GAO: Army deployment data flawed

August 10, 2007
GAO: Army deployment data flawed

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.

Such information is used to determine a Marine's eligibility for extra leave days if he is deployed or mobilized beyond Pentagon goals. It also would be used to pin down eligibility for high-tempo deployment pay, if such compensation was reinstated by the Defense Department.