Uncertainty Regarding Navy’s Adherence to Site Selection Criteria and Assessment of Costs Associated With Competing Locations

In reviewing CINCLANTFLT’s recommendation of NWS Earle for the new command headquarters, we could not be certain to what extent the Navy had fully considered its stated criteria to evaluate or compare alternate sites because documentation to support the Navy’s decision was limited. Cost Estimates for Establishing the Command at NWS Earle May Be Understated

CINCLANTFLT did perform analyses sufficient to estimate the cost to establish the command at NWS Earle at $1.89 million. Various Operating Factors Raise Issues About Whether NWS Earle Is the Optimal Location for the New Headquarters

In examining mission and support requirements of the new command, we found that the NWS Earle location raises two basic operational limitations when compared to the current location at NSB New London or the facilities at Newport. These limitations relate to increased travel time and costs associated with operating from that location and the adequacy of existing facility infrastructure to support the new headquarters relative to at least the NSB New London and Newport locations. Staff Travel Time and Costs Could Be Greater Operating From NWS Earle

According to CINCLANTFLT’s Fact and Justification Sheet, the proposed mission of the Commander, Navy Region Northeast, would primarily involve management and oversight of the widely dispersed naval shore activities in the northeast region. Therefore, it is not clear that NWS Earle provides a geographic advantage over other locations. Moreover, we noted that by moving the new command away from NSB New London, the Navy would be separating the command from other regional activities currently located at NSB New London, including the Regional Supply Coalition and the Regional Emergency Command Center. Our draft report raised questions about the extent to which the Navy had followed its own criteria regarding the establishment of shore activities since we could not be certain to what extent the Navy met its stipulated requirements because the Navy had limited documentation to support its analyses. We also visited and interviewed officials at NWS Earle, New Jersey, and the naval base at Newport, Rhode Island, to determine how the command would be accommodated if relocated to these locations.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed: (1) the Navy's site selection process for its northeast regional command; (2) the extent to which the Navy fully evaluated the costs and implications of establishing a new command at the Naval Weapons Station (NWS) Earle, New Jersey, versus the Naval Submarine Base (NSB) New London, Connecticut or the Naval Undersea Warfare Center located at Newport, Rhode Island; (3) the extent to which the Navy followed its criteria for establishing shore activities and the extent to which it fully analyzed prospective costs of the three sites; and (4) location and infrastructure factors that would affect costs and operations of the new command at each of the three locations.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) weaknesses exist in the Navy's process for selecting the location for the headquarters for its new northeast regional command; (2) in selecting NWS Earle, it is not clear to what extent the Navy followed its own criteria for the establishment, disestablishment, or modification of shore activities or fully assessed the comparative costs of establishing and operating the new headquarters at all sites it had indicated were under consideration; (3) the costs to establish the command at NWS Earle may be greater than the Navy estimated; (4) the NWS Earle site has some basic operational limitations compared with at least two other sites, including NSB New London and Newport; (5) these limitations relate to facilities' infrastructure to support the new command and increased travel time and costs associated with operating from NWS Earle; (6) the Navy stated that it needs a flag rank command closer to New York City to attain certain operational benefits; and (7) while this need may be appropriate, questions exist about: (a) how often the need to visit New York City arises; (b) whether the NWS Earle location provides a significant reduction in travel time compared with travel from the current location at NSB New London; and (c) whether it is desirable to separate the new command from other centralized support activities located at NSB New London.