Assesses the relationship between tank age and the mission-critical failure rate for the Army's M1 Abrams tank. Budget limits have brought about extensions in the service lives of many Army weapon systems. In the widespread belief that the increases in fleet age will create readiness and cost problems, the Army is executing recapitalization programs to rebuild or upgrade selected weapon systems to retain combat capabilities and hold down maintenance costs. This research assesses the effects of age on mission-critical failure rates for M1 Abrams tanks.

Defines metrics to evaluate the Army's process for returning and repairing reparable spare parts. Value recovery, in the form of the return and repair of reparable spare parts, involves sizable investments of time and inventory. This monograph describes metrics developed to evaluate the Army's retrograde processes. Baseline repair times were found to be long: over a month for items repaired below depot and returned to stock. The authors suggest ways to speed up the movement of parts through the system to minimize the size of the parts inventory.

Using a case study based on the Army's Stryker Brigade Combat team, the authors explore how the Army might improve its ability to contribute to prompt global power projection, that is, strategically responsive early-entry forces for time-critical events.