How Well do the Military Services Perform Jointly in Combat. DoD's Joint Test-and-Evaluation Program Provides Few Credible Answers

摘要

In most combat situations, DOD combines military missions and their operations in ways that transcend the boundaries and responsibilities of the individual armed services. To ascertain whether DOD's joint test-and-evaluation program produces credible information about these situations, GAO reviewed 13 JT/E's that were completed between 1972 and 1981, analyzed 3 in depth for their systemic strengths and weaknesses, and examined the history, organization, and management of the JT/E program. In examining the test process, GAO found that the most important threats to the quality and usefulness of JT/E results are test formulations that fail to consider critical issues, test designs that set up unrealistic test conditions, test implementation that deviates from the test design, test analysis that fails to employ appropriate techniques or to control for validity, and test reports that are untimely, based on faulty interpretations, or not appropriately balanced or qualified. Some of these threats may stem from the organizational features of the JT/E program that make it dependent both on DOD's weapons developer and on the services for their expertise, planning, resources, and funding.