Improvements Can Be Made in the Management of Naval Recruit Training

The Navy Recruit Training program is the largest single-purpose training program in the Navy, costing an estimated $150 million in fiscal year 1979, with approximately 80,000 individuals receiving basic introductory and indoctrination training. GAO reviewed the program at the Naval Recruit Training Center in San Diego, California, and the centers at Great Lakes, Illinois, and Orlando, Florida, were also visited. Studies were examined and recruits were observed during the training cycle from inprocessing through graduation. Discussions were held with officials at the recruit centers; the skill training schools in San Diego; the Naval Technical Training Command in Millington, Tennessee; and the Naval Training and Education Command at Pensacola, Florida.

The results of the GAO review indicated the following problem areas: lack of recruit training effectiveness assessment; opportunities to reduce training length; need for greater curriculum standardization; opportunities to use skill training to reinforce recruit training goals; use of special recruit units, such as drum and bugle corps, drill teams, etc.; and unexplained differences in recruit training time.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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