Background: The Department of Defense (DOD) provides a wide range of support to many organizations at home and abroad. GAO estimates that, in fiscal year 1999, DOD provided support in at least 7,125 instances to 345 or more entities, including international organizations; private citizens; and federal, state, local, and foreign governments. This support consumed more than two million military staff-days. GAO could not determine the total cost of DOD's support because of the limited data it received. However, it conservatively estimates the cost to be about $180 million. Providing assistance to civil authorities does not appear to harm retention. DOD data show that overall retention has remained ...

Topic: National Defense

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23 Jan 01

Background: Following the 1991 Gulf War, reservists and employers flooded the government with questions and complaints concerning the reemployment rights of reservists who had been away from their jobs during the war. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 grants service members reemployment rights following military duty and addresses the rights and responsibilities of both reservists and their employers. Despite increases in operations since 1992, the average operational tempo of reserves department-wide increased only slightly between 1992 and 2001--from 43 to 46 days a year. Normal required training periods accounted for the bulk of this total. Several factors ...

Topic: National Defense

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Background: GAO prepared this report under its basic legislative responsibilities. Its objectives are threefold: (1) to examine the reserve forces' trends for facility maintenance and construction funding and the condition of their facilities, (2) to assess the likelihood that they will meet the Department of Defense's (DOD) objectives for improving facilities, and (3) to discuss the challenges in implementing two potential cost saving initiatives--joint construction projects and real property exchanges. Funding for maintaining and constructing reserve component facilities has increased. Obligations for facility maintenance rose by about 70 percent from fiscal year 1998 to fiscal year 2002 and ...

Topic: National Defense

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Background: While four previous base closure rounds have afforded the Department of Defense (DOD) the opportunity to divest itself of unneeded property, it has, at the same time, retained more than 350,000 acres and nearly 20 million square feet of facilities on enclaves at closed or realigned bases for use by the reserve components. In view of the upcoming 2005 base closure round, GAO undertook this review to ascertain if opportunities exist to improve the decision-making processes used to establish reserve enclaves. Specifically, GAO determined to what extent (1)specific infrastructure needs for reserve enclaves were identified as part of base realignment and closure decision making and (2) ...

Topic: National Defense

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Background: On September 14, 2001, President Bush proclaimed that a national emergency existed by reason of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Under section 12302 of title 10, United States Code, the President is allowed to call up to 1 million National Guard and Reserve members to active duty for up to 2 years. GAO was asked to review issues related to the call-up of reservists following September 11, 2001. GAO examined (1) whether the Department of Defense (DOD) followed existing operation plans when mobilizing forces, (2) the extent to which responsible officials had visibility over the mobilization process, and (3) approaches the services have taken to provide predictability to ...

Topic: National Defense

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06 Aug 03

Background: The way in which the federal government views the defense of the United States has dramatically changed since September 11, 2001. Consequently, the Department of Defense (DOD) has adjusted its strategic and operational focus to encompass not only traditional military concerns posed by hostile states overseas but also the asymmetric threats directed at our homeland by both terrorists and hostile states. GAO was asked to review DOD's domestic missions, including (1) how DOD's military and nonmilitary missions differ; (2) how DOD's military and nonmilitary missions have changed since September 11, 2001; (3) how the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act affects DOD's nonmilitary missions; and (4) the ...

Topic: National Defense

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11 Jul 03

Background: Since the 1991 Persian Gulf War, National Guard and Reserve personnel have been deployed to a number of contingency operations. Since September 2001, about 300,000 reservists have been called to active duty, and the pace of reserve operations is expected to remain high for the foreseeable future. House Report 107-436 accompanying the Fiscal Year 2003 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 107-314) directed GAO to review compensation programs for reservists serving on active duty. GAO evaluated information on income change reported by reservists when activated; reserve families' readiness for call-ups and their awareness and use of family support programs, focusing on personal financial ...

Topic: National Defense

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04 Sep 03

Background: The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the global war on terrorism have triggered the largest activation of National Guard forces since World War II. As of June 2004, over one-half of the National Guard's 457,000 personnel had been activated for overseas warfighting or domestic homeland security missions in federal and state active duty roles. In addition to increased usage, the Guard has also experienced long deployments and high demand for personnel with specific skills, such as military police. The high pace of operations and the Guard's expanded role since September 11 have raised concerns about whether the Guard is capable of successfully performing its multiple missions ...

Topic: National Defense

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09 Nov 04

Background: In light of the recent mobilizations associated with the Global War on Terrorism, GAO was asked to determine if the Army's overall environment and controls provided reasonable assurance that soldiers who were injured or became ill in the line of duty were receiving the pay and other benefits to which they were entitled in an accurate and timely manner. GAO's audit used a case study approach to provide perspective on the nature of these pay deficiencies in the key areas of (1) overall environment and management controls, (2) processes, and (3) systems. GAO also assessed whether recent actions the Army has taken to address these problems will offer effective and lasting solutions. Injured ...

Topic: National Defense

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17 Feb 05

Background: The Department of Defense (DOD) has six reserve components: the Army Reserve, the Army National Guard, the Air Force Reserve, the Air National Guard, the Naval Reserve, and the Marine Corps Reserve. DOD's use of Reserve and National Guard forces increased dramatically following the events of September 11, 2001, and on January 19, 2005, more than 192,000 National Guard and Reserve component members were mobilized. About 85 percent of these personnel were members of the Army National Guard or the Army Reserve. Furthermore, the availability of reserve component forces will continue to play an important role in the success of DOD's future missions, and DOD has projected that over the next 3 ...

