The combatant  commands and the military services are to use the JLLP to develop  lessons learned related to joint capabilities by collecting issues from  operations and exercises in order to make improvements to areas such  as doctrine, policy, training, and education. As the JLLP’s system of record, JLLIS is to  facilitate the collection, management, and sharing of issues and lessons  learned to improve the development and readiness of the joint force. DOD’s Geographic Combatant Commands Are Improving Efforts to Collect OCS Issues Needed to Develop Lessons Learned, but the Military Services Are Not Generally Collecting OCS Issues

		The Geographic Combatant Commands Collect Some OCS Issues from Operations and Are Improving Efforts to Collect OCS Issues from Exercises

DOD’s geographic combatant commands have used large-scale  operations as sources for collecting OCS issues. In Afghanistan, senior  U.S. Central Command and U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Central Command, U.S.  Northern Command, and U.S. Southern Command—have identified OCS  as a critical capability in their joint training plans and have integrated it  into the planning, execution, and assessment of training events. Additionally, the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force do not have service- specific OCS guidance that establishes and outlines their roles and  responsibilities for the collection of OCS issues, which according to  officials from these services contributes to the general lack of OCS  awareness. As a result, commanders may be unable to build on  efficiencies that their services have identified by collecting OCS issues  and may be unable to adequately plan for the use of contractor support. As noted by DOD’s OCS Joint Concept, there are  multiple organizations across the department that are working on  separate, and sometimes disjointed, OCS lessons-learned efforts. While  the department, as of December 2014, has not developed a systematic  strategy for capturing, retaining, and applying OCS lessons learned, it has  assigned JCASO responsibility for collecting joint operations–focused  OCS lessons learned and best practices from contingency operations and  exercises in order to inform OCS policy and recommend solutions in  doctrine and training, among other areas, in cooperation with the services  and other DOD components.senior DOD officials, JCASO does not serve as a focal point for  integrating OCS issues from the JLLP, but rather informs policy and  recommends solutions on joint OCS issues. DOD has undertaken initial efforts to identify and assign an OCS joint  proponent that will include lessons-learned responsibilities. Including such roles and responsibilities  in the concept for the OCS joint proponent will help better position DOD to  integrate all OCS issues identified from the JLLP, thereby addressing any  key OCS gaps and shortfalls in its efforts. DOD Organizations Inconsistently Use JLLIS to Share OCS Issues and Lessons Learned Due to Challenges with the System’s Limited Functionality

		DOD Organizations That Collect and Resolve OCS Issues and Lessons Learned Use JLLIS to Varying Degrees

The geographic combatant commands and Army use JLLIS to varying  degrees to share OCS lessons learned department-wide. However, by using forums and methods outside of JLLIS to share OCS  issues and lessons learned, such as meeting minutes and telephone  calls, DOD runs the risk of not being able to systematically track, resolve,  and share OCS issues department-wide, which could negatively affect  joint force development and readiness. JLLIS’s Functionality as an Information-Sharing Mechanism Is Limited

DOD is generally not sharing OCS lessons learned in JLLIS because the  system is not functional for users searching OCS issues. JLLIS’s limited  functionality for OCS issues is due to (1) its inadequate search features,  (2) not having an OCS label in JLLIS, and (3) the lack of a central location  for sharing information about OCS issues and lessons learned within  JLLIS. Officials at three of the six  commands—U.S. Until DOD improves the functionality of  JLLIS, it will be difficult for users to search for OCS issues, and DOD runs  the risk of working on duplicative efforts and repeating past mistakes. To help improve awareness of OCS roles and responsibilities and to  collect OCS issues at the military services and the service component  commands, we recommend that the Secretary of Defense direct the  Secretaries of the military departments, in coordination with the Chairman  of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to establish an OCS training requirement for  commanders and senior leaders. This report  examines the extent to which (1) the geographic combatant commands  and the services collect OCS issues to develop lessons learned; (2) DOD  has a focal point for integrating OCS issues from the Joint Lessons  Learned Program (JLLP); and (3) DOD organizations use the Joint  Lessons Learned Information System (JLLIS) to share OCS issues and  lessons learned. Warfighter Support: DOD Needs to Improve Its Planning for Using  Contractors to Support Future Military Operations.
Why GAO Did This Study

