Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed five Air Force Air Logistics Centers' (ALC) performance and capacity for depot maintenance operations.
GAO found that: (1) the Air Force assigned each ALC responsibility for maintaining, modifying, and repairing specific types of engines, aircraft, and parts; (2) according to the Air Force, ALC had different missions and facilities, therefore limiting the value of cross comparisons; (3) indicators of depot performance included the number of aircraft maintained, the number of repaired engines and other items, and annual labor hours, but the types of maintenance varied among ALC; (4) indicators of capacity included the size of the facilities and their work forces; (5) the Department of Defense was evaluating depot maintenance operations to determine the most effective way to reduce overall costs while retaining essential operating capability; (6) each military service was scheduled to submit a coordinated long-range plan by October 1990, which will include an option to increase the work performed by one military service for another; and (7) the Air Force was considering the possibility of reducing or removing all depot maintenance activity from one ALC, and officials reported that ALC performance would not be a determining factor in the decision.
