Recruiting Management in the United States Air Force Recruiting Service

GAO reviewed recruiting management in the U.S. Air Force Recruiting Service by reviewing selected Air Force recruiting activities and interviewing officials, supervisors, and recruiters.

GAO found that the Air Force controls over its recruiting program are sufficient to insure that quality recruits are procured in a timely fashion. The intense use of automated control systems provides good sceening controls that eliminate a significant number of applicants and maintain the quality of recruits. Some potential problems were observed of recruiter management practices. In some of the flights, there were too few supervisors for the number of recruiters dispersed over large geographical areas. A smaller and much more manageable span of control would permit closer and more frequent contact with the production recruiters. GAO also observed that the production recruiters perceive the leased family housing program as a significant area. An additional frustration for recruiters is that processing leased housing requests is very time consuming. GAO also found problems in the area of health care. The Air Force provides free health care to service personnel and their dependents when they are located near military installations with medical facilities. When such medical facilities are not available, the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) provides insurance coverage. CHAMPUS causes recruiters significant financial and personal hardships. These hardships include: (1) extremely slow payment; (2) outdated allowable fee schedules; and (3) refusal from hospitals and doctors to take patients. An education program has been established to improve recruiters understanding of the administration and operation of the CHAMPUS program.