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Military Personnel: Army Needs a Requirement for Capturing Data and Clear Guidance on Use of Military for Civilian or Contractor Positions

GAO-15-349 Published: Jun 15, 2015. Publicly Released: Jun 15, 2015.
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Highlights

What GAO Found

The Army does not know the extent to which it used borrowed military personnel during fiscal years 2013 and 2014 because (1) it is unable to distinguish borrowed military personnel from the larger category of special duty personnel in its monthly special duty reports and (2) the Army did not collect complete and accurate data on special duty use through its reporting mechanisms at that time. In addition, because of these shortcomings in its data on borrowed military personnel, the Army does not know the extent to which the use of borrowed military personnel affected readiness and training. An Army regulation requires borrowed military personnel assignments normally should be limited to 90 days, but temporary guidance provided during fiscal years 2013 and 2014 was unclear with respect to any limitation in length. The Army did not track the actual amount of time soldiers served in this temporary status, thereby limiting its ability to monitor this usage. Further, borrowed military personnel were used in various capacities outside of their Military Occupational Specialty including as lifeguards, grounds maintenance personnel, and gym attendants because the Army did not provide specific guidance on what functions it considered appropriate to fill with borrowed military personnel. The Army's monthly reporting requirement on use of borrowed personnel expired at the beginning of fiscal year 2015, so the Army does not now have a requirement to monitor this usage even though Army officials said this usage of borrowed military personnel would continue. Without a continued requirement and clear guidance for identifying and monitoring the extent to which borrowed military personnel are used, the Army risks allocating its resources inefficiently and ineffectively and may be unable to identify any potential problems with this use of personnel, including any impacts on training and readiness.

The Army did not consider full costs in fiscal years 2013 and 2014 when deciding to use borrowed military personnel and the Army did not provide the oversight that was necessary to ensure that commanders documented and reported the full costs of using borrowed military personnel in these years. This is important because the full costs of borrowed military personnel can be greater than civilian personnel performing the same function. GAO reviewed special duty data reported in February 2014, and found that none of the 13 commands and installations reviewed reported the full costs for all military, civilian, and contractor personnel. In March 2013, in addition to Department of Defense (DOD) guidance, the Secretary of the Army directed installations using borrowed military personnel to report the full costs of military personnel in accordance with DOD's cost-estimating policy. However, the Army did not provide sufficient oversight to help ensure commanders documented and reported the full costs of borrowed military personnel. Without Army oversight to help ensure the full costs for the use of borrowed military personnel are considered, documented, and reported, the Army will not have a comprehensive picture of these personnel costs, which may negatively affect its ability to make informed strategic decisions about workforce requirements.

Why GAO Did This Study

To mitigate the effects of budget uncertainty, the Army uses borrowed military personnel to perform tasks previously performed by civilians or contractors. Under Army Regulation 570-4, this use is generally restricted to a limited time and to duties deemed military essential or filling critical requirements, and can be in or outside of a soldier's military occupation. Due to the sequestration of budgetary resources in fiscal year 2013, the Army expected an increased use of these personnel, suspended some requirements in the Army regulation, and required monthly usage reports.

House Report 113-102 included a provision for GAO to review the Army's use of borrowed military personnel. This report examines the extent to which the Army, during fiscal years 2013 and 2014, (1) used borrowed military personnel, and what is known about any readiness and training impacts and (2) considered costs when making decisions for this use. GAO reviewed relevant DOD and Army documents, analyzed cost data, and interviewed cognizant officials. GAO visited selected installations and while not generalizable, information obtained from these site visits provided insight into the use of borrowed military personnel.

Recommendations

GAO recommends that the Army establish a requirement and guidance for monitoring the use of borrowed military personnel and improve oversight of cost reporting. DOD concurred with three recommendations and partially concurred with one. DOD also raised a definitional issue which GAO addresses in this report.

