GAO Study Criticizes Pentagon on Quality Control of New Arms

WASHINGTON —  The system of assuring the quality of weapons purchased by the Defense Department is not as effective as it should be and more effort is needed to improve the process, the General Accounting Office said Thursday.

The report by the congressional watchdog agency said more attention should be given to quality assurance, a view endorsed by the Pentagon as part of the report.

Sen. Bill Roth (R-Del.) released the GAO findings and said they show “the Defense Department plays blindman’s bluff by paying defense contractors for equipment produced without effective quality assurance standards.”

‘Key to Best Buys’

“Quality assurance is key to ensuring the best buys for our defense dollars,” said Roth, the ranking Republican on the Senate Government Affairs Committee.

In the past two years, when Roth chaired the committee while Republicans controlled the Senate, the panel held a series of hearings that revealed problems in the way the Pentagon buys weapons.

The committee’s continuing series of reports criticized the Defense Department for spending too much, accepting shoddy workmanship and for not effectively testing weapons before they are purchased.

The latest study involves the Pentagon’s quality assurance programs, in which Defense Department representatives are placed at production plants to make sure the contracts are properly followed.

‘Not as Effective’

But the GAO said, “We believe the present in-plant quality assurance program is not as effective as it should be in ensuring that quality products are delivered to field activities.”

“Evidence of this ineffectiveness can be found in service and Defense Logistics Agency studies which document that many contractors are not adequately controlling quality and producing hardware which conforms with contract requirements,” the GAO said.

For example, of 84 F/A-18A jets purchased by the Navy, no records existed for all the required inspections for 10 of the high performance planes, the GAO said.

In another instance, the GAO said, 25% of mandatory inspections were not completed on a group of Army CH-47 helicopters.

Lacks System, GAO Says

The chief problem is lack of a Pentagon-wide system for making sure contracts are adhered to, the GAO said. Instead, each of the four services and the Defense Logistics Agency have different systems.

Quality control is one of the reforms pushed recently by Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger. In a response to the GAO report that was contained in a letter to Roth, the Pentagon promised to improve its effort.

Richard P. Godwin, recently appointed to oversee all Pentagon acquisition programs in another effort to end contracting problems, wrote: “We strongly agree with your assertion that quality assurance is a key issue in ensuring the best buys for our defense dollars.”