The House-Senate National Defense Authorization Act of fiscal year 2014 would restrict procurement funds for General Dynamics’ [GD] Stryker vehicle upgrades until the Army submits a report on the status of the spare parts inventory cited in a November Defense Department Inspector General’s report.
Photo: General Dynamics Land Systems
Not more than “75 percent may be obligated or expended until a period of 15 days has elapsed following the date on which the Secretary of the Army submits the report,” the bill language said.
While this provision was part of the House bill, there was no similar provision in the Senate committee-passed bill, the Joint Explanatory Statement on the NDAA said.
The report for the congressional defense committees must report on the Stryker spare parts inventory in Auburn, Wash., cited in the DoD IG’s Nov. 30, 2012 report http://www.dodig.mil/pubs/documents/DODIG-2013-025.pdf.
The IG report found that contractor logistics support for the Stryker family of vehicles was focused on reaching an operational readiness rate of 90 percent and actually reached a readiness rate “in excess of 96 percent.” However, the Stryker inventory was incorrectly classified, and inventory management needed improvement. The IG recommended additional guidance from top Pentagon procurement and logistics officials as well as changes in how Army acquisition and program officials dealt with Stryker inventory.
The report must include the status of implementing recommendations from the IG, to include the value of the parts remaining in the warehouse that may still be used to “repair, upgrade or reset” Stryker vehicles.
Additionally, the report must cite the value of the parts remaining in the warehouse that are no longer usable for repair, upgrade or reset of Strykers.
Finally, the report must include a cost estimate of the monthly cost of maintaining the inventory of parts that are no longer usable, and any other matters the Army Secretary “considers appropriate.”