Department of the Army Historical Summary: FY 1974

VI

Personnel

At the beginning of fiscal year 1974, skeptics were saying that the volunteer Army would not work, that it was only a matter of time before the draft would be reinstituted. Recruiting during the first four months of the year tended to support this pessimism, for the Army fell some 12,200 short of its objective. Conditions within the U.S. Army Recruiting Command (USAREC) were partially to blame. Recruiting duty had not been popular, and unqualified recruiters had to be removed. A shortage of approximately 1,000 recruiters resulted. By offering incentives to volunteers, USAREC added capable recruiters and nearly reached full strength by the end of November 1973. Concurrently, it reversed the trend in recruiting and succeeded in meeting Army manpower requirements. On 30 June 1974 the Army stood at 782,897 members (excludes 433 reimbursable active duty personnel paid from Civil Functions, Reserve, and National Guard appropriations), which was 1,297 over the authorized figure of 781,600. The volunteer Army was working.

Enlisted Personnel

The Army recruited 199,196 men and women in fiscal year 1974. With 166,798 men enlisting for the first time, recruitment exceeded that of 1973 by approximately 25 percent. A total of 32,901 new enlistees chose to serve in the combat arms, one of the most difficult recruiting areas. Of these, 39.1 percent signed up for the $2,500 combat arms bonus offered to high school graduates in the upper mental categories (Categories I, II, or III) as an incentive to enlist for four years. Female enlistments numbered 15,446, or 110 percent of the recruiting objective, and surpassed figures of the previous year by 77 percent. Reenlistments came to 16,952, about 127 percent of the Army's recruiting objective and 18 percent more than in fiscal year 1973.

The Army attained these results within quality guidelines established by the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1974. This legislation required that no less than 55 percent of new enlistees be high school graduates (the Army achieved 56.1 percent) and that at least 82 percent of all enlistees be in the upper three mental categories (the Army achieved 82.2 percent).

The 1974 Appropriations Act also called for a reduction of 787 Army positions (410 military and 377 civilian) in Armed Forces

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Examining Stations. Six stations were therefore closed-those in Abilene, Texas; Anchorage, Alaska; Ashland, Kentucky; Fairmont, West Virginia; New York City (Varick Street station); and Providence Rhode Island.

Several changes were made in recruiting procedures. Enlistment options were reduced from 40 to 27, but new programs were added. A two-year Training or Travel Option provides enlistees training in a skill of their choice or initial assignment to Europe. A Training and Cash Enlistment Option also offers a choice of training as well as a bonus of up to $2,500. A program to attract students at junior and community colleges has been started.

Recruiting advertising was funded at $38.2 million for fiscal year 1974, a substantial increase over the previous year, and the new Training or Travel Option was highlighted. A paid radio and television advertising program, however, was canceled because of congressional objections.

In addition to exceeding its recruiting goals, the Army also retained many qualified soldiers. A total of 60,673 men and women, 116 percent of the Army's objective, reenlisted during the year. Of these, 23,065 were on their first enlistment, and 37,608 were career soldiers. In boosting reenlistments, the Army changed the Reenlistment Option program. This program now offers stabilized assignments, and units have been added to the unit-of-choice option. As a trial, the Army also permitted soldiers whose first enlistments ended during 1974 to extend for twelve months at a station of their choice if a vacancy existed.

Improvements in testing and counseling were made in the Enlisted Evaluation System. After sixteen months of service, soldiers on enlistments of three or more years were tested in their military occupational specialties and given career counseling before reaching reenlistment eligibility. Also, career counselors at eighteen CONUS installations and nine overseas stations received forty hours of instruction on their roles in the Army's reenlistment efforts.

As recruiting and reenlisting went up, punitive discharges, discharges for misconduct, unsuitability, and unfitness, and discharges for the good of service decreased by nearly 25 percent. This reduction came about even though two new programs were started during the year to discharge substandard soldiers expeditiously. Introduced on 1 September 1973, the Trainee Discharge Program was used to identify recruits who could not adapt to military life or who did not meet minimum standards during the first 179 days of service. About 9 percent of the trainees entering service during fiscal year 1974 were discharged under this program. In October

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1973 USAREUR began the Expeditious Discharge Program as a test. This program gave local commanders authority to discharge unproductive soldiers after they had served between twelve and twenty-one months without recourse to an officer board. By the end of the fiscal year, USAREUR had discharged 2,565, and the program was being studied as a possibility for other Army commands.

