May 2009
MILITARY PERSONNEL
Army Needs to Focus on Cost-Effective Use of Financial Incentives and Quality Standards in Managing Force Growth
To ease the pace of overseas deployments, the President announced a plan in 2007 to grow the Army’s end strength by about 7 percent by 2013. GAO was asked to evaluate the Army’s management of this growth. Specifically, GAO determined the extent to which the Army has (1) made progress in growing the force, (2) awarded cost-effective bonuses to attract and retain enlistees, (3) maintained the quality of its enlisted force, and (4) directed growth in its officer force to areas of need and determined whether trade-offs it has made to alleviate shortages will have long-term effects. GAO reviewed the Army’s growth plans, bonuses, waivers, and officer promotions, and interviewed Defense and Army officials.
What GAO Recommends
GAO recommends that the Secretary of Defense direct the Secretary of the Army to (1) build on currently available analyses to enable the Army to set cost-effective bonuses for enlisted personnel, (2) collect data on the costs of recruiting and training soldiers with conduct waivers who separate early, (3) build on currently available analyses that will enable the Army to set cost-effective bonus amounts and other incentives, and (4) track the effects on the officer corps of actions taken to address shortages that involve deviations from congressional benchmarks. The Department of Defense concurred with the first three recommendations and partially concurred with the fourth.
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GAO (Government Accountability Office), US Army
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