For  the four installations, compliance with the first requirement—to notify  enlisted servicemembers of their impending separation because of a  personality disorder—was at or above 98 percent. Our review of the documentation in the  enlisted Navy servicemembers’ separation packets found that compliance  varied by requirement. Compliance with the Requirement Related to the Personality Disorder Diagnosis Ranged from 40 to 78 Percent

Across the four installations, the percentage of enlisted servicemembers’  separation packets that had documentation indicating compliance with all  three parts of the second requirement—that enlisted servicemembers  separated because of a personality disorder (1) be diagnosed with a  personality disorder (2) by a psychiatrist or psychologist who   (3) determines that the personality disorder interferes with  servicemembers’ ability to function in the military—ranged from 40 to   78 percent. Compliance with the Requirement for Formal Counseling Ranged from 40 to 99 Percent

We found that compliance with the requirement that enlisted  servicemembers receive formal counseling about their problem with  functioning in the military ranged from 40 to 99 percent. Of the  separation packets that we reviewed, 95 percent had documentation  indicating that enlisted servicemembers had been notified of their  impending separation because of a personality disorder. The requirement that enlisted servicemembers be diagnosed  with a personality disorder by a psychiatrist or psychologist who  determines that the personality disorder interferes with servicemembers’  ability to function in the military had a compliance rate of 82 percent for  the 56 remaining enlisted Navy servicemembers’ separation packets that  we reviewed. DOD Does Not Have Reasonable Assurance That Its Separation Requirements Have Been Followed

DOD does not have reasonable assurance that its key personality disorder  separation requirements have been followed. DOD policy directs the  military services to implement and ensure consistent administration of  DOD’s requirements for separating enlisted servicemembers because of a  personality disorder. In turn, according to officials in each of the military  services, the military services delegate to commanders with separation  authority at the military installations sole responsibility for ensuring that  the requirements are followed for enlisted servicemembers under their  command. When we asked about the low  rates of compliance for some of the separation requirements that we found  at the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps installations we visited and for  the enlisted Navy servicemembers’ records that we reviewed, the military  officials responsible for reviewing the separation packets with whom we  spoke could not explain why these separations were approved if  compliance with the separation requirements was not documented in the  separation packet. Having given sole responsibility to the commanders with separation  authority to ensure compliance, the military services have not established  a way to determine whether these commanders are ensuring that DOD’s  key requirements are met. Recommendations for Executive Action

To help ensure that DOD’s requirements for personality disorder  separations are met and to help increase assurance that these separations  are appropriate, we recommend that the Secretary of Defense direct the  Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to  1.  direct the Secretaries of the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy and the  Commandant of the Marine Corps to develop a system to ensure that  personality disorder separations are conducted in accordance with  DOD’s requirements and  2.  ensure that DOD monitors the military services’ compliance with  DOD’s personality disorder separation requirements. For our review, we examined (1) the extent to which  selected military installations complied with DOD requirements for  separating enlisted servicemembers because of a personality disorder,   (2) how DOD ensures compliance with personality disorder separation  requirements by the military services, and (3) the extent to which enlisted  servicemembers who are separated because of a personality disorder  selected protections available to them. We included enlisted servicemembers who  deployed at least once in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)  or Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).
Why GAO Did This Study

At DOD, a personality disorder can render a servicemember unsuitable for service. GAO was required to report on personality disorder separations and examined (1) the extent that selected military installations complied with DOD's separation requirements and (2) how DOD ensures compliance with these requirements. GAO reviewed a sample of 312 servicemembers' records from four installations, representing the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, that had the highest or second highest number of Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom servicemembers separated because of a personality disorder. The review is generalizable to the installations, but not to the services. GAO also reviewed 59 Navy servicemembers' records, but this review is not generalizable to the installation or the Navy because parts of the separation process could have been completed at multiple locations.

What GAO Found

GAO's review of enlisted servicemembers' records found that the selected military installations GAO visited varied in their documented compliance with DOD's requirements for personality disorder separations. DOD has requirements for separations because of a personality disorder, which is defined as an enduring pattern of behavior that deviates markedly from expected behavior and has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood. The three key requirements established by DOD are that enlisted servicemembers (1) must be notified of their impending separation because of a personality disorder, (2) must be diagnosed with a personality disorder by a psychiatrist or psychologist who determines that servicemembers' personality disorder interferes with their ability to function in the military, and (3) must receive formal counseling about their problem with functioning in the military. For the four installations, compliance with the notification requirement was at or above 98 percent. The compliance rates for the requirement related to the personality disorder diagnosis ranged from 40 to 78 percent. For the requirement for formal counseling, compliance ranged from 40 to 99 percent. GAO's review of the documentation in the enlisted Navy servicemembers' records found that compliance varied by requirement. Ninety-five percent of enlisted Navy servicemembers' records had documentation indicating that enlisted servicemembers had been notified of their impending separation because of a personality disorder. Eighty-two percent had documentation that indicated compliance with the requirement that enlisted servicemembers must be diagnosed with a personality disorder by a psychiatrist or psychologist who determines that the personality disorder interferes with servicemembers' ability to function in the military. Seventy-seven percent had documentation indicating compliance with the requirement for formal counseling. DOD does not have reasonable assurance that its key personality disorder separation requirements have been followed. DOD policy directs the military services to implement and ensure consistent administration of DOD's requirements for separating enlisted servicemembers because of a personality disorder. According to military service officials, the military services delegate to commanders with separation authority at military installations sole responsibility for ensuring that the separation requirements are followed for enlisted servicemembers under their command. When asked about the low rates of compliance for some of the separation requirements that GAO found, military officials responsible for reviewing the servicemembers' records with whom GAO spoke could not explain why these separations were approved if compliance with the separation requirements was not documented in the servicemembers' records. The military services have not established a way to determine whether the commanders with separation authority are ensuring that DOD's key separation requirements are met, and DOD does not have reasonable assurance that its requirements have been followed.