DEPUTY SECRETARY DEUTCH DIRECTS IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THEREPORT OF THE ADVISORY BOARD ON THE INVESTIGATIVE CAPABILITY OF THE DEPARTMENTOF DEFENSE
In letters transmitted on May 5 , 1995, then Deputy Secretary of Defense John
Deutch directed the implementation of the vast majority of the 100
recommendations contained in the final report of the Advisory Board on the
Investigative Capability of the Department of Defense. The final report was
transmitted to Congress on January 13, 1995.
The Advisory Board recommended that the Secretary of Defense establish the
"Secretary's Board on Investigations," chaired by the DoD IG, to oversee and
coordinate investigative issues for the Department. Deutch directed the
creation of the Secretary's Board. The purpose of the Secretary's Board is to
provide DoD-level leadership in the area of criminal and non-criminal
investigations. The Advisory Board concluded that such leadership is necessary
if investigations in DoD are to be uniformly professional and efficient. The
membership of the Secretary's Board will include DoD IG as chair, the Under
Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Technology), the DoD General Counsel, one
representative each from the military departments, and one representative from
the Marine Corps. The Secretary's Board will have a small staff consisting of
personnel detailed from the Services and the DoD IG.
Deputy Secretary Deutch directed the implementation of 93 of the Advisory
Board's other 98 recommendations. These include measure to improve and in some
cases consolidate training; improve commander-directed investigations; and
address a number of specific identified deficiencies in the various
investigative organizations throughout the Department. DoD believes that these
changes will improve the quality, consistency and efficiency of the
Department's investigations, and thereby contribute significantly to the
national defense. Three of the remaining five recommendations have been
referred to the DoD components concerned for service consideration and possible
action.
In the final report, the Advisory Board recommended that responsibility for
conducting major procurement fraud investigations for all DoD components be
consolidated under the control of the DoD IG. At present, four agencies - the
DoD IG's criminal investigative organizations and the three Service criminal
investigative organizations - investigate major procurement fraud. The
Advisory Board found problems with procurement fraud investigations,
particularly significant redundancy. The Board did not find, however, that
consolidation under the DoD IG would necessarily save money or that it would
significantly improve the quality of investigations, which it concluded is very
good. Moreover, the Deputy Secretary consolidation itself has substantial
short-term costs and recognized that the Secretaries of the Military
Departments believe that a consolidated agency would not be as responsive to
their investigative needs as the current agencies that report directly to
them.
Based on these considerations, the Deputy Secretary determined it is not in the
Department's best interest to consolidate procurement fraud investigations and
that measures less disruptive than consolidation can address the problems that
the Advisory Board identified. Such measures will include the formation of the
Secretary's Board and clarifications and reallocation of procurement fraud
jurisdiction among the agencies.
Copies of the report are available for the media in the Directorate for
Defense Information, 2E764 Pentagon or call (703)695-0192.
