08/13/08 GAO Reports Army Deployment Data May Be Flawed

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"The Marine Corps and Army lack proper tools for tracking the number of days troops are deployed, an oversight that could affect deploying members’ pay or operational tempo, according to a Government Accountability Office report. A July 17 report said that while the Defense Department has submitted personnel tempo data to Congress since 2001, the Corps and Army don’t have the ability to identify faulty data, and they lack quality-control procedures for ensuring accuracy of the data. The Corps tracks deployment information with its Deployed Theater Accountability System, designed to manage, track and account for all personnel, including civilian contractors and foreign nationals, according to information released by the Marine Corps in April 2005. This system relies on individual units to submit accurate accounts of Marines’ comings and goings. The GAO found that in fiscal 2005 and 2006, after DTAS was developed, individual Marine commands continued to lack procedures for ensuring accurate reporting. The report also said that in 2005, the Army’s Human Resources Command did not properly record such data for 72 percent of its forward-deployed soldiers."

For more information:
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/08/army_perstempo_070810/