The Army Continues to Use Tank Division Training Funds for Other Purposes

The Army is continuing to move training funds planned for its tank divisions to other purposes. The Army Is Taking Action to Restrict Moving Funds Out of Training Subactivities

In fiscal year 2001, the Army implemented an initiative to protect training funds from being moved that should result in the Army’s using these training dollars for the purposes originally planned. The senior leadership also required that Army commands obtain prior approval from Army headquarters before reducing training funds. In our analysis of monthly readiness reports for fiscal years 1997 through 2000, we found that when armor units reported lower overall readiness the reason was usually personnel readiness. The Army has not been consistent about reporting these miles. Recommendations to an Executive Agency

To better reflect Army funding needs and more fully portray all its tank training, we recommend that the Secretary of the Army reexamine the Army’s proposed use of funds in its annual O&M budget submission, particularly with regard to the funds identified for division training and for other activities such as base operations and real property maintenance and improve the information contained in the Army’s budget documentation by identifying more clearly the elements discussed in this report, such as (1) all funds associated with tank mile training; (2) the type of training conducted (home station, simulator, and National Training Center); (3) the training that could not be undertaken due to Balkan and any future deployments; (4) the budget subactivities within its O&M account that fund the training; and (5) the training conducted in and paid for in part by Kuwait. We also found that Army unit trainers plan their training events to focus on their mission essential tasks. Appendix II: Locations of the Army’s Divisions in Its Active Forces

Appendix III: Comments From the Department of Defense
Why GAO Did This Study

Congress has expressed concern about the extent to which the Department of Defense has moved funds that directly affect military readiness, such as those that finance training, to pay for other subactivities within its operation and maintenance (O&M) account, such as real property maintenance and base operations. This report reviews the (1) Army's obligation of O&M division training funds and (2) readiness of the Army's divisions.

What GAO Found

GAO found that the Army continued to use division training funds for purposes other than training during fiscal year 2000. However, the reduced funding did not interfere with the Army's planned training events or exercises. The Army's tank units also reported that, despite the reduced funding and their failure to meet their tank mileage performance goal, their readiness remained high. Specifically, many tank units reported that they could be fully trained for their wartime mission within a short time period. Units that reported that they would need more time to become fully trained generally cited personnel issues rather than the lack of training funds as the reason. Even so, starting in fiscal year 2001, the Army has taken action to restrict moving training funds by exempting unit training funds from any Army headquarters' adjustments and requiring prior approval before Army commands move any training funds.