GAO: Army Should Address Spare-Parts Issues

While the Army had more spare parts than it needed between October 2004 and September 2007, there were shortages of some key supplies during that time, according to a Jan. 12 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The excesses and shortfalls were caused by two factors – a lack of cost-effectiveness metrics, and inaccurate forecasting, based on flawed computer estimates. The GAO notes that the Army has responded to the situation by ordering its managers to revise requests to follow more closely the quantities of weapons systems being used in Southwest Asia operations.