Defense Headquarters: Status of Efforts to Redefine and Reduce Headquarters Staff

摘要

Congress has long been concerned that the Department of Defense's reductions inheadquarters staff have not been commensurate with the overall force reductions. We have previously reported that the number of management headquarters' personnel was significantly higher than the Department reported and recommended that the Department revise its headquarters directive to include all activities performing headquarters functions. In May 1999, the Department of Defense issued a revised directive that redefined management headquarters and headquarters support activities. Using the baseline established under the new definition, Congress directed the Department to reduce the number of positions in management headquarters by 15 percent during fiscal years 2000-2002. In response to your request, we reviewed the Department's progress in this area. In this report, we discuss the Department of Defense efforts to (1) implement the revised management headquarters directive and provide a more accurate report on the number of personnel in headquarters activities and (2) reduce positions in headquarters and achieve the reductions mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000. We briefed your staff on our findings on July 12, 2000.