After many years the Army ended its early release programs because they caused unprogrammed procurement and increased training requirements. Under these programs, soldiers had been released from service up to ninety days early to accept employment in law enforcement, attend school, or serve in Reserve Component units.

With the exception of the Army Medical Department, whose enlisted strength was almost 5 percent above the 39,000 authorized, the Army had problems with shortages in some skills and overages in others and in matching up skills with duty positions. A primary cause of this mismatch of military occupational specialties (MOS's) was the proliferation of enlistment options guaranteeing extended assignments at specific installations or with particular' units. In many instances, these options permitted recruits to distribute themselves and left Army personnel managers powerless to place soldiers where they were needed. In addition to decreasing enlistment options, the Army moved to correct the imbalance by establishing in December 1973 the Project Director's Office for Military Occupational Specialty Mismatch. Working within the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, the director took several steps. Commanders and soldiers were informed of the mismatch problem and its effect on career development. Having soldiers develop dual skills was seen as a way to reduce the problem of space imbalance.' The accuracy of the duty and primary MOS data base was improved. The number of MOS's were decreased through consolidation and elimination. MOS's of three characters were reduced from 484 to 476 and those with four characters from 1,006 to 995. All these measures helped to alleviate the mismatch problem. Soldiers whose positions did not match their primary or secondary MOS's, or an MOS conducive to career progression, decreased from 63,000 (11.7 percent) in December 1973 to 46,300 (9 percent) by June 1974.

In related developments the Army replaced sixty-four career groups with thirty-six career management fields and adopted a new MOS specification format that eliminated redundancies in the de-

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scriptions of duties and tasks and skills and knowledge. Also the wording of MOS specifications was simplified.

The centralized enlisted promotion system continued to function well, despite the soldier's dissatisfaction over low selection rates ² and accuracies in completeness in individual military personnel files. Efforts to improve the condition of the files and to have the enlisted promotion system approximate that for officers continued. Enlisted promotion boards did double duty by identifying soldiers with unsatisfactory performance records, so that separate field screening boards were not needed.

Policy changes were made for promotions to E-5 and E-4. To increase E-5 strength, the term of obligated service following promotion was reduced from twelve to three months, and fewer promotion points were required for entry on the promotion list. For E-4 promotions, the authority of commanders to waive promotion criteria was enlarged.

The enlisted grade structure remained fairly stable during the past year. Strength in the top six grades, however, exceeded Department of Defense ceilings, and corrections are under way. Army enlisted strength, by grade, for the last two fiscal years was as follows:

COMPOSITION OF THE ENLISTED GRADE STRUCTURE

Officer Personnel

The officer corps declined during fiscal year 1974 in line with the Secretary of the Army's 1972 plan to reduce officers to 12.5 percent of total Army strength. At the end of the year the Army had 105,572 officers, less than the programmed strength of 106,100, a decrease of 9 percent from the previous year and a 39 percent decline from peak strength during the Vietnam War. To make this reduction, approximately 4,900 Reserve majors and captains were involuntarily released from active duty.

The following table shows the Army's officer and warrant officer strength, excluding non-MPA reimbursables.

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OFFICER GRADE STRUCTURE IN FISCAL YEAR 1974

Officer procurement for fiscal year 1974 totaled 9,466, the lowest figure since World War II. A breakdown is shown below.

1 includes administrative gains such as recall from retired list and interservice transfer.

As shown, the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) continued to be the largest source of new Army officers, although commissions were considerably fewer than the 7,251 last year. Senior ROTC enrollment was also lower, primarily because the draft had been eliminated. A total of 33,220 were enrolled in 291 ROTC units, down from last year's 41;294. Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) enrollment was 110,839, which includes 22,984 women. JROTC training was conducted in 662 schools, including 12 institutions participating in the National Defense Cadet Corps program. New JROTC units were established in North Dakota, Alaska, and Europe.

