DOD Has Taken Steps to Implement Global Strike, but Its Concept Is Interpreted Differently by Key Stakeholders

DOD has taken a number of steps to implement its global strike concept  and has generally assigned responsibilities for the planning, execution, and  support of global strike operations. However, key stakeholders,  particularly the geographic combatant commanders, have different  interpretations of the scope, range, and potential use of capabilities  needed to implement global strike and under what conditions global strike  would be used in U.S. military operations. Several factors affect  understanding and communication of the global strike concept among key  stakeholders, including the extent to which DOD has (1) defined global  strike, (2) incorporated global strike into joint doctrine, (3) conducted  outreach and communication activities with key stakeholders, and  (4) involved stakeholders in joint exercises and other training involving  global strike. DOD Is Assessing Several Potential Offensive Strike Weapons Systems for Global Strike but Has Not Fully Assessed Related Enabling Capabilities

DOD has underway or completed several global strike assessments to  identify potential conventional offensive strike weapons systems it may  need in the near, mid, and long term, particularly those for prompt global  strike. However, DOD has not fully assessed the requirements for various  enabling capabilities it needs for global strike or coordinated its efforts to  improve these capabilities with potential offensive systems it intends to  develop. Since DOD has not fully assessed the required enabling capabilities or  coordinated various department efforts to improve enabling capabilities,  such as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance and command and  control, for future strike systems, DOD might not make the best decisions  regarding which enabling capabilities to pursue. DOD Has Identified and Tracked Some Investments Related to Global Strike but Has Not Developed a Prioritized Global Strike Investment Strategy

While DOD plans investments in a range of global-strike-related  capabilities, it has not yet begun to develop a prioritized investment  strategy that considers the breadth of current efforts and future plans to  develop capabilities for global strike, integrates these efforts to assess  global strike options, and makes choices among alternatives in light of the  department’s long-term fiscal challenges. Our prior work has shown that a long-term and comprehensive investment  approach is an important tool in an organization’s decision-making  process to define direction, establish priorities, assist with current and  future budgets, and plan the actions needed to achieve goals. Without a complete  and clearly articulated concept that is well communicated and practiced  with key stakeholders, DOD could encounter difficulties in fully  implementing its concept and building the necessary relationships for  carrying out global strike operations. Specifically,  DOD concurred with our recommendations to (1) conduct a  comprehensive assessment of enabling capabilities (intelligence collection  and dissemination, surveillance and reconnaissance, command and  control, communications, and battlefield damage assessment); (2) provide  guidance on how the results of its studies to identify potential strike  systems for global strike would be integrated into a comprehensive  prioritized investment strategy for global strike; (3) perform a  comprehensive review of all capabilities being developed within DOD’s  FYDP to determine the extent to which these capabilities contribute or  can be leveraged for global strike; and (4) determine the appropriateness  of using a portfolio management approach for global strike. We also obtained information on DOD’s efforts  to identify funding requirements and develop an investment strategy for  global strike.
Why GAO Did This Study

To increase the range of options available to the President, the Department of Defense (DOD) is taking steps to develop a portfolio of capabilities, referred to as global strike, to rapidly plan and deliver limited duration and extended range precision strikes against highly valued assets. GAO was asked to assess (1) whether DOD has clearly defined and instilled a common understanding and approach for global strike throughout the department, (2) the extent to which DOD has developed capabilities needed for global strike, and (3) the extent to which DOD has identified the funding requirements and developed an investment strategy for acquiring new global strike capabilities. GAO reviewed and analyzed plans and studies within DOD, the services, and several commands on global strike implementation and capabilities development.

What GAO Found

DOD has taken a number of steps to implement its global strike concept and has generally assigned responsibilities for the planning, execution, and support of global strike operations. However, key stakeholders, particularly the geographic combatant commanders, have different interpretations of the concept, scope, range, and potential use of capabilities needed to implement global strike. Several factors affect the understanding and communication of DOD's global strike concept among key stakeholders, including the extent to which DOD has (1) defined global strike, (2) incorporated global strike into joint doctrine, (3) conducted outreach and communication activities with key stakeholders, and (4) involved stakeholders in joint exercises and other training involving global strike. GAO's prior work examining successful organizational transformations shows the necessity to communicate to stakeholders often and early with clear and specific objectives on what is to be achieved and what roles are assigned. Without a complete and clearly articulated concept that is well communicated and practiced with key stakeholders, DOD could encounter difficulties in fully implementing its concept and building the necessary relationships for carrying out global strike operations. DOD has underway or completed several global strike assessments to identify potential conventional offensive strike weapons systems, particularly those for prompt global strike, which would provide capabilities sometime after 2018. However, DOD has not fully assessed the requirements or coordinated improvements for related enabling capabilities that are critical to the planning and execution of successful global strike operations. These critical enabling capabilities include intelligence collection and dissemination, surveillance and reconnaissance, and command and control, communications, and battlefield damage assessment. Furthermore, DOD has not coordinated its efforts to improve these capabilities with potential offensive systems it intends to develop. Without fully assessing the enabling capabilities required or coordinating with other DOD studies, DOD might not make the best decision of which enabling capability to pursue in meeting global strike requirements. DOD has not yet established a prioritized investment strategy that integrates its efforts to assess global strike options and makes choices among alternatives given the department's long-term fiscal challenges. GAO's prior work has shown that a long-term and comprehensive investment approach is an important tool in an organization's decision-making process to define direction, establish priorities, assist with current and future budgets, and plan the actions needed to achieve goals. While DOD studies and officials recognize a need for a broad, holistic view of global strike development, DOD has not identified and assessed all global-strike-related capabilities and technologies and has not explained how its plans to link long-term studies to identify potential weapons systems will result in a comprehensive prioritized investment strategy for global strike.