Army Training: Expenditures for Troop Schools Have Not Been Justified
NSIAD-93-172
Published: Jul 09, 1993. Publicly Released: Jul 09, 1993.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed Army troop schools, focusing on whether: (1) Army installations adequately justified the need for troop school courses; (2) the Army established effective controls over troop school operations; and (3) the Army implemented the corrective actions planned since 1988.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of the Army | The Secretary of the Army should assess the need for existing and future troop schools on the basis of performance shortfalls and cost-effectiveness, as required by Army regulations. |
The Army has completed an assessment of existing and future troop school training and has issued revised procedures.
|
| Department of the Army | The Secretary of the Army should establish procedures to ensure that the major commands and Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans control troop school expenditures by monitoring needs assessments and courses offered. |
The Army has published an internal control checklist and increased monitoring at the headquarters level.
|
| Department of the Army | The Secretary of the Army should ensure that troop school managers seek to minimize the number of course offerings given. |
The Army's new regulation requires that training only be conducted to correct identified performance shortfalls.
|
| Department of the Army | The Secretary of the Army should discontinue the use of certification tests developed by contractors to measure soldiers' proficiency. |
The Army's new regulation tasks proponent major commands to develop standardized certification tests for each contracted course. Accordingly, contractors will have no control over test content.
|
| Department of the Army | The Secretary of the Army should identify the troop school program as containing material internal control weaknesses in the Secretary's next annual assurance statement. |
The troop school program was identified in the annual assurance statement.
|
| Department of the Army | The Secretary of the Army should direct the Army Audit Agency to verify that the Army has established effective controls over troop schools. |
Army headquarters requested that an Army Audit Agency review be completed not later than October 1, 1994. The review is currently ongoing.
|
| Department of Defense | Because of the persistent nature of internal control weaknesses and the lack of a clearly defined need for troop schools, the Secretary of Defense should not approve future funding for Army troop schools unless the Army Audit Agency verifies that controls are in place and working by October 1, 1994. |
The Army Audit Agency found that the Army's new regulation corrected the material weaknesses in the troop school program.
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Topics
Army personnelCombat readinessEducation or training costsFunds managementMilitary trainingMonitoringPersonnel managementTraining utilizationMilitary forcesSchools