During fiscal year 1974 the Army awarded 890 four-year ROTC scholarships, 739 three-year scholarships, 508 two-year scholarships, and 86 one-year scholarships. Under a new program, fifty Army enlisted personnel with two years of college credit won ROTC scholarships for the 1974-75 school year. All told, 6,500 ROTC cadets were supported by scholarships.

In Medical Department recruiting fewer officers were obtained through the Senior Medical and Osteopathic Student Program and

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the early Commissioning Program, and the Berry Plan (Armed Forces Physicians' Appointment and Residency Consideration Program) ended along with the draft. Persons already obligated under the Berry Plan were, however, the largest source of new medical officers during the year as indicated in the following summary:

^a Includes ROTC graduates branched to Medical Service Corps.
^b Includes Reserve recalls.
^c For MOS 911A (Military Physician's Assistant).
^d For MOS 202A (Medical Equipment Repair Technician).

Officer strength for the Medical Department stood at 16,011 on 30 June 1974, 111 short of the 16,122 authorized, and 1,359 less than at the close of the previous fiscal year. With the aid of pay increases this past year, officer strength should remain at or near authorized levels. The Uniformed Services Variable Incentive Pay Act for Physicians, enacted in May 1974, raised salaries substantially for most military physicians, especially younger ones. Also helping in attracting and retaining doctors were improved facilities, ancillary help, more stable tours, employment within chosen medical specialties, and Army Graduate Medical Education Program.

Full participation in the Uniformed Services Health Profession Scholarship Program, authorized by Congress in fiscal year 1973, was attained. Under this program the Army subsidized 1,350 medical and .osteopathic students and 108 veterinary students. The students received Reserve commissions, full tuition and laboratory fees, and a monthly stipend of $400. In return, they agreed to spend forty-five days each year in active service and upon graduation to serve one year of active duty for each year of subsidy, up to four years but not less than two exclusive of training.

During fiscal year 1974 officer promotions remained relatively low and grade authorizations continued to decline. Excluding Medical and Dental Corps officers, 529 men were promoted to colonel, 861 to lieutenant colonel, 1,115 to major, 3,874 to captain; 279 to CW-4, and 721 to CW-3. Time in service and in grade at the end of the fiscal year was as follows:

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The so-called "Viet Nam hump" (overstrength in the grade of captain brought about by expansion of the Army in the middle and late 1960s) affected promotion to major. In order to maintain the promoting of captains to about ten years, the selection rate was lowered this year to 54 percent and will be kept down for the next few years.

In December 1973 the Army made three major policy changes to improve the qualitative distribution of officers during a period of low selection rates. First, by-name requests were discouraged and would normally be approved for only extraordinary assignments requiring special qualifications. Even then, the Army will carefully consider whether or not the requested officer has completed his tour and is otherwise available for reassignment. Second, the practice of nominating officers before assignment was curbed, and nominations are now limited to positions identified in DA Memo 614-1, United States Military Academy and ROTC instructor positions, attaché positions, and certain military group positions. Finally, the rejection of an officer solely because of a programmed terminal assignment will be discontinued.

Personnel Management

Development of the Army Personnel Plan, an aid in managing the Army Personnel System, was completed during the year. Employing the technique of management by objectives, the plan establishes goals for the Army Personnel System, pinpoints responsibility for accomplishing these goals, and allows for the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel and his directors to monitor progress. Up to now, the plan has been used only within the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, but formal approval of its use Army-wide will be sought during fiscal year 1975.

Two manpower prediction computer models using IBM equipment, but compatible with the UNIVAC 1108 system, were completed during the- past year as part of the Army Manpower Prediction System study. The Automatic Interaction Detector-Enlisted (AID-E) model employs a statistical technique to produce enlisted loss rates by category (for example, grade and years of service) on the

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basis of "predictor attributes," such as mental category and time in service. The Central Integrating Model-Enlisted (CIM-E) uses the output loss rates AID-E- provides to project the enlisted force by grade and years of service under varying sets of policy alternatives up to five years. The two models can test the long-range effects of enlisted policy options under varying situations and constraints. Conversion to the new models should be completed in fiscal year 1975. Two similar models being developed for officers are also scheduled for completion next year.

