by Sabrina Salas Matanane

Guam - Local leaders have often called on the Department of Defense to provide more information. Well, they're not alone. The Government Accountability Office in a report released today cited the fact that more information in terms of costs are needed to support DoD's plans to realign its posture in Asia.

The analysis is needed, according to the GAO so that decision makers can properly plan and prepare. The GAO report is titled "Comprehensive Cost Information and Analysis of Alternatives Needed to Assess Military Posture in Asia". The report outlines the Department of Defense's plans to transform the military's posture in South Korea, Japan, Okinawa and Guam.

Specifically GAO was tasked as looking at the cost implications for these transformations. The GAO says DoD lacks critical information that could be used by decision makers as they deliberate on posture requirements and affordability. For example, for the Japan, Okinawa, Guam realignment GAO identified approximately $29 billion - primarily for construction costs - which is anticipated to be shared by the U.S. and Japan to implement the initiatives.

According to the GAO report the DoD couldn't provide total cost estimates because of significant uncertainty about implementation schedules. The government accountability office recommends the defense department develop a business case analysis for its strategic objectives.