Military Compensation: DOD Needs More Complete and Consistent Data to Assess the Costs and Policies of Relocating Personnel
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Department of Defense (DOD) has experienced an overall increase in Permanent Change of Station (PCS) per-move costs since 2001. GAO's analysis of DOD budget data shows that average PCS per-move costs, after accounting for inflation, increased by 28 percent from fiscal years 2001 to 2014. However, GAO's review of the services' annual budget materials found that the services have not reported complete and consistent PCS data, thereby limiting the extent to which DOD can identify and evaluate changes occurring within the PCS program. For example, the services did not completely or consistently report budget data on non-temporary storage costs, temporary lodging expenses, or tour extension payments. Program changes and factors outside the program can affect PCS costs. The specific factors driving the growth in per-move costs are unclear, however, because DOD does not periodically evaluate whether the PCS program is efficiently supporting requirements to relocate personnel. DOD therefore is not in a position to identify and evaluate changes that may be occurring over time in PCS per-move costs, or to take steps to manage and control cost growth.
DOD does not have information for determining whether personnel are meeting time-on-station requirements. DOD guidance specifies time-on-station lengths for U.S. and overseas locations and also allows for personnel to move prior to reaching these lengths if they qualify for an exception or obtain a waiver. However, DOD does not have complete or consistent data on the reasons why PCS moves occur prior to reaching specified lengths, because the services (1) do not maintain required data on their usage of exceptions and (2) do not have a requirement to maintain data on their usage of waivers. Moreover, availability of service data on time-on-station lengths is limited and varies by service. For example, each service has different years of available data. In addition, one service provided time-on-station data for officers and enlisted personnel separately, and these data covered different time periods.
In its September 2014 report to Congress on increasing time-on-station, the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) addressed the elements that were specifically identified in congressional direction. OSD also used approaches consistent with generally accepted research standards in preparing its report. Nonetheless, OSD could have included additional information, such as more explicitly discussing constraints and information about the model used to develop cost savings estimates, and thereby improved the utility of the report for decision makers. The report stated that DOD plans to take actions aimed at extending servicemembers' time-on-station, which OSD believes could reduce PCS costs. However, without more complete and consistent data on both PCS costs and the use of exceptions and waivers, DOD does not have the information it needs for evaluating whether the implementation of its planned actions will be effective in extending time-on-station lengths and reducing PCS costs.
Why GAO Did This Study
PCS involves moving military personnel to new locations and is a key tool used by the military services to fill assignments both in the United States and overseas. In fiscal year 2014, DOD obligated $4.3 billion for approximately 650,000 servicemember PCS moves.
Senate Report 113-176 included a provision for GAO to report on aspects of the PCS program. This report evaluates the extent to which (1) PCS per-move costs have changed since 2001, (2) military personnel are meeting time-on-station requirements, and (3) OSD's September 2014 study on increasing time-on-station addressed the elements in Senate Report 112-196 and used approaches consistent with generally accepted research standards.
GAO analyzed PCS cost and move data for fiscal years 2001 through 2014 using fiscal year 2014 dollars; obtained and analyzed available time-on-station data; reviewed OSD's September 2014 report to Congress on increasing time-on-station; and interviewed OSD and service officials.
Recommendations
GAO recommends that DOD, in coordination with the services, take actions to report complete and consistent PCS budget data; conduct periodic evaluations of the PCS program; and address limitations on the availability of data on exceptions and waivers for PCS moves that occur prior to reaching minimum time-on-station lengths. DOD generally agreed with the recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | To improve the availability of information needed for effective and efficient management of the PCS program, including program costs and time-on-station requirements, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), in coordination with the military services, to improve the completeness and consistency of PCS data in service budget materials. This action should include revising existing guidance on the reporting of non-temporary storage costs, and clarifying existing guidance on the presentation of other PCS data. |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. DOD formed a working group to address issues concerning the PCS program, including the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Military Personnel Policy) within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), and the Director, Military Personnel and Construction within the Office of the Deputy Comptroller (Program/Budget). The working group reported to Congress in June 2017 on military family stability and PCS, and sponsored a family stability review by RAND. In August 2020 DOD stated that the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) completed a comprehensive review of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) financial processes in 2019, aiming to improve the fidelity of budget requests, reduce unexpended balances, and direct process improvements to utilize detailed PCS accounting data to improve the reliability of service-level budget requests. DOD added that an update to the DOD Financial Management Regulation (Vol. 2A; Chapter 2) would be published in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 to codify these implemented improvements. However, as of January 2025 the Financial Management Regulation (Vol. 2A; Chapter 2) had not been updated. In January 2025, officials from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) told us that additional guidance would be provided to the military services to improve the completeness and consistency of PCS data in service budget materials. We will continue to monitor DOD's progress toward addressing this recommendation.
