Army Audit Faults CW Destruction Process

U.S. Army auditors have warned that poor project management could prevent the United States from meetings its 2023 target for destroying all of its chemical munitions, the Deseret Morning News reported yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 2).

Despite a 2012 international treaty deadline (see GSN, Dec. 11, 2006), the Army has said publicly that it cannot finish the job before 2023 (see GSN, Nov. 21, 2006).

However, a report issued five months ago by the Army Audit Agency, but just obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, has questioned whether even the later target can be met.

The report finds that chemical weapon destruction contractors are inadvertently rewarded for delaying the destruction process.

“Contractors had little incentive to — and weren’t sufficiently penalized for failing to — prevent or minimize cost and schedule growth,” the report says.

The report urges better oversight of contractors and improved payment methods, including possibly a flat fee for each weapon destroyed (Lee Davidson, Deseret Morning News, Feb. 19).

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