The ELIM-COMPLIP (Enlisted Loss Inventory Model-Computation of Manpower Programs using Linear Programing) System, which computes programs on the status of Army manpower, went into operation in October 1973. The system can examine different assumptions and policy alternatives and deal with the present and future. Several types of reports and graphic displays of input and output data are available to assist in analyzing the effect of postulated policies and other assumptions.

In implementing the Officer Personnel Management System (OPMS), the Army centralized the selection of lieutenant colonels as commanders. Also, it started to designate specialties for lieutenant colonels and arranged for its Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) to study officer education and training within the context of OPMS.

Meanwhile the Enlisted Personnel Management System (EPMS), the equivalent of that for officers, was being developed. A task force formed at the U.S. Army Military Personnel Center began to analyze the Army's enlisted career management fields (CMF's). It will examine the statistical opportunity for promotion and job progression patterns for each CMF and its related military occupational specialties. The Training and Doctrine Command will develop training for each CMF, and the Enlisted Evaluation Center at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, will refine the evaluation system to support each revised CMF.

The EPMS will be established by 1977. It will standardize career patterns; integrate personnel subsystems for training, military occupational specialty classification, evaluation, and promotion; and improve communication in the career management process. EPMS should increase job satisfaction and motivate soldiers to reenlist.

Pay, Leave, and Travel

The Armed Forces Enlistment Bonus Revision Act of 1974 expanded eligibility to all critical skills and increased the maximum bonus by $500. Payments of up to $3,000 are now authorized for

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four-year enlistments. The new law also replaced the Regular Reenlistment Bonus and the Variable Reenlistment Bonus with the Selective Reenlistment Bonus, which provided a maximum award of $15,000 but limited the bonus to personnel possessing critical skills. It also extended the period of eligibility from a maximum of S years' service to 10 years and structured the eligibility period into two zones (from 21 months to 6 years and from 6 to 10 years) so that a soldier could receive two bonuses during his career. Notwithstanding the basic provisions of the new law, the Department of Defense authorized up to $2,500. for the enlistment bonus and $12,000 for each selective reenlistment bonus.

Congress also approved a new Variable Incentive Pay program that offers medical officers as much as $13,500 in incentive pay for each additional year of active duty. For aviators the Aviation Career Incentive Act of 1974 more equitably distributed flight pay and is better suited to attracting and retaining officer aviators.

In October 1973, the Comptroller General of the United States approved the documentation for the Army's portion of the joint Military Pay System (JUMPS) as meeting all Department of Defense and General Accounting Office requirements. As the first of the services to receive such approval, the Army continued to improve pay service. Becoming more proficient in the system and applying quality control measures, Army finance offices virtually eliminated backlogs in processing pay changes. The Army-wide average of pay transactions rejected by the computer at the U.S. Army Finance and Accounting Center declined from a high of 3.5 percent at the beginning of the fiscal year to an all-time low of 1.6 percent. in June 1974. These percentages were based on approximately 1,100,000 transactions per month.

Also reduced was the number of end-of-month cash payments caused either by processing failures at the Finance and Accounting Center or by pay errors made in the field. In June 1973 local cash payments were made to 1.6 percent of the Army, but less than 0.5 percent received them a year later. Errors that necessitated these cash payments were almost evenly divided between soldiers and finance offices.

Another indicator of an improved pay system was found in congressional inquiries on soldiers' pay complaints. On the average, of forty congressional inquiries received monthly, only seven were identified with JUMPS. Of these, only two were valid and had to be corrected.

As in fiscal year 1973, the Office of the Secretary of Defense submitted a comprehensive proposal to modernize the retirement

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benefits of the military services. The principal change from the previous Defense plan, described in last year's summary, is the integration of military and social security retirement benefits at age sixty rather than at age sixty-five. Congress has yet to act on the Defense proposal.

On 2 January 1974 the Army extended permanent change of station travel entitlements, including dependent travel, transportation of household goods and privately owned vehicles, trailer allowance, dislocation allowance, and overseas station allowance to all E-4's with over two years of service. These soldiers could also request overseas commanders to sponsor their dependents in the same manner as members in higher grades.