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| Department of Defense | To improve the availability of information needed for effective and efficient management of the PCS program, including program costs and time-on-station requirements, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, in coordination with the military services, to complete periodic evaluations of whether the PCS program is efficiently supporting DOD's requirements for assigning military personnel to new locations while reimbursing servicemembers for allowable expenses incurred during PCS moves. These periodic evaluations should identify changes in PCS per-move costs over time, factors driving such changes, and steps that could be taken to manage and control cost growth. |
DOD partially concurred with this recommendation. DOD formed a working group to address issues concerning the PCS program, including the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Military Personnel Policy) within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), and the Director, Military Personnel and Construction within the Office of the Deputy Comptroller (Program/Budget). As of September 2018 the working group had met multiple times, with its focus primarily on adjudication of major legislation associated with housing flexibility during PCS. In addition, the working group reported to Congress in June 2017 on military family stability and PCS, and sponsored a family stability review by RAND. The working group also reviewed PCS initiatives completed by the military services, and the timeliness of PCS orders. In October 2018 DOD formed a Personnel Relocation/Household Goods Management cross-functional team to expand on the efforts of the working group. During fiscal years 2018-2020 the cross-functional team worked with USTRANSCOM to develop an application-programming interface between the Services' PCS orders-generating systems to meet USTRANSCOM's requirements. Beginning in FY2020, this cross-functional team focused on the broader PCS data requirements to improve the availability of information needed for effective and efficient management. In May 2023, DOD provided a report to Congress titled "Geographic Stability for Military Families." This report contained analyses by the services of PCS per-move costs over time, the factors contributing to those costs, and efforts by the services to reduce PCS costs, largely through increasing Time-on-Station. We believe this report meets the intent of our recommendation to evaluate whether the PCS program is efficiently supporting DOD's requirements.
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| Department of Defense | To improve the availability of information needed for effective and efficient management of the PCS program, including program costs and time-on-station requirements, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, in coordination with the military services, to improve the completeness and consistency of data on exceptions used for PCS moves that occur prior to established time-on-station lengths. This action should include clarifying existing guidance with regard to how the services collect, maintain, and report data on exceptions for use in evaluating performance in meeting time-on-station requirements and addressing challenges related to the services' abilities to collect, maintain, and report exceptions data. |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. DOD formed a working group to address issues concerning the PCS program, including the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Military Personnel Policy) within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), and the Director, Military Personnel and Construction within the Office of the Deputy Comptroller (Program/Budget). The working group met multiple times, with its focus primarily on adjudication of major legislation associated with housing flexibility during PCS. In addition, the working group reported to Congress in June 2017 on military family stability and PCS, and sponsored a family stability review by RAND. The working group also reviewed PCS initiatives completed by the military services, and the timeliness of PCS orders. In October 2018 DOD formed a Personnel Relocation/Household Goods Management cross-functional team to expand on the efforts of the working group. During fiscal years 2018-2020 the cross-functional team worked with USTRANSCOM to develop an application-programming interface between the Services' PCS orders-generating systems to meet USTRANSCOMs requirements. Beginning in FY2020, this cross-functional team focused on the broader PCS data requirements to improve the availability of information needed for effective and efficient management. As of March 2022, DOD stated that it plans to continue collaborating with the key stakeholders to collect PCS data and to work closely with those within the department who share PCS roles and responsibilities regarding the effectiveness of PCS policies and allowances. In September 2023, DOD updated DOD Manual 7730.69, Vol. 2 "Uniformed Services Human Resources Information System: Supplemental Reporting Requirements." This update specified the PCS-related data that the services were to enter for servicemember transactions, including Time-on-Station data, and information on the exceptions used for extended Time-on-Station. This update met the intention of our recommendation to clarify guidance regarding PCS procedures and exceptions.
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| Department of Defense | To improve the availability of information needed for effective and efficient management of the PCS program, including program costs and time-on-station requirements, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, in coordination with the military services, to improve the completeness and consistency of data on waivers used for PCS moves that occur prior to established time-on-station lengths. This action should include establishing guidance for the military services to collect, maintain, and report data on waivers for use in evaluating performance in meeting time-on-station requirements and addressing challenges related to the services' abilities to collect, maintain, and report waiver data. |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. DOD formed a working group to address issues concerning the PCS program, including the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Military Personnel Policy) within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), and the Director, Military Personnel and Construction within the Office of the Deputy Comptroller (Program/Budget). The working group met multiple times, with its focus primarily on adjudication of major legislation associated with housing flexibility during PCS. In addition, the working group reported to Congress in June 2017 on military family stability and PCS, and sponsored a family stability review by RAND. The working group has also reviewed PCS initiatives completed by the military services, and the timeliness of PCS orders. In October 2018, DOD formed a Personnel Relocation/Household Goods Management cross-functional team to expand on the efforts of the working group. During fiscal years 2018-2020 the cross-functional team worked with USTRANSCOM to develop an application-programming interface between the Services' PCS orders-generating systems to meet USTRANSCOMs requirements. Beginning in FY2020, this cross-functional team focused on the broader PCS data requirements to improve the availability of information needed for effective and efficient management. In September 2023, DOD updated DOD Manual 7730.69, Vol. 2 "Uniformed Services Human Resources Information System: Supplemental Reporting Requirements." This update specified the PCS-related data that the services were to enter for servicemember transactions, including Time-on-Station data, and information on the waivers used for extended Time-on-Station. This update met the intention of our recommendation to clarify guidance regarding PCS procedures and waivers.
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