Military Uniforms: Issues Related to the Supply of Flame Resistant Fibers for the Production of Military Uniforms

Prior to Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Department of Defense DOD personnel with flame resistant FR uniforms were mainly aviators, fuel handlers, and tank crews. With the growing prevalence of the improvised explosive device IED threat, all ground forces serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have been exposed to the possibility of fire-related injuries. The Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 extended to 2015 the authority to procure fire resistant1 rayon fiber for the production of uniforms from certain foreign countries, provided by section 829 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 and originally set to expire in 2013.2 This letter formally transmits the enclosed briefing developed in response to the requirement in the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 to report on the supply chain for FR fiber for the production of military uniforms. Specifically, the act required GAO to analyze several elements of the supply chain, including the current and anticipated sources of FR rayon fiber actions DOD has taken to identify alternatives to FR rayon fiber impediments to the use ofisuch alternatives and the impediments posed to efficient procurement of FR rayon fiber by existing statutory or regulatory requirements among others.3 On March 15, 2011, we provided a draft of the enclosed briefing to your offices to satisfy this requirement. Based on subsequent briefings to your offices, we updated the enclosed briefing by adding slide 28.