Military Pay: Gaps in Pay and Benefits Create Financial Hardships for Injured Army National Guard and Reserve Soldiers;Report to the Congress

摘要

In light of the recent mobilizations associated with the Global War on Terrorism, GAO was asked to determine if the Armys 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. GAOs 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. GAO makes 20 recommendations for immediate actions including (1) establishing comprehensive policies and procedures, (2) providing adequate infrastructure and resources, and (3) making process improvements to compensate for inadequate, stovepiped systems. In addition, GAO recommends 2 actions, as part of longer term system improvement initiatives, to integrate the Armys order writing, pay, personnel, and medical eligibility systems. In its written response to our recommendations, DOD briefly described its completed, ongoing, and planned actions for each of our 22 recommendations.