As the Army aims to field new weapons and equipment, it must proactively plan prior to fielding it, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.

“While the Army has successfully fielded rapidly developed new materiel, … it has fielded this materiel without fully completing requirements for the other seven planning elements, such as training, facilities, and personnel,” the report found. “The Army expects to continue to face challenges completing requirements in some of the other planning elements before fielding new equipment.”

The Army has invested $46.5 billion to develop modernized equipment and fielded six new equipment priorities through the Army’s Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model since fiscal year 2021, according to the report.

GAO reviewed the Army’s budget materials and investments, evaluated the implementation of the Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model, also known as ReARMM, and reviewed the Army’s support planning for equipment fielded through the model to reach its conclusions.

Planning elements for new equipment are not being fully completed prior to fielding the new equipment, the report found. This could include building facilities, assigning personnel or planning for training, the report says.

“When the Army fields new equipment to units without fully completing the planning elements, units may not be well positioned to operate the new equipment,” according to the report. “As of November 2023, the Army fielded six of the previously discussed new priority equipment items with at least one incomplete planning element at the time that the first unit received them.”

At times, transferred equipment sets are in poor condition, causing “unexpected costs” and training delays as the units receiving the equipment must restore it to “‘fully mission capable’ status,” the report found.

Two major equipment sets transferred to National Guard units under the Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model were “in poor condition,” including 138 Bradley Fighting Vehicles transferred from a Regular Army unit to the Tennessee Army National Guard, according to the report.

Though the Army “has taken some steps to ensure planning elements are completed before fielding new equipment,” challenges remain, the report found.

Equipment faces “long time horizons,” where “it may take the Army five to 10 years” for its facilities to catch up to new equipment and its requirements. Further, new equipment may come with new capabilities that the Army will need to take time to adjust to.

The report recommends that the Army take steps to ensure equipment sets meet standards before they are transferred and review and adjust their planning element processes to ensure that planning elements are completed before the Army fields new equipment. 

Planning and quality surrounding the Army’s equipment sets are essential to modernization and training.

“Unless the Army is better able to ensure it completes the planning elements that units need to operate newly fielded equipment, soldiers may be poorly organized, trained and equipped to operate and maintain it until those planning elements are met,” the report found.

Read the report here.