Military Personnel Issues

GAO presented its views on military personnel issues, including: (1) the administration's proposed freeze on basic pay and allowances; (2) the annual adjustment of military pay; (3) requests for fiscal year 1984 bonus moneys; (4) funds for the Army's noncommissioned officer ranks; (5) proposed legislation for a new Veterans Educational Assistance Program (VEAP); and (6) the administration's proposal to make permanent the 50-percent limitation on retired pay cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for military retirees under age 62. These issues were discussed in the context of a management system structure which allows military managers to use cost-effective incentives to achieve their manpower objectives. GAO suggested that Department of Defense managers: (1) identify specific manpower problems; (2) perform tradeoff analyses among options; and (3) should have the authority to select the most efficient and cost-effective mix of monetary and nonmonetary incentives. GAO generally supports the President's proposal not to increase the basic military compensation components and it stated that increased enlistment and reenlistment bonuses and increased funds for noncommissioned officers merit congressional committee scrutiny. GAO questioned the need for a new VEAP at the present time and suggested that congressional committees defer any action on the COLA proposals until the Fifth Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation is available and a followup analysis is performed.