Revising Medical Fitness Policies Could Provide Additional Quality Recruits at Less Cost Than Enlistment Incentives

GAO reviewed the entry medical fitness policies of the armed services.

The services could increase the number of quality recruits by easing their medical fitness standards and by providing treatment for readily correctable medical conditions and physical defects. In fiscal year 1980, 61,000 applicants were disqualified for failure to meet the armed services' entry medical fitness standards. Because recruiters referred them to examining stations for medical examinations, these individuals apparently had no obvious disqualifying medical conditions or physical defects. If the less restrictive medical fitness standards currently used for service in particular skills were applied to entry medical fitness standards, a greater number of quality applicants could be enlisted. The standards are based on the ability to complete basic training, even though basic training represents only 5 percent of a typical 3-year enlistment, and fewer than one-third of the basic training program hours involve physically demanding activities. Relaxing the current maximum and minimum entry weight standards would result in about 1,000 additional quality recruits entering the Army each year. If the Department of Defense (DOD) provided treatment to recruits for readily correctable medical conditions and physical defects, some additional in-service health care costs and time lost from duty could result. However, the costs would be less than the costs of alternative enlistment incentives.

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.

Director: Kenneth J. Coffey Team: General Accounting Office: Federal Personnel and Compensation Division Phone: (202) 275-5140