The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today issued a new report of interest to the community entitled “GAO-21-411 Defense Transportation: The Army Should Take Action to Better Ensure Adequate Rail Support to Combatant Commanders”.

According to the GAO, “when an Army unit is called into the field, about two-thirds of its equipment moves to a shipping port by rail, Army officials said. The Army cut its rail operating force by 70% after a 2015 Army analysis concluded that it didn't need its own crews and could rely on civilians. However, the remaining crews have been in high demand and Army officials said it is unclear what would happen in a large mobilization. Also, about half the tracks under Army control have been closed due to defects, inspectors said. The Army doesn't have an overall program to assure tracks are inspected and deficiencies corrected. Our recommendations address these issues.”

As a side note, DAU offers members of the defense acquisition workforce a related online training (OLT) opportunity entitled “CLL 045 Designing for Transportability”. Additionally, see a related DAU LOG Blog Post from earlier this year entitled "New GAO Report on Defense Transportation".