Transition of Army Missile Acquisition Programs from Program Management Offices to Commodity Commands

This report on the transition of Army missile acquisition programs is the first in a series of reports. Subsequent reports will be issued for the transition of Navy and Air Force missile acquisition programs. In part, the Army will accomplish severe cuts in its staff levels planned for FY 1998 by transitioning the responsibility for management of weapon systems from program management offices to commodity commands. Reductions in weapon system management staff levels are based on the premise that weapon systems that transition from their acquisition phase with program management offices to their sustainment phase with commodity commands require less intensive management and, therefore, less staff. The Army generally cuts program management staffing in half when programs transition to commodity commands. To assist in meeting planned Army-wide staff cuts for FY 1998, the Army is planning to transition as many as 200 weapon systems to commodity commands. The unusually large number of systems to be transitioned was the reason for this audit.