Personnel Shortages Are Significant in Later-Deploying Divisions

In the aggregate, the Army’s later-deploying divisions were assigned 66,053, or 93 percent, of their 70,665 authorized personnel at the beginning of fiscal year 1998. However, aggregate numbers do not adequately reflect the condition that exists within individual battalions, companies, and platoons of these divisions. There is also a significant shortage of NCOs in the later-deploying divisions. Current Readiness Reports Do Not Fully Disclose Personnel Shortfalls

In recent years, in reports and testimony before the Congress, we discussed the Status of Resources and Training System (SORTS), which is used to measure readiness, and reported on the need for improvements. SORTS data for units in the later-deploying divisions have often reflected a high readiness level for personnel because the system uses aggregate statistics to assess personnel readiness. This does not seem realistic, given the shortages we noted. Many Factors Have Contributed to Personnel Shortfalls in Later Deploying Divisions

Many factors have contributed to shortfalls of personnel in the Army’s later-deploying divisions, including (1) the Army’s priority for assigning personnel to units, commands, and agencies; (2) Army-wide shortages of some types of personnel; (3) peacekeeping operations; and (4) the assignment of soldiers to joint and other Army command, recruiting, and base management functions. For example, they assign soldiers that exist in the largest numbers—infantry, armor, and artillery—to work in maintenance, supply, and personnel administration due to personnel shortages in these technical specialties; assign soldiers to fill personnel shortages at a higher headquarters or to accomplish a mission for higher headquarters; and assign soldiers to temporary work such as driving buses, serving as lifeguards, and managing training ranges—vacancies, in some cases, which have resulted from civilian reductions on base. Readiness in the divisions responsible for peacekeeping operations in Bosnia has been especially affected because the challenges imposed by personnel shortages are compounded by frequent deployments. According to Army officials, the rotation of units to Bosnia has also degraded the training and readiness of the divisions providing the personnel. These actions were detrimental to the readiness of the nondeploying units. Retirees, Individual Ready Reservists, and New Recruits Would Be Used to Fill Shortfalls

If the later-deploying divisions are required to deploy to a second major theater contingency, the Army plans to fill personnel shortfalls with retired servicemembers, members of the Individual Ready Reserve, and newly trained recruits. The number of personnel to fill the later deploying divisions could be extensive, since (1) personnel from later deploying divisions would be transferred to fill any shortages in the contingency units that are first to deploy and (2) these divisions are already short of required personnel. Army officials told us that based on past deployments, not all the assumptions in their plans will be realized, and there may not be sufficient trained personnel to fully man later-deploying divisions within their scheduled deployment times.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO discussed its preliminary findings from its ongoing evaluation of personnel readiness in the Army's five later-deploying divisions, focusing on the: (1) extent of personnel shortages in the divisions and the extent to which these shortages are reflected in readiness reports; (2) key factors contributing to personnel shortages and the impact such shortages have on readiness; (3) Army's plans for correcting such shortages should these divisions be called upon to deploy; and (4) issues to be considered in dealing with personnel shortages.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) in the aggregate, the Army's five later-deploying divisions had an average of 93 percent of their personnel on board at the time of GAO's visits; (2) however, aggregate data does not fully reflect the extent of shortages of combat troops, technical specialists, experienced officers, and noncommissioned officers (NCO) that exist in those divisions; (3) the readiness reporting system that contains the aggregate data on these divisions does not fully disclose the impact of personnel shortages on the ability of the divisions' units to accomplish critical wartime tasks; (4) as a result, there is a disconnect between the reported readiness of these forces in formal readiness reports and the actual readiness that GAO observed on its visits; (5) these disconnects exist because the unit readiness reporting system does not consider some information that has a significant impact on a unit's readiness, such as operating tempo, personnel shortfalls in key positions, and crew and squad staffing; (6) the Army's priority in assigning personnel to these divisions, Army-wide shortages of personnel, frequent deployments to peacekeeping missions, and the assignment of soldiers to other tasks outside of their specialty are the primary reasons for personnel shortfalls; (7) the impact of personnel shortages on training and readiness is exacerbated by the extent to which personnel are being used for work outside their specialties or units; (8) according to commanders in all the divisions, the collective impact of understaffing squads and crews, transferring to other jobs the NCOs from their crews and squads they are responsible for training, and assigning personnel to other units as fillers for exercises and operations have degraded their capability and readiness; (9) if the Army had to deploy these divisions for a high-intensity conflict, these divisions would fill their units with Individual Ready Reserve Soldiers, retired servicemembers, and newly recruited soldiers; (10) however, the Army's plan for providing these personnel includes assumptions that have not been validated, and there may not be enough trained personnel to fully staff or fill later-deploying divisions within their scheduled deployment times; and (11) solutions, if any, will depend upon how the Army plans to use these divisions in the future.