Military Personnel: DOD Needs to Address Long-term Reserve Force Availability and Related Mobilization and Demobilization Issues

DODIG closed this recommendation based on the FY 2005 QDR, which it said related to the department's strategic framework for setting human capital goals and the use of reserve forces. While the QDR was helpful in moving the department in the direction of this recommendation, the recommendation was more fully implemented in January 2007 when the Secretary of Defense issued his total force guidance. This guidance established rotational goals for the availability of reserve component forces, and made reserve component forces available for repeated deployments. It also rescinded the policy which had limited reserve component mobilizations to 2-years cumulative time. In March of 2007, OSD issued implementing guidance that further clarified the Secretary's total force guidance.

DODIG closed this recommendation based on the QDR strategy, which it said called for the department and military services to carefully distribute skills among the four elements of the Total Force (active component, reserve component, civilians, and contractors) to optimize their contributions across the range of military operations from peace to war. It also noted that over the past several years the military departments have been rebalancing--shifting, transferring, or eliminating--positions within or between the active and reserve components. While the QDR was helpful in moving the department in the direction of this recommendation, it was not until March of 2007 that the recommendation was more fully implemented. On January 19, 2007, the Secretary of Defense issued a total force policy memorandum. This memorandum along with OSD's March 15, 2007, implementing provided an integrated approach for meeting the department's long-term requirements and addressed the full range of policy issues that had previously been addressed in a piecemeal fashion.

DODIG closed this recommendation based on the Army's updates to the Army Mobilization Planning and Execution System (AMOPES). AMOPES is an integrated planning and execution system that provides a single source for policies, procedures, and planning guidance for all levels of mobilization. According to the DODIG the planning assumptions that were on the shelf at the outbreak of the Global War on Terrorism and used prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom were updated to reflect changes to mobilization strategies and policies and AMOPES was published electronically on Army Knowledge Online (AKO) and also place on the HQDA mobilization website.

The Army has updated its list of primary and secondary mobilization and demobilization sites and has made extensive facility improvements such as those that were necessary to turn Camp Shelby, MS into a primary mobilization site.

DODIG closed this recommendation based on a message from the Commandant of the Marine Corps related to the deployment health assessment quality assurance program. It was also noted that the Marine Corps has moved from paper submission of assessments to electronic submission.

The Commandant of the Marine Corps issued updated guidance and the Marine Corps moved to electronic capture of health assessments.

DODIG closed this recommendation noting that the Army and the Air Force had automated their pre- and post-deployment health assessments and the Navy and Marine Corps had established requirements for electronic submission.

DODIG closed this recommendation based on a series of actions that have been taken at different levels throughout the Air Force. First, from a policy perspective the Air Force is converting mobilized volunteers to "h coded" MPA orders once they have been identified as having a disqualifying medical condition. Second, the two largest major commands--the Air Mobility Command and the Air Combat Command--, which account for over 90 percent of reserve component medical holdover cases have set up case management offices to track individuals who are being maintained on voluntary active duty orders for disqualifying medical conditions. Other commands will track these cases through their Directorate of Personnel or Surgeon General offices. Finally, the Air Force Reserve Command has taken steps to expedite line of duty investigations, which will allow individuals to progress swiftly into the medical evaluation board process, as appropriate.