Joint Training; Observations on the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Exercise Program

摘要

The Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff (cjcs) Exercise Program is the Department of Defense's (DOD) primary vehicle to train its forces and staff injoint operations. Recently, the Secretary of Defense and Congress expressed concerns about the impact of this program on the high rate of U.S. force deployments. In reviewed the cjcs Exercise Program, Specifically, we determined the (1) number and type of cjcs exercises conducted and planned from 1995 to 2002 (2) basis for DOD'S estimates of exercise costs for the same time period, and (3) availability of DOD data to estimate the impact of cjcs exercises on deployment rates. DOD cannot determine the impact of the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Exercise Program on overall deployment rates because DOD does not have a system that accurately and consistently measures overall deployment rates across the services. Without such a system, DOD cannot objectively assess the extent to which the Chairman, Joint Chief of Staff Exercise Program contributes to deployment rate concerns. From fiscal year 1995 to 2002, 1,405 exercises were or are planned to be conducted as part of the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Exercise Program at the 5 regional commands.