Report says Army miscounts could slow stateside moves

[unhappycamper]

Report says Army miscounts could slow stateside moves
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, September 15, 2007

WASHINGTON — Preparations for the influx of soldiers to stateside bases may be slowed by inaccurate personnel counts and unclear funding promises, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Thursday.

Researchers from the congressional office found that most expansion and new construction efforts are well under way at bases expecting to see thousands of new permanent-station soldiers and their families in the next four years. The moves, along with the most recent Base Realignment and Closure round, have been planned since 2005.

But report authors also found discrepancies in the number of troops Army officials and installation managers are expecting to see.

“The study didn’t look at the sequencing of events or the feasibility of completing the work; we’re simply pointing out that to do that effectively you need to know how many people are coming and when they’ll be there,” said Brian Lepore, director of defense capabilities and management of the GAO.

For example, leaders at Georgia’s Fort Benning are expecting more than 8,700 school-age children to arrive as a result of the moves over the next four years, but Defense Department figures estimated only about 5,300.

Official estimates for Texas’ Fort Bliss sit about 1,500 below what base officials expect when the 1st Armored Division fully relocates from Germany in fiscal 2011. The official tallies for the 1st Infantry Division’s move from Germany to Fort Riley in Kansas are nearly 600 below what local officials anticipate.


Rest of article: http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=48775