Pitfalls of the A-76 Process

The DoD and the Air Force have turned to outsourcing support functions as a way to reduce both costs and the number of soldiers required to provide Support for combat forces. The process used to determine whether it is economically feasible to outsource a function is called A-76, after the circular that describes the process. Outsourcing, like any other tool, must be used in the right way, in the correct environment if the desired goal to be reached. To understand what these goals are, it is necessary to examine past case studies where outsourcing has worked, to determine why outsourcing works. It is then necessary to see if the United States implements policy in such a manner as to ensure the success of the driving forces of outsourcing. In addition, it is necessary to review the A-76 from initiation to implementation of either the Contractor or the Most Efficient Organization (MEO) to see if the military has set up policy and implementation to ensure that outsourcing produces the best results possible. It is finally necessary to examine what happens after the A-76 is completed to see how the remaining force structure is affected.