DOD has spent billions of dollars on contract support during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2002 and anticipates continuing its heavy reliance on contractors in future operations. Generally, OCS is the process of planning for and obtaining needed supplies and services from commercial sources in support of joint operations. GAO has previously identified long-standing concerns with DOD's efforts to institutionalize OCS.
This report examines the extent to which (1) the geographic combatant commands and the services collect OCS issues to develop lessons learned, (2) DOD has a focal point for integrating OCS issues from the JLLP, and (3) DOD organizations use JLLIS to share OCS issues and lessons learned. GAO evaluated OCS and lessons-learned guidance and plans and met with DOD commands and offices responsible for OCS planning, integration, policy, and contractor-management functions.

What GAO Found

The Department of Defense's (DOD) geographic combatant commands are improving efforts to collect operational contract support (OCS) issues from operations and exercises needed to develop lessons learned, but the military services are generally not collecting them. Currently, four of the six geographic combatant commands—U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Central Command, U.S. Northern Command, and U.S. Southern Command—have identified OCS as a critical capability in their joint training plans and have incorporated it into planning, execution, and assessment of exercises, while U.S. European Command and U.S. Pacific Command continue to make progress doing so. However, with the exception of the Army, the military services and their component commands are not generally collecting OCS issues to develop lessons learned. Officials from the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy stated that the lack of OCS awareness caused by not having (1) service-wide guidance on collecting OCS issues and (2) an OCS training requirement for senior leaders hinders their ability to develop lessons learned. Without guidance and a training requirement for senior leaders to improve OCS awareness, it will be difficult for DOD to ensure consistent collection of OCS issues and build on efficiencies that the services have identified to adequately plan for the use of contractor support.
DOD has made progress resolving some OCS issues, but does not have a focal point for integrating OCS issues identified through the Joint Lessons Learned Program (JLLP). The combatant commands and services are to use the JLLP to develop lessons learned related to joint capabilities from operations and exercises to improve areas such as doctrine and training. Currently, there are multiple organizations across DOD that are working on separate and sometimes disjointed OCS lessons-learned efforts. DOD has undertaken initial efforts to assign an OCS joint proponent with lessons-learned responsibilities. A joint proponent is an entity intended to lead collaborative development and integration of joint capability. However, DOD has not determined whether the joint proponent will be responsible for providing formal oversight and integration of OCS issues from the JLLP. As it develops the joint proponent, including such roles and responsibilities will help better position DOD to integrate all OCS issues from the JLLP, thereby addressing any gaps in its efforts.
DOD organizations do not consistently use the Joint Lessons Learned Information System (JLLIS) to share OCS issues and lessons learned due to the system's limited functionality. JLLIS is the JLLP's system of record and is to facilitate the DOD-wide collection and sharing of lessons learned. However, GAO found that geographic combatant commands and the Army use JLLIS to varying degrees. Further, DOD is generally not sharing OCS lessons learned in JLLIS because the system is not functional for users searching OCS issues due to, among other reasons, not having an OCS label and not having a designated location for sharing OCS lessons learned. JLLIS's limited functionality impedes information sharing department-wide. Until DOD improves the functionality of JLLIS, it will be difficult for users to search for OCS issues, and DOD runs the risk of not being able to systematically track and share OCS lessons learned department-wide, which could negatively affect joint force development and readiness.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends, among other things, that DOD and the services (1) issue service-wide OCS lessons-learned guidance; (2) establish an OCS training requirement for senior leaders; (3) ensure the planned OCS joint proponent's roles and responsibilities include integrating OCS issues from the JLLP; and (4) improve JLLIS's functionality. DOD concurred with three of these recommendations, but partially concurred with the third recommendation, stating the need to first evaluate its courses of action before establishing such a proponent. GAO believes this recommendation is still valid, as discussed in the report.