United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2005-03-16 monographic deposited born digital 20 p. GA 1.13:GAO-05-419T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-419T P0b002ee18037a3e2 f:d05419t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-419T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-419T GAO-05-419T Armed forces reserves Human capital Military forces Military personnel Military recruiting Military reserve personnel National Guard Personnel recruiting Strategic planning Military enlistment Human capital management Program goals or objectives DOD Operation Iraqi Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Noble Eagle DOD Individual Ready Reserve Program Testimony A19496 To meet its human capital needs, the Department of Defense (DOD) must convince several hundred thousand people to join the military each year while, at the same time, retain thousands of personnel to sustain its active duty, reserve, and National Guard forces. Since September 11, 2001, DOD has launched three major military operations requiring significant military personnel--Operation Noble Eagle, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The high pace of military operations combined with the level of casualties in Iraq and other factors, such as lengthy overseas deployments, have raised concerns about DOD's ability to recruit and retain sufficient numbers of personnel who possess the skills and experience needed. This testimony presents GAO's preliminary findings on (1) the extent to which the active duty, reserve, and Guard components have met their overall recruiting and retention goals, (2) the degree to which the components have met their recruiting and retention goals for selected hard-to-fill critical occupations, and (3) steps the components have taken to enhance their recruiting and retention efforts. This testimony focuses on enlisted personnel. In continuing its work, GAO will assess the reliability of DOD-provided data and plans to issue a report on these issues this fall. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-419T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-419T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-419T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-419T.pdf GAO-05-419T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-419T Testimony GAO-05-419T; Military Personnel: Preliminary Observations on Recruiting and Retention Issues within the U.S. Armed Forces; Armed forces reserves Human capital Military forces Military personnel Military recruiting Military reserve personnel National Guard Personnel recruiting Strategic planning Military enlistment Human capital management Program goals or objectives DOD Operation Iraqi Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Noble Eagle DOD Individual Ready Reserve Program