Defense Management: Installation of Telecommunications Equipment
in the Homes of Volunteers (16-JUN-03, GAO-03-838R).
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000
required that GAO review the Department of Defense's (DOD) use of
the authority to install telephone lines and any necessary
telecommunications equipment in the homes of persons who provide
voluntary services for the military. These volunteers, in
addition to their other social service activities, provide a link
between military units and the families of servicemembers
deployed away from home. The legislation required us to submit
the results of our review within 2 years after the department
issued implementing regulations. The department issued its
regulation in March 2002. This report discusses (1) the extent of
the military services' use of the authority and (2) the internal
controls that have been established to ensure equipment is used
only for authorized purposes.
-------------------------Indexing Terms-------------------------
REPORTNUM: GAO-03-838R
ACCNO: A07160
TITLE: Defense Management: Installation of Telecommunications
Equipment in the Homes of Volunteers
DATE: 06/16/2003
SUBJECT: Allowable costs
Internal controls
Telecommunication
Telecommunication equipment
Volunteer services
Defense cost control
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GAO-03-838R
GAO- 03- 838R Defense Management Page 1
United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548
June 17, 2003 The Honorable John Warner Chairman The Honorable Carl Levin
Ranking Minority Member Committee on Armed Services United States Senate
The Honorable Duncan Hunter Chairman The Honorable Ike Skelton Ranking
Minority Member Committee on Armed Services House of Representatives
Subject: Defense Management: Installation of Telecommunications Equipment
in the Homes of Volunteers This letter responds to a requirement in the
National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2000 1 that we review the Department of Defense*s (DOD) use of
authority to install telephone lines and any necessary telecommunications
equipment in the homes of persons who provide voluntary services for the
military. These volunteers, in addition to their other social service
activities, provide a link between military units and the families of
servicemembers deployed away from home. The legislation required us to
submit the results of our review within 2 years after the department
issued implementing regulations. The department issued its regulation in
March 2002. 2 This letter discusses (1) the extent of the military
services* use of the authority and (2) the internal controls that have
been established to ensure equipment is used only for authorized purposes.
In performing our work, we talked with officials from the Office of the
Secretary of Defense and each military service*s family policy office to
obtain information on the current and expected use of the
telecommunications authority and the internal controls over any funds
expended under the program. We also requested that Army, Navy, and
National Guard family policy officials query a limited number of their
volunteers in areas with high deployments to determine the extent that the
telecommunications equipment has been installed in the home of volunteers.
We also
1 Pub. L. No. 106- 65, section 371. 2 DOD Instruction 1100.21, Voluntary
Services in the Department of Defense, March 11, 2002.
GAO- 838R Defense Management Page 2 talked with various service officials
and several volunteers about the
telecommunications equipment used to perform volunteer activities.
Results in Brief
The military services report they have made little use of the legislative
authority to install telecommunications equipment in the homes of
volunteers. While DOD has issued implementing guidance, the services have
not issued their own guidance. It is not clear to what extent issuance of
service guidance will lead to increased use of this authority. Perhaps
more significantly, as alternatives to in- home installation, some
military components have increased their authorized use of cell phones,
provided volunteers with telephone credit cards, and permitted access to
phones at volunteer offices. Several family policy officials said that
these alternatives are easier to manage than in- home installation and
would likely limit the future installation of inhome
telecommunications equipment. In addition, various service officials told
us that servicemembers* access to calling cards and various other means of
communication, including e- mail, has facilitated communications between
deployed servicemembers and their families. Air Force officials told us
they do not use volunteers, as the Army and the Navy do, to maintain
contact between deployed personnel and their families; so they have no
current plans to use the authority.
The services are relying on existing internal controls to ensure
authorized use of telecommunications equipment by volunteers. Under these
provisions, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and National Guard Bureau officials
told us they reimburse volunteers for phone calls made from their homes if
the volunteers provide proper supporting documentation, such as itemized
monthly phone bills. Likewise, various service officials told us that
representatives from their units typically review monthly cell phone bills
before they are paid. Service family policy officials 3 noted that, if
telecommunications equipment were installed in volunteers* homes, a
representative of the approving official would review the supporting
documentation before the bill would be paid.
Based on information obtained suggesting limited current and expected use
of the authority, we concluded our review and are not making any
recommendations.
Background
During the mid- 1990s, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy
for Manpower and Reserve Affairs became the DOD proponent for installing
telecommunications equipment in the homes of Navy and Marine Corps
volunteers. Navy officials saw a need to provide the Navy*s and Marine
Corps* primary volunteers with relief from a perceived burden of over-
using their personal telephones to perform volunteer activities and not
always being reimbursed for any added costs. Navy officials felt that a
second phone line, installed by the local phone company, in the
volunteer*s home could alleviate this burden. The National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 authorized DOD to install telephone
lines and any necessary telecommunications equipment in the private
residences of persons who provide
3 Volunteer programs are under the direction of component family policy
offices.
GAO- 838R Defense Management Page 3 voluntary services for the military
components including the Coast Guard. DOD
issued implementing regulations in March 2002.
Services Have Rarely Used the Authority for In- Home Telecommunication
Services Our review indicates that use of the legislative authority to
install
telecommunications equipment in individual volunteers* homes has been very
limited. This was confirmed in our direct contact with volunteers and
officials and query results from three volunteer groups, through which we
determined only one piece of telecommunications equipment had been
installed in the home of a volunteer.
