Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated the Department of Defense's fiscal year 1998 military personnel budget requests. GAO also reviewed the early retirement accounts that are centrally managed by the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. GAO noted that this report summarizes and updates information it provided in June 1997, but does not include any actions that may have been taken by congressional committees during their reviews of the budget requests. GAO has not acknowledged these committee actions because in some cases House and Senate actions have varied and conference actions are still pending.
GAO noted that: (1) GAO identified potential reductions of about $390.1 million in the services' military personnel requests: (a) $304.4 million in the requests for military pay and allowances; and (b) $85.7 million in the request to fund early retirements; (2) GAO estimates military pay and allowances accounts can be reduced by $255.3 million for the Army, $20.7 million for the Navy, $21.3 million for the Air Force, and $7.1 million for the Marine Corps; and (3) the early retirement fund requests can be reduced $48.8 million for the Air Force and $36.9 million for the Army.
