Military Base Realignments and Closures. DOD Needs to Update Savings Estimates and Continue to Address Challenges in Consolidating Supply-Related Functions at Depot Maintenance Locations

While DLA has taken steps to minimize potential disruptions to depot operations as a result of its planned consolidation efforts and has made progress in implementing the SS&D consolidation actions, the most difficult tasks still lie ahead, posing challenges for DLA in completing those actions. DLA has taken steps in its plans to mitigate risks to the depots mission by implementing a number of key actions several of which are considered best practices for organizational transformation such as ensuring that leadership drives the transformation and involving military stakeholders in decision making. Senior DLA officials we spoke to told us that they will consider consolidation actions complete when the agreed-upon SS&D functions, personnel positions, and associated personnel have been transferred from the military service to DLA and when related applicable military and DLA inventories have been physically consolidated. As of May 2009, the Air Force had completed the transfer of all positions and associated personnel at all 3 of its affected depots; the Navy had completed transfers at 4 of its 5 locations, and the Marine Corps and the Army had not yet begun to transfer positions. In addition, as of May 2009, DLA had not physically consolidated any inventories and the first is not scheduled to occur until August 2009, which represents a 3-month slippage from the milestones set forth at the beginning of our review. DLA does not currently plan to consolidate any inventories at 5 of the 13 locations 3 Army and 2 Marine Corps locations because, according to DLA and military service officials, neither of these services have any applicable inventories to consolidate.