As the fiscal year ended, the Army reduced the need for interim family moves when a soldier is assigned overseas. Concurrent travel is encouraged if government quarters or suitable foreign housing is available within thirty days after arrival. Deferred travel is approved if accommodations are available within 31 to 140 days. Families can remain in stateside government quarters up to 140 days after soldiers depart for overseas or 60 days after their overseas reporting date if there is temporary duty en route.

In other matters affecting pay, leave, and travel, the Army discontinued all Class Q allotments upon the expiration of the Dependents Assistance Act on 1 July 1973; canceled the thirty day special leave program, a Vietnam War measure, on 30 June 1973; and put into Army-wide use a simplified leave form designed to improve leave accountability. Meanwhile Congress authorized a travel and transportation allowance for members of the armed forces between consecutive oversea assignments, one of which is without dependents, to permit them to travel to the family residence and assist in moving. In the same legislation Congress provided additional leave and travel benefits for bachelors.

Equal Opportunity and Minority Recruitment

Under provisions of Public Law 93-177, signed by President Nixon on 6 December 1973, the Secretary of the Army will pay $25,000 to veterans dishonorably discharged as a result of an incident that occurred in Brownsville, Texas, on 13 August 1906 (see last year's summary for a description of the incident). The law also authorizes $10,000 for unremarried widows of the veterans. Supporting the legislation, the Army has paid $95,000 to one surviving veteran and seven unremarried widows.

Planning is under way for a new training program at the Defense Race Relations Institute (DRRI) for equal opportunity staff

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officers and specialists. This training will consist of a five-week theory course taught by DRRI instructors and six weeks of Army-oriented instruction taught by resident Army faculty. Courses will begin early next year.

The Army held its third worldwide Race Relations and Equal Opportunity Conference at Fort Monroe, Virginia, on 16 and 17 January 1974. Discussing current problems and future direction, conferees submitted 138 recommendations, which the Army staff is now considering.

Several Army regulations were strengthened. A revision of AR 600-21, Race Relations and Equal Opportunity, requires planning for positive race relations and equal opportunity and for monitoring compliance with the regulation. Changes in AR 600-18, Equal Opportunity in Off-Post Housing, help local commanders deal more effectively with housing complaints. Sanctions can be placed on all properties of an owner who discriminates if the complaint is substantiated, and the complainant is given priority for on-post housing or allowed a compassionate reassignment. Policies governing race relations education were published in AR 600-42, dated 11 December 1973. This regulation requires race relations education for all members of the Army.

The Judge Advocate General's Corps continued its extensive minority recruiting program. As before, recruiting trips were made to law schools with a substantial minority student enrollment. Communications have been established through the National Bar Association to the Black American Law Students Association, and coordination with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), National Urban League, and the National Conference of Black Lawyers has begun. Under the Summer Intern Plan, ninety-eight law students, 30 percent of whom were members of minority groups, were employed as interns in the United States and Europe. At the end of the fiscal year 32 blacks, 19 women, 8 Mexican-Americans, 5 Puerto Ricans, and 6 Orientals were lawyers in the judge Advocate General's Corps.

To increase the number of minority group officers on active duty, the Army has concentrated on ROTC enrollments. In the 1973-74 school year, it offered ROTC at eighteen predominately black colleges and universities and allowed students at twenty-one other black institutions to enroll in ROTC units at other institutions. Minority recruiting billets have been created in the Advertising and Information divisions of the ROTC region commands, and contracts for minority recruiting assistance have been awarded to the NAACP, the American GI Forum, and the National Urban

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League. As a result of all these measures, ROTC minority enrollment for the 1973-74 school year increased from 17.4 percent to 22.3 percent.

The number of women in the Army increased this past year to 26,000, exceeding the goal of 25,400 and some 17 percent higher than that for the previous year. The enlistment goal of 14,400 for the Women's Army Corps (WAC) was also exceeded.

Opportunities for women expanded concurrently. Flight training, parachute rigging, automotive and aircraft mechanics, and law enforcement were opened to them. Women are now eligible to serve in 430 of the Army's 467 military occupational specialties and only combat-related specialties remain closed.

