Summary: The Selective Reenlistment Bonus Program was created 30 years ago to help the military retain highly skilled service members. However, GAO found that in 1994, the Defense Department (DOD) paid about $64 million in retention bonuses to individuals who worked in job categories in which positions were filled or who had been paid incentives to leave. Military officials defended their management of the retention and separation incentive programs, asserting that each is targeted at different segments of the force, that retention and separation incentives went to personnel in different grades and year groups, and that payment of separation incentives did not mean that they were satisfied with manning levels. GAO believes that if a skill is experiencing shortages that warrant the payment of retention incentives, it is not prudent to pay incentives to others with those same skills to leave the service. The Office of the Secretary of Defense is not providing adequate direction and oversight of the programs.
