Depot-level maintenance and reporting are challenges for the Army, Lt. Gen. Duane Gamble, deputy Army chief of staff for logistics, told Congress. 

“We are executing our most critical requirements, but our critical requirements don’t always fulfill our core workload requirements,” Gamble told a House subcommittee at a hearing focused on the need for the military’s organic industrial base to support modernization efforts. 

This is a sizable program, with $8 billion of work expected this fiscal year to sustain or modernize weapons systems for the Army and the other services and to support foreign military sales, Gamble said. 

Top priority at the depots goes to mission-essential weapons and equipment supporting combatant command operations. “Our core workload ensures our Army is ready for crisis and conflict,” Gamble said. About 75% of the budget is allocated to these “must-fund” priorities, he said.  

Money is always tight, requiring prioritization, he said. “It would be unimaginable to fund and execute 100% of the Army’s depot maintenance requirements in a single fiscal year.” 

Some work is deferred every year, with careful efforts to management the carryover. The carryover is about six months of anticipated work that would be done in the following year, he said.