Problems in Alerting and Preparing Army Reservists for Mobilization

GAO conducted a review to determine whether the notification system, which the Army uses to notify its reservists of mobilization, is adequate and whether reservists are provided information to help put their personal affairs in order before reporting for duty.

GAO found that, because of deficiencies in the Army's alert rosters, approximately 22 percent of Army Guard and Reserve personnel with early mobilization schedules may not be notified and assembled promptly. Units that are experiencing personnel shortages will be even more seriously hampered in accomplishing their mission if some members do not report for duty on time. Unit training and management could be affected because some who may not be contacted are noncommissioned officers. About 7 percent of the noncommissioned officers at the units GAO visited may not be contacted due to alert roster inaccuracies. In addition, GAO found that Army Guard and Reserve units were not using annual tests of their alert procedures to verify their alert rosters, and some units did not conduct their annual tests in accordance with established Army regulations. Finally, GAO found that many reservists had not received required annual briefings and other written materials concerning personal readiness forms. Moreover, the Army did not follow-up to ensure that personal readiness information was provided to members who had not received it.

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: Martin M. Ferber Team: General Accounting Office: National Security and International Affairs Division Phone: (202) 275-5140