Department of Defense officials operate an estimated 500,000 properties around the world that are worth in excess of $828 billion.
But don’t ask the Pentagon how those properties are being used at any given time because DOD “lacks accurate and complete data regarding the utilization of its facilities,” according to the Government Accountability Office.
As a result, Pentagon officials can’t be sure when asked if a specific DOD facility is being actively used, only partially used or not used at all.
For example, DOD’s “Real Property Assets Database — a compilation of the military departments’ real property assets inventory — showed facility utilization data for less than half of DOD’s total inventory, and these data often were incomplete or did not reflect the true usage rate of the facilities,” GAO said in a report made public Friday.
The same database showed the Air Force with more than 22,000 facilities but none on active status, GAO said.
The problems created by DOD’s lack of accurate information about its properties and facilities isn’t likely to improve, GAO said, because “DOD’s plans to eliminate excess facilities in the future were unclear, as were its plans for taking into account external factors, such as management of historical-preservation requirements and environmental restrictions.”
The Pentagon is not unique in the federal government, however, in being unable to track its vast holdings, the Project on Government Oversight has noted.
“In 2013, GAO released a similarly discouraging investigation into the General Services Administration’s system for keeping track of federal buildings, the Federal Real Property Profile,” the non-profit government watchdog group said.
“Auditors discovered that 23 of the 26 federal buildings they visited had inaccurate information about utilization, condition, annual operating costs, and value,” POGO said.
Go here for the full GAO report on DOD properties. Go here for the report on GSA properties.
Mark Tapscott is executive editor of the Washington Examiner.
