Summary: In response to a congressional request, GAO examined the Department of Defense's (DOD) implementation of selected provisions of the Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986, focusing on: (1) the quality of officers assigned for joint duty; (2) the quality of officers selected for the joint specialty; (3) achievement of promotion targets; (4) the act's applicability to military reservists; and (5) DOD compliance with reporting requirements.
GAO found that: (1) generally, DOD selected quality officers for the joint specialty; (2) the quality of officers selected differed by service and grade, with the Air Force and Navy selecting lower-quality officers; (3) the services did not consistently meet the act's promotion targets for certain ranks; (4) DOD indicated that the shortfalls resulted from prior assignment practices and believed that the shortfalls would disappear by 1991 or 1992; (5) DOD has not established a policy for the act's applicability to military reservists, as required; (6) DOD issued a career guidance memorandum for joint specialists, and the services were updating their career guidance handbooks; and (7) the miltary services are developing information systems to help them meet the act's reporting requirements.
