Between 1989 and 1999, DOD downsized its civilian acquisition workforce by almost 50 percent to about 124,000 personnel as of September 30, 1999. DOD estimates that as many as half of the remaining acquisition personnel could now be eligible to retire by 2005. Challenges Involved in Reshaping a Workforce

Reshaping a workforce is challenging for any agency. Specifically, as discussed below, DOD is working to remove barriers to its strategic planning initiatives; continuing with an effort to test various human capital innovations; and beginning to make significant changes to its acquisition workforce-training program. DOD’s Report Generally Complies with Congressional Requirements

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 required DOD to summarize its actions and plans to implement the task force’s recommendations. However, information on other actions was unclear or incomplete. To assess the extent that DOD’s report summarizes DOD’s actions and plans to implement the Task Force’s recommendations, we reviewed the DOD report to ascertain whether the report clearly (1) summarized DOD’s actions taken to address the Task Force recommendations, (2) identified milestones to be achieved and the schedule for achieving them, and (3) described how DOD would manage, oversee, and evaluate its efforts to address the Task Force’s concerns. Not provided.
What GAO Found

The Department of Defense (DOD) downsized its acquisition workforce by half in the past decade. It now faces serious imbalances in the skills and experience of its remaining workforce and the potential loss of highly specialized knowledge if many of its acquisition specialists retire. DOD created the Acquisition 2005 Task Force to study its civilian acquisition workforce and develop a strategy to replenish personnel losses. In response to a legislative mandate, DOD reported on its plans to implement the task force's recommendations as required by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002. DOD's report shows that it has made progress in reshaping its acquisition workforce. For example, DOD is working to remove barriers to its strategic planning initiative; continuing to test various human capital innovations; and has begun making significant changes to its acquisition workforce-training program. DOD's report provides information on implementation of the task force's recommendations and their status. However, for many initiatives, DOD did not clearly describe the actions taken or when they occurred, nor did it identify all planned actions and schedules for completing the initiatives.