Defense Budget

The Defense Department's (DOD) budget request for fiscal year 1997 includes almost $70 billion for pay and allowances for active and reserve military personnel, which represents about 30 percent of DOD's total budget request. DOD estimates that in 2001, pay and allowances will continue to represent about 30 percent of the total budget. Because the military personnel accounts represent such a large share of the Pentagon's budget, this report discusses (1) the various pay categories included in the accounts, (2) the trends of those pay categories, and (3) how changes in the budget compared with changes in service force levels. GAO also discusses the reasons for some of the service trends and differences among the services and includes explanations.

GAO found that: (1) after discounting for inflation, there has been a relatively close correlation since 1990 between the decline in the reserve components' portion of the military personnel accounts and the reduction in reserve components' personnel; (2) the majority of military reserve personnel accounts are comprised primarily of unit and individual training and administration and support costs; (3) except for the Army National Guard, the cost of each servicemember in fiscal year (FY) 1997 is projected to increase; and (4) there are marked differences among the reserve components' budgets for several categories, including administration and support, special training, and education benefits.