There are several reasons why the authority has had or is likely to have
limited use. First, although DOD has issued its implementing guidance, the
services have not issued their guidance. Officials from the Army and the
Navy said that the authority is not yet a well- known benefit in the
volunteer community. Officials from the Army, the Navy and the Marine
Corps said that their implementing guidance has been developed and should
be approved within the next 6 months; however, what impact this may have
on usage is not clear. Secondly, and perhaps more significantly, volunteer
program officials in the Army, the Navy, and the National Guard said that
the services, under existing authority, 4 are increasing their use of cell
phones and in some cases telephone credit cards because they are easier to
manage. As a result, they expect limited installation of
telecommunications equipment in the homes of volunteers. In addition,
various service officials told us that servicemembers* access to calling
cards and various other means of communication, including e- mail if
available, has facilitated communications between deployed servicemembers
and their families and could reduce the need for in- home installation.
Air Force officials told us they have volunteers; however, they are not
used to stay in contact with deployed units as Army and Navy volunteers
are. Thus, the Air Force has no current plans to use the authority.
Our work identified only one piece of telecommunications equipment
installed in a volunteer*s home. The Navy paid to have a fax machine
installed in the home of a Navy volunteer who was staying in contact with
a deployed Navy frigate. However, the volunteer stated that because she
uses the fax machine infrequently for her volunteer duties and the cost is
nominal, she has not sought reimbursement from her command. This volunteer
also noted that her command provided her with a cell phone, which she uses
regularly, to perform her volunteer duties.
Information made available from selected Army, Navy, and National Guard
units showed that alternatives to in- home installation are more often
used to provide telecommunications services for volunteers:
A family policy official from the Army*s Southeast Region in Atlanta,
Georgia, queried volunteers at Fort Bragg and Fort Stewart and found no
Army- provided telecommunications equipment installed in their homes. At
Fort Bragg, some volunteers are reportedly provided cell phones at a cost
to the Army of about $30.00 a month per cell phone.
4 10 U. S. C., 1588( e).
GAO- 838R Defense Management Page 4
A Norfolk, Virginia, area Navy official queried about 55 volunteers at a
volunteer meeting and found that 8 had been provided cell phones by their
local command and 1 of these volunteers also had a Navyprovided fax
machine, which we discussed earlier. One Navy volunteer estimated her cell
phone charges, which are paid by the Navy, at about $40.00 a month.
The Chief of Family Programs at the National Guard Bureau queried eight
state volunteer programs 5 and found that no National Guardprovided
telecommunications equipment was installed in any volunteers* homes. These
states use other methods, such as providing family policy office phones or
prepaid phone cards for long distance calls and reimbursing calls made on
the volunteer*s home phone, as alternatives to in- home installation.
Services Are Relying on Existing Internal
Controls to Prevent Abuse Family policy officials are relying on existing
internal controls 6 to ensure any funds expended by volunteers for
telecommunications are appropriate. Currently, the Army, the Navy, the
Marine Corps, and the National Guard Bureau reimburse volunteers for phone
calls made from their private phones if the volunteer provides supporting
documentation, such as itemized monthly phone bills. We were told that
service officials review this documentation before each bill is paid. This
internal control procedure is also used to control the authorized use of
cell phones provided to volunteers. Service family policy officials stated
they would rely on the same procedures for any telecommunications
equipment that was installed in a volunteer*s home. Basically, the bill
would either go directly to the command or the volunteer would have to
submit supporting documentation. In either case, we were told the bill
would be reviewed at the local level before it is paid.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation In providing oral comments on a draft
of this letter, a representative of the Office of the Under Secretary of
Defense for Personnel and Readiness concurred with our findings.
Scope and Methodology
To obtain information on the military services* use of the authority, we
interviewed officials from the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the
Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, the Secretary of the Navy*s Office
of Family Policy and the Navy*s Personnel Center, the Army*s Office of
Family Policy at the Army Community and
5 The National Guard Bureau surveyed volunteer programs in Arkansas,
Massachusetts, New York, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Florida, Kentucky, and
Iowa. 6 Internal controls are set up to provide reasonable assurance on
the part of managers that resources
are used consistent with the agency*s mission and that they are protected
from waste, fraud, and mismanagement.
GAO- 838R Defense Management Page 5 Family Support Center, the Secretary
of the Air Force*s Office of Family Matters, and
the Marine Corps* Family Team Building Branch. In addition, we interviewed
the Chief of Family Programs at the National Guard Bureau. We did not
include the Coast Guard in the scope of work. We obtained information
about the use of the authority by requesting that three volunteer program
officials who work in highly deploying areas query their volunteers about
this issue. The officials used various informal means to collect the
information, which involved discussions with or contacting numerous
service volunteers in the Norfolk, Virginia, area; Fort Bragg,
North Carolina, and Fort Stewart, Georgia, areas in the Army*s Southeast
Region; and numerous volunteers from eight state programs in the National
Guard. We also talked with various service officials and several
volunteers about the types of telecommunications equipment used to perform
volunteer activities.
To determine the types of internal controls currently being used, we
reviewed service guidance dealing with volunteer programs, family policy,
or management controls, and interviewed Army, Navy, and National Guard
family policy officials on the controls for reimbursing volunteers for
phone calls made from their personal home
phones or service provided cell phones. In addition, we interviewed
officials from the services* family policy offices to determine internal
controls that might be used if telecommunications equipment were installed
in a volunteer*s home.
We performed our work from November 2002 to May 2003 in accordance with
generally accepted government auditing standards.
We are sending copies of this letter to the Secretaries of Defense, the
Army, the Navy, and the Air Force; the Commandant of the Marine Corps; and
the Office of Management and Budget. We will also make copies available to
others upon request. In addition, the letter is available at no charge on
GAO*s Web site at http:// www. gao. gov. If you have any questions
concerning this letter, please contact me on (202) 512- 8412. Key
contributors to this assignment were Michael Kennedy and Richard Meeks.
Barry W. Holman, Director Defense Capabilities and Management
(350296)
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