By the Numbers - Sept. 21, 2015
$4.3 billion
The amount "obligated" in FY 2014 by the Department of Defense (DOD) for roughly "650,000 servicemember PCS moves," according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) -- Military Compensation: DOD Needs More Complete and Consistent Data to Assess the Costs and Policies of Relocating Personnel. PCS -- Permanent Change of Station -- "is a key tool used by the military services to fill assignments both in the United States and overseas."
After analyzing DOD budget data, the GAO determined "that average PCS per-move costs, after accounting for inflation, increased by 28 percent from fiscal years 2001 to 2014." However, GAO noted that some key data was missing from its analysis. "For example, the services did not completely or consistently report budget data on non-temporary storage costs, temporary lodging expenses, or tour extension payments." Furthermore:
DOD does not have information for determining whether personnel are meeting time-on-station requirements. DOD guidance specifies time-on-station lengths for U.S. and overseas locations and also allows for personnel to move prior to reaching these lengths if they qualify for an exception or obtain a waiver. However, DOD does not have complete or consistent data on the reasons why PCS moves occur prior to reaching specified lengths, because the services (1) do not maintain required data on their usage of exceptions and (2) do not have a requirement to maintain data on their usage of waivers. Moreover, availability of service data on time-on-station lengths is limited and varies by service.
Among other things, the GAO recommended that DOD, together with the service branches "report complete and consistent PCS budget data; conduct periodic evaluations of the PCS program; and address limitations on the availability of data on exceptions and waivers for PCS moves that occur prior to reaching minimum time-on-station lengths."
$4.3 billion
The amount "obligated" in FY 2014 by the Department of Defense (DOD) for roughly "650,000 servicemember PCS moves," according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) -- Military Compensation: DOD Needs More Complete and Consistent Data to Assess the Costs and Policies of Relocating Personnel. PCS -- Permanent Change of Station -- "is a key tool used by the military services to fill assignments both in the United States and overseas."
After analyzing DOD budget data, the GAO determined "that average PCS per-move costs, after accounting for inflation, increased by 28 percent from fiscal years 2001 to 2014." However, GAO noted that some key data was missing from its analysis. "For example, the services did not completely or consistently report budget data on non-temporary storage costs, temporary lodging expenses, or tour extension payments." Furthermore:
DOD does not have information for determining whether personnel are meeting time-on-station requirements. DOD guidance specifies time-on-station lengths for U.S. and overseas locations and also allows for personnel to move prior to reaching these lengths if they qualify for an exception or obtain a waiver. However, DOD does not have complete or consistent data on the reasons why PCS moves occur prior to reaching specified lengths, because the services (1) do not maintain required data on their usage of exceptions and (2) do not have a requirement to maintain data on their usage of waivers. Moreover, availability of service data on time-on-station lengths is limited and varies by service.
Among other things, the GAO recommended that DOD, together with the service branches "report complete and consistent PCS budget data; conduct periodic evaluations of the PCS program; and address limitations on the availability of data on exceptions and waivers for PCS moves that occur prior to reaching minimum time-on-station lengths."