The readiness of the U.S. military leaves some things to be desired, according to testimonies from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which recently noted that each branch seems to be operating on its own playing field.
The Navy appears to be the worst off, with readiness having declined consistently between 2017 and 2021. Readiness increased among aviation and the space forces in some areas, but in other areas declined, and GAO noted that the goals for space readiness remain unclear. However, readiness among America’s ground forces increased overall, with the Army and Marine Corps presenting gains.
Previously, GAO investigations have shown various persistent challenges in each domain of the Department of Defense (DoD). GAO added that DoD will need to balance rebuilding the readiness of its existing forces with its interests in modernizing. Regardless of what it plots for days to come, it will need to depend on much of its existing forces for decades. New weapon systems and approaches to unit organization and operations are being developed, but those take time to create and implement.
Some issues with this include that, at this point, the Navy’s ship maintenance backlog has grown to $1.8 billion, and its public shipyards reckon with poor infrastructure, while maintenance and supply issues plague the availability of aging aircraft. Even the modern F-35 faces both sustainment and operational challenges. Further, nearly 20 years of conflict in one region or another has gradually eaten away at military readiness.
This readiness could be divided further for a fuller picture into resource readiness and mission capability readiness. Resource readiness is a measure of the status of personnel, equipment, supplies, and training, and GAO gave a 9 out of 16 points overall, with all branches except sea showing increased marks. The situation appeared much more dire for mission capability, with only ground forces showing an increase and all areas posting a collective 5 out of 16. Mission capability readiness refers to whether a unit can accomplish its designed missions.
Dozens of recommendations remain for the DoD from prior GAO reports, some unimplemented, adding to the growing picture of imbalance in approach.