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Army To better position the Army to determine the extent to which it is continuing to use borrowed military personnel and to enhance the Army's ability to utilize its total workforce efficiently and effectively as it moves forward, the Secretary of the Army should establish a requirement for collecting, tracking, and reporting data on the use of borrowed military personnel and provide guidance to ensure that data collected are complete and accurate; if other special duty data are included, ensure that the tool contains a method to distinguish borrowed military personnel from other special duty data.
Open
The Army concurred with our recommendation and noted that it has an existing process for oversight and reporting of the use of soldiers replacing or converting functions previously performed by contractors and planned to develop a similar policy to address oversight on soldiers replacing or converting functions previously performed by civilians. The Army stated that language in draft Army Regulation AR 570-4 will address this recommendation by incorporating guidance for the utilization of military manpower. In October 2022, the Army expected that the revision to the Army Regulation would be completed in December 2022. In addition, the Army noted that the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act contained a provision requiring the military services to track the extent to which soldiers are used as borrowed military personnel. The Army noted that given this requirement, they will continue to monitor the relevant Army regulation and the actions, if any, the Army takes to address the Congressional requirement. They also noted that they are waiting of the Office of the Secretary of Defense to provide policy guidance on how and what kind of borrowed military personnel data to capture in order to satisfy the Congressional requirement and once received and implemented, the Army will provide their Semi-annual Readiness Brief (SARB) to Congress.
Department of the Army To better position the Army to determine the extent to which it is continuing to use borrowed military personnel and to enhance the Army's ability to utilize its total workforce efficiently and effectively as it moves forward, the Secretary of the Army should issue guidance that includes procedures for tracking the amount of time soldiers are used as borrowed military personnel.
Open
The Army concurred with our recommendation and noted that it would be unreasonable to require tracking the amount of time soldiers are used as borrowed military personnel because it would be overly burdensome and that Army Regulation 570-4 allows for the use of soldiers for training purposes or for temporary functions. The Army indicated that its draft of the updated regulation limits the use of borrowed military personnel to 90 days per soldier per calendar year and as such there is no need to track the amount of time soldiers are used in this capacity. The Army also indicated that a method to track such data would be expensive and time consuming. However, the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) contained a provision requiring the military services to track the extent to which soldiers are used as borrowed military personnel. Given this requirement we will continue to monitor the relevant Army regulation and the actions, if any, the Army takes to address the Congressional requirement. In October 2022, the Army indicated that the revision of Army Regulation 570-4 is scheduled for completion in Dec 2022 and will incorporate Guidance for the Utilization of Military Manpower. Additionally, the Army was waiting for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) to provide policy guidance on how and what kind of borrowed military personnel data should be captured to satisfy the NDAA provision.
Department of the Army To better position the Army to determine the extent to which it is continuing to use borrowed military personnel and to enhance the Army's ability to utilize its total workforce efficiently and effectively as it moves forward, the Secretary of the Army should revise Army Regulation 570-4 to include guidance to senior commanders for approving the use of soldiers for positions or functions outside their occupational specialty on a rotational basis for an enduring period.
Open
The Army partially concurred with our recommendation. In their comments the Army noted that it has issued guidance establishing the appropriate use of military manpower and was in the process of incorporating this guidance into Army Regulation 570-4. As of October 2022, the Army indicated that the updated regulation will provide guidance on when soldiers can be used for borrowed military personnel. Army officials expected that the updated regulation would be published by December 2022.
Department of the Army To better position the Army to determine the extent to which it is continuing to use borrowed military personnel and to enhance the Army's ability to utilize its total workforce efficiently and effectively as it moves forward, the Secretary of the Army should establish oversight mechanisms that include directing commanders to maintain records for considering the full costs of borrowed military personnel when making decisions to use these personnel, and directing the Army to review these records and full costs reported by installations and commands to help ensure that these costs are considered, documented, and reported in a uniform manner.
Open
The Army concurred with our recommendation. However, the Army noted that it already has a process requiring that a cost analysis take place. Additionally, the Army stated that the process of conducting a cost analysis should be conducted at the headquarter level and that the Army will issue policy to institute this. As of October 2022, the Army stated that updated guidance in the draft of Army Regulation 570-4 establishes a process to consider the costs of using borrowed military personnel. Army officials indicated that they expected that updated regulation would be issued by December 2022.

Full Report

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Topics

Army personnelCivilian employeesCombat readinessData collectionDefense cost controlInternal controlsMilitary forcesMilitary occupational specialtiesMilitary personnelMilitary trainingMonitoringReporting requirementsStrategic planningDefense capabilities