DOD Service Academies: Problems Limit Feasibility of Graduates Directly Entering the Reserves

Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the policy and cost implications of up to 5 percent of each military service academy's graduating class serving in the reserve with a corresponding increase in the number of Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) graduates serving on active duty, focusing on: (1) the number of academy graduates serving in an active status in the reserve component; (2) the feasibility and implications of a proposal to have academy graduates serve in a drilling status in the reserve component without having served on active duty as a means of enhancing the capability of the guard/reserves; and (3) other means through which the reserve components are recruiting junior officers.