Illustrative of the Army's determination to make better use of women is what is happening in law enforcement. Last year the Army began to integrate women into the law enforcement career group. Now more than 400 Wacs have completed training and are performing military police (MP) duties all over the world. An additional 180 women are in training. Restrictions on assigning women to combat support military police units, to security duties, and to duties requiring the handling of dogs have been removed. By year's end, military policewomen had joined each of the Army's MP battalions and two division MP companies; airborne training and assignment had been opened to enlisted women; military policewomen had been assigned to security duties at Seneca and Sierra Army Depots and Dugway Proving Grounds; and eleven women were in training at Lackland Air Force Base for sentry duty and handling dogs trained in marihuana detection.

The ROTC program for women increased this past year from a pilot program at 10 colleges involving 212 cadets to 3,098 women at 262 institutions. Women in Junior ROTC reached 22,780.

Because of the rapid expansion of the Women's Army Corps, a second WAC basic training site was established at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. The other site, Fort McClellan, Alabama, continued as the home of the Women's Army Corps.

Most of the uniform shortages experienced during the early stages of the WAC expansion have been resolved. A study of women's uniforms is under way, and the objective is to make them more functional, yet more feminine.

Alcohol and Drug Abuse

Started in 1971, the Army Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Program is intended to reduce drug abuse through education, law enforcement, and community action; identify abusers early; and rehabilitate and return them to full duty. Dur-

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ing fiscal year 1974 the Army reviewed the program and made several improvements. It published a pamphlet entitled A Commander's, Supervisor's, anal Physician's Guide to Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and arranged for educational courses, some in cooperation with other governmental agencies and civilian institutions, for leaders in the alcohol and drug abuse program. Also, the Army added fifty-five civilian coordinators to the staffs of major installations as it expanded alcohol and drug treatment services for the Army's civilian employees.

While the problem of drug abuse in the Army has not been solved, progress has been encouraging. The rate of drug abuse as indicated by random urinalysis testing has gradually declined worldwide from 1.8 percent of those tested in July 1972 to 0.7 percent in May 1974, is currently 1 percent in Europe, compared to 3.1 percent in the second quarter of fiscal year 1973, and has remained stable at less than 1 percent in other oversea areas and in the United States.

Leadership and Motivation

During the past year the Army changed its approach to leadership instruction in service schools, replacing lectures whenever possible with the small group and problem-solving method of teaching. It also started a new program, Personal Effectiveness Training, to develop the junior leadership of the Army. Under this program, chaplains skilled in individual and group counseling instruct company commanders and noncommissioned officers on how to create a conducive climate for leaders to care for their soldiers. Eighteen Training and Doctrine Command installations and eleven Force Command posts have used the program, and plans are under way to incorporate it in the curriculum of the Army's Drill Sergeant schools. While this training has not been fully assessed, attitudinal surveys at participating posts are favorable.

In April 1974 the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel approved an expanded concept of military personnel management that emphasizes human resources development. Also this past year the Army carefully staffed the Personnel and Administration Combat Development Activity, a newly formed agency that is responsible for developing leadership and management doctrine.

Crime, Discipline, and Military Justice

The Army during the past year simultaneously worked to prevent crime, improve its law enforcement capabilities, refine crime

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reporting procedures, and spread the word that crime prevention is everybody's business.

In the fight against crime, the Army strengthened its regulations. AR 190-31, Department of the Army Crime Prevention Program, was published on 15 October 1973. Providing overall guidance, this regulation specifies milestones for measuring progress in crime prevention. AR 190-30 on the Army's Military Police Investigator (MPI) Program was revised to delineate responsibility for investigating crimes involving possession and use of nonnarcotic controlled substances and improve coordination between military police investigators and the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command.

Meanwhile the Army has nearly doubled the number of qualified investigators, from 441 to 865. Women have been added, and seven are now working as investigators. The qualifications of investigators have also improved. Higher personnel standards have been set, and formal instruction is being given to those investigators who acquired their status through on the job training.

During 1974 several forms used in the Law Enforcement Reporting Subsystem of the Military Police Management Information System were improved to include color-shading, carbon packs, and highlighting of key subject areas. The revised forms provide for more consistent, timely, and precise reporting of law enforcement information.

In November 1973 the Army authorized the installation of recording devices at military police desks to provide an uncontroverted record of emergency communications. Public announcements have been made of the use of these recording devices, and restrictions on access to them have been established.

