Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO obtained information on the Department of Defense's (DOD) vacancies in North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) European countries, focusing on: (1) the number of unfilled positions as of September 1988; (2) whether the positions were funded or unfunded requirements; (3) the length of time the positions were vacant; and (4) whether the positions were filled.
GAO found that: (1) the services established requirements for 360,499 military positions; (2) 324,337 of the required positions were authorized and funded, while 36,162 were unfunded; (3) the actual number of military personnel on board was 319,533; and (4) the services had various locations that were overstaffed or understaffed, resulting in a net of 4,804 vacancies. GAO also found that: (1) the services established requirements for 116,893 civilian positions; (2) 96,910 of the required positions were authorized and funded, while 19,983 were unfunded; (3) the number of civilians on board was 93,526, resulting in 3,384 vacancies; and (4) the services did not have information on the length of time that positions were vacant.