Topic: National Defense

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02 Feb 05

Background: The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 mandated that GAO review whether the transition assistance program (TAP) is meeting the needs of service members leaving the military. GAO (1) assessed TAP administration, including program participation, and (2) identified actions agencies are taking to improve TAP and challenges that remain. TAP serves military personnel with at least 180 days of active duty who separate or retire and members of the Reserves and National Guard who are released from active duty, a process termed demobilization. Recently, the Reserves and National Guard have been called to active duty in greater numbers than at any other time since the Korean ...

Topic: Veterans Affairs

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20 May 05

Background: GAO was asked to determine (1) the impact of the recent increased operational tempo on the process used to reimburse Army Guard soldiers for travel expenses and the effect that travel reimbursement problems have had on soldiers and their families; (2) the adequacy of the overall design of controls over the processes, human capital, and automated systems relied on for Army Guard travel reimbursements; and (3) whether the Department of Defense's (DOD) current efforts to automate its travel reimbursement process will resolve the problems identified. GAO selected and audited 10 case study units that were identified in a preliminary assessment as having a variety of travel reimbursement ...

Topic: National Defense

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31 Jan 05

Background: This testimony outlines (1) the impact of the recent increased operational tempo on the process used to reimburse Army Guard soldiers for travel expenses and the effect that travel reimbursement problems have had on soldiers and their families; (2) the adequacy of the overall design of controls over the processes, human capital, and automated systems relied on for Army Guard travel reimbursements; (3) whether the Department of Defense's (DOD) current efforts to automate its travel reimbursement process will resolve the problems identified; and (4) other DOD actions to improve the accuracy and timeliness of Army Guard travel reimbursements. Mobilized Army Guard soldiers have experienced ...

Topic: National Defense

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16 Mar 05

Background: In response to a Congressional request, we issued a report in April 2005 on the Department of Defense's (DOD) efforts to address personal financial management (PFM) issues encountered by its servicemembers and their families. In that report, we made recommendations to the Secretary of Defense to enhance servicemembers' financial conditions and the effectiveness of DOD's PFM programs and training. On March 17, 2005, we provided a draft of that report to DOD for review and comment. DOD did not provide comments in time to incorporate them in the final GAO report that went to printing on April 22, 2005. To present DOD's comments and provide our perspective on them, this report briefly ...

Topic: National Defense

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11 May 05

Background: In light of the recent mobilizations associated with the war on terrorism, GAO was asked to determine if controls used to pay mobilized Army Guard personnel provided assurance that such pays were accurate and timely. This testimony focuses on the pay experiences of Army Guard soldiers at selected case study units and deficiencies with respect to controls over processes, human capital, and automated systems. The existing processes and controls used to provide pay and allowances to mobilized Army Guard personnel are so cumbersome and complex that neither DOD nor, more importantly, the mobilized Army Guard soldiers could be reasonably assured of timely and accurate payroll payments. ...

Topic: National Defense

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28 Jan 04

Background: Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. military has deployed high numbers of active duty and reserve troops to fight the global war on terrorism and for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Ensuring that U.S. military forces are adequately compensated and that the morale of deployed troops remains high have been priorities for the Congress and the Department of Defense (DOD). In response to congressional mandates, GAO has reviewed a number of issues concerning military personnel. For this hearing, GAO was asked to provide the results of its work on military compensation for National Guard and Reserve personnel and on the Selective Reenlistment Bonus (SRB) program, a tool DOD can ...

Topic: National Defense

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19 Mar 04

Background: As a result of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and launch of the Global War on Terrorism, the National Guard has experienced the largest activation of its forces since World War II. The Guard consists of 350,000 Army Guard soldiers and 107,000 Air Guard members. With its unique dual status, it performs state missions under the governor and federal missions at home and overseas under the President. Since September 11, the Guard's missions have expanded, raising concerns about its ability to simultaneously perform all of these functions. The Department of Defense (DOD) funds the Army Guard for partial readiness to accomplish mission requirements assuming that there will be time ...

Topic: National Defense

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27 Apr 04

Background: In light of the recent mobilizations associated with the war on terrorism and homeland security, GAO was asked to determine if controls used to pay mobilized Army Guard personnel provided assurance that such pays were accurate and timely. GAO's audit used a case study approach to focus on controls over three key areas: processes, people (human capital), and systems. The existing processes and controls used to provide pay and allowances to mobilized Army Guard personnel are so cumbersome and complex that neither DOD nor, more importantly, the mobilized Army Guard soldiers could be reasonably assured of timely and accurate payroll payments. Weaknesses in these processes and controls ...

Topic: National Defense

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12 Nov 03

Background: Over 335,000 reserve members have been involuntarily called to active duty since September 11, 2001, and the Department of Defense (DOD) expects future reserve usage to remain high. This report is the second in response to a request for GAO to review DOD's mobilization and demobilization process. This review specifically examined the extent to which (1) DOD's implementation of a key mobilization authority and personnel polices affect reserve force availability, (2) the Army was able to execute its mobilization and demobilization plans efficiently, and (3) DOD can manage the health of its mobilized reserve forces. DOD's implementation of a key mobilization authority to involuntarily call ...

Topic: National Defense

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15 Sep 04

Background: In light of GAO's November 2003 report highlighting significant pay problems experienced by Army National Guard soldiers mobilized to active duty in support of the global war on terrorism and homeland security, GAO was asked to determine if controls used to pay mobilized Army Reserve soldiers provided assurance that such payments are accurate and timely. GAO's audit used a case study approach to focus on controls over three key areas: processes, people (human capital), and automated systems. The processes and automated systems relied on to provide active duty pays, allowances, and tax benefits to mobilized Army Reserve soldiers are so error-prone, cumbersome, and complex that neither DOD ...

Topic: National Defense

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19 Aug 04