Military Personnel

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed: (1) prior Navy studies of the feasibility of moving the Naval Personnel Command from the District of Columbia (D.C.); and (2) possible duplication of functions between a new Navy headquarters Fleet Liaison Branch and the Enlisted Personnel Management Center, located in New Orleans, Louisiana.

GAO found that: (1) in the early 1970s, the Navy consolidated several personnel functions at the Enlisted Management Center; (2) in 1976, the Navy abruptly cancelled plans to move most of its personnel operations from D.C. to a new command in New Orleans; (3) on June 30, 1989, the Navy established the Fleet Liaison Branch to provide a rapid response and coordinating system for resolving enlisted personnel assignment problems, which it had previously handled as part of the overall enlisted personnel management process; and (4) although the Navy believed that duplication of efforts between the Branch and the Management Center would become less frequent as Branch staff became more familiar with the Management Center's operations and on-line system, the Navy disbanded the Branch in February 1990 to avoid any appearance of continued duplication between the two locations.