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Armored Medical Evacuation Vehicle (AMEV), an Army Acquisition Category III program, is a Bradley Fighting Vehicle variant and is intended to replace the M113A2/A3 Armored Ambulance as the medical evacuation vehicle platform in the Army's heavy divisions. The AMEV is an armored, tracked vehicle designed to carry four-litter and four ambulatory patients or any combination thereof. The platform for the AMEV is an upgraded M2A0 Bradley Fighting Vehicle variant, which has the turret removed, the roof squared off and raised 13 inches, a 600 horsepower engine, and additional armor. The Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and the Program Executive Office, Ground Combat and Support Systems, have overall management responsibility for the AMEV. The Army plans to make a low-rate initial production decision in September 2001 for the AMEV and a full-rate production decision in August 2003. The Army has a requirement to procure 675 vehicles at an estimated program cost of $580 million; however, the AMEV is currently unfunded for procurement. The Army projects the life-cycle cost for the AMEV through FY 2027 to be about $2.5 billion in FY 1999 dollars.
The primary audit objective was to evaluate the overall management of the AMEV. Because the AMEV was in the engineering and manufacturing development phase, we evaluated whether management was cost effective in readying the system for the production phase of the acquisition process. We also evaluated the management control program as it related to the audit objectives.
The Army did not have a viable acquisition strategy to acquire the AMEV at the completion of the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the acquisition process. As a result, the Army had obligated about $9.7 million in research, development, test and evaluation funds for the program from its in inception in FY 1997 through FY 2000 and planned to obligate another $6.3 million to complete the developmental effort in FY 2001 through FY 2003 for a program that the Army did not intend to fund for production. Implementing the recommendation would allow the Army to put the $6.3 million of remaining funds programmed for the AMEV to better use. See the Finding section for a discussion of the audit results.
The management controls that we reviewed were effective in that no material management control weakness was identified.
We recommend that the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller) discontinue further research, development, test and evaluation funding for the AMEV.
Because the AMEV is co-managed, we requested that the Commander, Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, and the Program Executive Officer, Ground Combat and Support Systems, comment on the draft report. Consequently, we received comments from the Program Executive Officer, Ground Combat and Support Systems, and the Acting Commander, Army Medical Materiel Development Activity, who responded for the Commander, Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. The Program Executive Officer stated that the draft report provides an accurate assessment of the documentation that the Project Manager, Bradley Fighting Vehicle Systems, provided during the audit. The Acting Commander did not concur with the finding and did not specifically address the recommendation to discontinue further funding for the AMEV; however, he stated that efforts to obtain Army funding for the AMEV were ongoing. The Acting Commander also provided comments and recommended changes to selected statements in the report. A discussion of the management comments is in the Finding section of the report, and the complete text is in the Management Comments section.
Because the Acting Commander, Army Medical Materiel Development Activity, did not address the recommendation and was continuing unrealistic efforts to obtain funding for the AMEV, we are redirecting the recommendation to the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller) to ensure that the Army spends funds on efforts that it is committed to fully funding and procuring. Therefore, we request that the Assistant Secretary comment on the recommendation by January 22, 2001.
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