not be possible or occur quarterly. Where  feasible, DoD stated it will continue to attempt to align information and  improve the clarity of readiness throughout the department.
DOD concurred with our recommendation that the Secretary of Defense  direct the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and  Readiness to incorporate contextual information in the quarterly readiness  reports such as clear linkages between reported information on the  required elements and readiness ratings, and benchmarks for assessing  provided data to enable the reader to distinguish between acceptable and  unacceptable levels in the data reported. DOD stated that a concerted  effort is made to continuously improve the quality of analysis as well as  assist with the explanation of linkages between raw data and readiness.  DOD stated that this effort is tempered with the need to reduce the  volume of information and provide sound examination of the effects of this  data on the force. DOD noted a succinct version of readiness is provided  in the executive summary included in recent reports. DOD also noted that  a longer narrative supplement will continue to be provided in an attempt  to enhance the clarity of the linkages and judgment of acceptability  regarding the reported readiness across the force.
We are sending copies of this report to the Secretary of Defense, the  Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, the Secretary  of the Air Force, the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, the  Commandant of the Marine Corps, and appropriate congressional  committees. In addition, the report is 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) 512-9619 or  pickups@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional  Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this report.  Key contributors to this report are listed in appendix III.
section_title: Appendix I: Scope and Methodology
paragraphs: To determine the extent to which the Department of Defense (DOD)  addressed required reporting elements in its quarterly readiness reports  to Congress, we reviewed legislation governing DOD readiness reporting,  including provisions in Title 10, and interviewed DOD officials. We  analyzed the four most recent Quarterly Readiness Reports to Congress  that covered the period from April 1, 2012 through March 31, 2013 and  compared the reported readiness information in these reports to the Title  10 requirements to identify any trends, gaps, or reporting   Specifically, we developed an evaluation tool based on  inconsistencies.Title 10 section 482 reporting requirements to assess the extent to which  the April through June 2012, July through September 2012, October  through December 2012, and January through March 2013 Quarterly  Readiness Reports to Congress addressed these elements. Using  scorecard methodologies, two GAO analysts independently evaluated the  quarterly readiness reports against the elements specified in section 482.  The analysts rated compliance for each element as “addressed” or “not  addressed.” After the two analysts completed their independent analyses,  they compared the two sets of observations and discussed and  reconciled any differences. We also interviewed officials from the Office of  the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, the Joint  Staff Readiness Division, and each of the military services and obtained  additional information and the officials’ views of our assessments, as well  as explanations of why certain items were not addressed or not fully  addressed.
To determine what additional information, if any, could make the reports  more useful, we reviewed the types of readiness information DOD uses  internally to manage readiness contained in documents such as the Joint  Force Readiness Review and various service-specific readiness products,  and compared their formatting and contents to the four reports identified  above. We reviewed the content of these reports in the context of federal  internal control standards, which state that decision makers need  complete and relevant information to manage risks. This includes pertinent information that is identified and distributed in an  understandable form. We interviewed officials from the Office of the  Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, the Joint Staff  Readiness Division, and each of the military services and discussed the  procedures for compiling and submitting readiness information for  inclusion in the quarterly readiness reports, changes in the reports over  time, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s process for compiling  the full report. We also identified adjustments DOD has made to its  reports, including changes the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense  for Personnel and Readiness made in preparing the January through  March 2013 report, and the underlying reasons for these adjustments, as  well as obtained the views of officials as to opportunities to improve the  current reporting.
We conducted this performance audit from August 2012 through July  2013 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.
section_title: Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Defense
section_title: Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
subsections: section_title: GAO Contact
section_title: Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: In addition to the contact named above, Michael Ferren, Assistant  Director; Richard Burkard; Randy Neice; Amie Steele; Shana Wallace;  Chris Watson; and Erik Wilkins-McKee made key contributions to this  report.