DOD has made progress in  transforming its language and regional proficiency capabilities, but  continues to lack a comprehensive strategic plan. Significant Organizational Change Requires a Sound Strategic Plan

Our prior work and the work of others has shown that implementing  significant organizational change—as DOD is attempting to do with  language and regional proficiency transformation—requires a  comprehensive, integrated strategic plan that sets a clear direction for  transformation efforts and includes measurable performance goals and  objectives and funding priorities that are linked to goals. DOD officials acknowledge that they are at a point in their language and  regional proficiency transformation efforts where a strategic plan is  needed. DOD officials expect to complete this plan in  September 2009; however, the issue date has not yet been determined. Until DOD has an approved and comprehensive strategic plan or set of  linked plans that sets a direction for transformation efforts and includes  measurable performance goals and objectives, it will be difficult for DOD  to provide direction to the military services as they develop their  approaches to language and regional proficiency transformation. DOD Has Not Fully Identified Gaps in Language and Regional Proficiency to Effectively Assess Risks

In response to the Defense Language Transformation Roadmap, DOD is in  the process of developing a strategic management tool, called the  Language Readiness Index, so that it can determine potential gaps and  assess risk by matching its inventory of skills to its requirements for these  skills. This will  enable DOD to determine potential gaps and assess risk to its ability to  conduct current military operations, as well as risk to its ability to conduct  potential future military operations. For regional proficiency, DOD does not have an inventory of the skills of  service members or DOD civilians because it lacks a mechanism to assess  and validate these skills. DOD Lacks Validated Methodologies to Determine Language and Regional Proficiency Requirements

While DOD has a process to identify its language and regional proficiency  requirements, DOD lacks a transparent, validated methodology to aid  combatant commanders, DOD components, and defense agencies in  identifying those language and regional proficiency requirements that  DOD then uses to identify potential capability gaps through its strategic  management tool. However, in the absence of a  validated methodology, estimates of requirements have differed widely by  combatant command. For example, as of February 2008, U.S. Pacific  Command’s requirements outnumbered the requirements of all other  combatant commands combined. DOD has two assessments under way that DOD officials expect may assist  them in developing a validated methodology for determining their  language and regional proficiency requirements, but neither of these  efforts has yet resulted in a validated methodology. The risk assessment process, as discussed in our prior work,  helps decision makers identify and evaluate potential risks so that  alternatives can be designed and implemented to mitigate the effects of  the risk. Without (1) establishing a mechanism to assess the full range of regional  proficiency capabilities within the military force and civilian workforce  and incorporating it into the strategic management tool and (2) developing  a transparent, validated methodology to aid combatant commanders, DOD  components, and defense agencies in identifying language and regional  proficiency requirements for all communities and at all proficiency levels,  DOD cannot determine capability gaps, assess risk effectively, and inform  its strategic planning for language and regional proficiency transformation. Moreover, in  the absence of a complete inventory and consistently identified  requirements for the type and number of language and regional  proficiency skills it needs, DOD is not in a position to properly assess gaps  in its capabilities and appropriately assess risk so that it can make  informed decisions about the future direction, scope, and nature of its  efforts and investments in support of transforming its language and  regional proficiency capabilities. Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

To determine the extent to which the Department of Defense (DOD) has  established a strategic plan to guide efforts to transform its language and  regional proficiency capabilities, we analyzed DOD’s Defense Language  Transformation Roadmap as the department’s key document for guiding  the transformation of language and regional proficiency capabilities.
Why GAO Did This Study

Violent extremist movements and ongoing military operations have prompted the Department of Defense (DOD) to place greater emphasis on improving language and regional proficiency, which includes cultural awareness. GAO was asked to assess the extent to which DOD has (1) developed a strategic plan to guide its language and regional proficiency transformation efforts and (2) obtained the information it needs to identify potential language and regional proficiency gaps and assess risk. To conduct this assessment, GAO analyzed DOD's Defense Language Transformation Roadmap, reviewed the military services' strategies for transforming language and regional proficiency capabilities, and assessed the range of efforts intended to help identify potential gaps.

What GAO Found

DOD has made progress in transforming its language and regional proficiency capabilities over the last 5 years but continues to lack a comprehensive strategic plan to guide this transformation effort. Prior work has shown that implementing significant organizational change--as DOD is attempting to do with language and regional proficiency transformation--requires a comprehensive, integrated strategic plan that sets a clear direction for transformation efforts and includes measurable performance goals and objectives as well as funding priorities that are linked to goals. In February 2005, DOD published the Defense Language Transformation Roadmap, which it has used as its key document to guide language and regional proficiency transformation. While DOD has goals, objectives, and a governance structure, GAO found that not all objectives are measurable, linkages between these goals and DOD's funding priorities remain unclear, and DOD has not identified the total cost of its planned transformation efforts. DOD officials acknowledge they are at a point in their efforts where a strategic plan is needed and are in the process of developing one; however, the issue date has not been determined. In the absence of an approved plan, it will be difficult for DOD to guide the military services as they develop their approaches to language and regional proficiency transformation. Furthermore, it will be difficult for DOD and Congress to assess progress toward a successful transformation. DOD lacks the comprehensive regional proficiency inventory and validated language and regional proficiency requirements that it would need to identify gaps and assess risk to its ability to conduct military operations. Risk assessment helps decision makers identify and evaluate potential risks so that alternatives can be designed and implemented to mitigate risk. DOD is in the process of developing a management tool designed to match its inventory of language and regional proficiency skills to requirements for these skills so that DOD can identify potential gaps. While DOD has developed an inventory of its language capabilities, it does not yet have an inventory of its regional proficiency capabilities because DOD lacks an agreed upon way to assess and validate these skills. Also, although DOD has a process to identify its language and regional proficiency requirements, it lacks a transparent, validated methodology to aid combatant commanders, DOD components, and defense agencies in identifying these requirements. In the absence of a validated methodology, estimates of requirements have differed. For example, as of February 2008, U.S. Pacific Command's requirements outnumbered the requirements of all other combatant commands combined. DOD has two assessments under way, which DOD officials expect may assist them in developing a validated methodology for determining their requirements. These efforts are in the early stages of planning and, while they have a scope, it may not take into account the full range of requirements, such as non-warfighting activities. Overall, without a complete inventory and a validated methodology, DOD cannot effectively assess risk and make informed investment decisions in its language and regional proficiency capabilities.