Government Accountability Office Report News

Spectrum Interference Associated with Military Radios Detailed to Congress

Copyright © Targeted News Service 2005

By BIDYOT BIKASH BORAH Targeted News Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 -- Paul L. Francis, director of the Government Accountability Office's Acquisition and Sourcing Management division, in a letter to Rep. Todd Platts, R-Pa., chairman of the House Government Reform's subcommittee on Government Management, Finance, and Accountability, detailed potential spectrum interference associated with military land mobile radios.

"To address homeland defense needs and comply with government direction that agencies use the electromagnetic spectrum more efficiently, the Department of Defense is deploying new Land Mobile Radios to military installations across the country," Francis wrote. "The new Land Mobile Radios operate in the same frequency range-380 MHz to 399.9 MHz-as many unlicensed low-powered garage door openers, which have operated in this range for years. While DOD has been the authorized user of this spectrum range for several decades, their use of Land Mobile Radios between 380 MHz and 399.9 MHz is relatively new. With DOD's deployment of the new radios and increased use of the 380 MHz-399.9 MHz range of spectrum, some users of garage door openers have experienced varying levels of inoperability that has been attributed to interference caused by the new radios. Nevertheless, because garage door openers operate as unlicensed devices, they must accept any interference from authorized spectrum users. This requirement stems from Part 15 of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations. Garage door openers and other unlicensed devices are often referred to as "Part 15 devices."

Francis said he was responding to an April, 2005 request to examine the issue. "Specifically, you asked us to (1) determine the extent of the problem of spectrum interference associated with the recent testing and use of mobile radios at military facilities in the United States, (2) review the efforts made by DOD during the development of its Land Mobile Radio system to identify and avoid spectrum interference, and (3) identify efforts to address the problem. We briefed your staff on August 30, 2005, on the results of our review. This report summarizes that information and makes a recommendation to the Department of Defense," Francis wrote in the letter.

The document is available on-line in pdf format at: http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-172R.

GAO Issues Report on Best Practices

Copyright © Targeted News Service 2005

By: Shweta Singh Targeted News Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 -- The U.S. Government Accountability Office has issued a report called Best Practices: Better Support of Weapon System Program Managers Needed to Improve Outcomes (GAO-06-110).

The report was sent to Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., chairman; and Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawaii, ranking minority member on the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support.

According to the GAO, "U.S. weapons are among the best in the world, but the programs to acquire them often take significantly longer and cost more money than promised and often deliver fewer quantities and capabilities than planned. It is not unusual for estimates of time and money to be off by 20 to 50 percent. When costs and schedules increase, quantities are cut, and the value for the warfighter - as well as the value of the investment dollar - is reduced."

The GAO said, "When we examined private sector companies that developed complex and technical products similar to DOD, we found that their success hinged on the tone set by leadership and disciplined, knowledge-based processes for product development and execution. More specifically, long before the initiation of a new program, senior company leaders made critical investment decisions about the firm's mix of products so that they could commit to programs they determined best fit within their overall goals. These decisions considered long-term needs versus wants as well as affordability and sustainability."

"DOD program managers are put in a very different situation. DOD leadership rarely separates long-term wants from needs based on credible, future threats. As a result, DOD starts many more programs than it can afford-creating a competition for funds that pressures program managers to produce optimistic cost estimates and to overpromise capabilities. Moreover, our work has shown that DOD allows programs to begin without establishing a formal business case. And once they begin, requirements and funding change over time. In fact, program managers personally consider requirements and funding instability - which occur throughout the program--to be their biggest obstacles to success. Program managers also believe that they are not sufficiently empowered to execute their programs, and that because much remains outside of their span of control, they cannot be held accountable," the GAO wrote in the report.

Michael J. Sullivan, GAO's director of Acquisition and Sourcing Management, said, "this report examines how program managers in the Department of Defense are supported and how they are held accountable for program outcomes. It compares department polices and practices to those of leading commercial companies we visited and discusses actions DOD could take to improve the accountability of program managers and provide them with timely support as they manage the development of complex systems. We make recommendations to the Secretary of Defense to (1) develop an investment strategy to prioritize needed capabilities, (2) require, for each new program, that senior level stakeholders formally commit to a business case for program approval at the start of a new program, and (3) implement a process to instill and sustain accountability for successful program outcomes."

Sullivan said, "We are sending copies of this report to the Secretary of Defense; the Secretary of the Army; the Secretary of the Navy; the Secretary of the Air Force; the Director, Missile Defense Agency; the Director of the Office of Management and Budget; and interested congressional committees. We will also make copies available to others upon request. In addition, the report will be available at no charge on the GAO Web site at http://www.gao.gov."

Sullivan also said, "In commenting on a draft of our report, DOD's Acting Director for Procurement and Acquisition Policy concurred with our recommendations. In doing so, DOD asserted it was already taking actions to address our recommendations, notably by reviewing its overall approach to acquisition governance and investment decisionmaking as part of its Quadrennial Defense Review due in February 2006 and identifying ways to more effectively implement existing policies. DOD also stated it intended to develop a plan to address challenges in acquisition manpower including program manager tenure and career path and it intends to enhance its information management systems to facilitate oversight and management decisions. As underscored in our report, DOD has attempted similar efforts in the past - that is, reviewed its approach to governance and investment decisions and policies - without achieving significant improvements. This is because DOD has not assured such actions were executed in tandem with (1) instilling more leadership and discipline in investment decision-making, in both the short and long term and (2) instilling accountability--by requiring key senior officials to sign business case, based on systems engineering knowledge, prior to every new acquisition as well as by matching program managers' tenure to cycle time."

The document is available online in pdf format at: http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-112SP.