As noted in last year's report, efforts are under way to make better use of dogs. While requirements for sentry duty and for the detection of narcotics and contraband are expected to remain steady, there will be an expanding need for multipurpose patrol dogs. As of 30 June 1974, 216 military police patrol dogs were authorized and 152 assigned. Eighty dogs were authorized for the detection of narcotics and contraband and sixty-nine assigned. For sentry dogs the authorization of 322 was less than the 431 assigned because of the discontinuation of the Army Air Defense Command (ARADCOM).

Although the effects of the Army's improvements in law enforcement cannot be measured individually, the statistical record shows that the Army is holding its own in preventing crime and maintaining discipline. Crimes of violence during fiscal year 1974 held

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steady at 7.98 incidents per thousand as compared to 7.83 during fiscal year 1973. Crimes against property rose from 50.8 incidents per thousand in fiscal year 1973 to 55.02 in the past year. Indexes of poor discipline, however, were down. The AWOL (absent without leave) rate dropped from 159.2 to 131.25 incidents per thousand, an 8 percent decrease. The desertion rate dropped from 52.1 incidents per thousand to 41.5, down 20 percent.

The number of Army personnel tried by courts-martial for the past two fiscal years was as follows:

PERSONS TRIED BY COURTS-MARTIAL IN FISCAL YEAR 1973

^a 900 of these were special courts-martial where a bad conduct discharge was included in the approved sentence.

PERSONS TRIED BY COURTS-MARTIAL IN FISCAL YEAR 1974

^a 1,249 of these were special courts-martial where a bad conduct discharge was included in the approved sentence.

In the twelve-month period beginning 1 December 1972, 41,792 Army people (39,818 military and 1,974 civilian employees and dependents) were charged with offenses subject to the jurisdiction of foreign courts. Of the 18,659 charges against military personnel in which the host country had primary jurisdiction, Army authorities obtained waivers for 17,614, a rate of 94.4 percent. As of 30 November 1973, 111 Army personnel were in foreign confinement.

During June 1974 the Army tightened its control over access to the FBI National Crime Information Center (NCIC) computerized criminal histories file. Access is limited to Army law enforcement and criminal justice agencies discharging official responsibilities, and it must be arranged through a single Army NCIC terminal located at the Crime Records Directorate, Fort Holabird, Maryland.

Because of the importance of administrative due process and in response to recommendations made by the Department of Defense Task Force on the Administration of Military justice, changes were made in the administration of military justice during the past year. The serviceman's rights in a nonjudicial punishment proceeding have been expanded to include the right to seek advice from legal counsel, to have an open hearing, and to have punishment,

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with the exception of reduction in rank or forfeiture of pay, stayed pending appeal. A test program for the limited selection of courtsmartial members on a random basis was begun at Fort Riley, Kansas. Defense counsel offices have, where possible, been physically separated from those of the staff judge advocate and trial counsel to aid in dispelling the perception of some soldiers that defense counsels were in effect "company men." The Legal Center Concept, a program that consolidates command legal offices in a geographical area with the staff judge advocate as the nucleus, was implemented Army-wide on an optional basis.

In addition, the military magistrate program, following a successful test, was being considered for Army installations with large, pretrial prisoner populations. Under the program the general courts-martial convening authority exercising control over an installation confinement facility would delegate his power to release individuals from pretrial confinement to an appointed magistrate. The military magistrate could order the release from pretrial confinement of any prisoner where confinement would not meet the legal requirements set forth in the manual for courts-martial. The magistrate would consider all facts surrounding the case and interview each accused placed in pretrial confinement within seven days of initial incarceration. Thereafter, the military magistrate would review each case of pretrial confinement not less than every two weeks to determine whether continued pretrial confinement was warranted.

Civilian Personnel

Despite reorganizations and reductions, Army civilian strength increased slightly (less than 1 percent) to 441,258 on 30 June 1974, a reversal of the steady declining trend since Vietnam peak employment in fiscal year 1969. This year's increase occurred primarily as the result of converting some stateside positions from military to civilian.

Civilian employment overseas declined, but at a substantially slower rate than before. The mix of the overseas work force continued to shift toward a higher proportion of U.S. citizens because of the increased use of military and civilian dependents. U.S. citizens represented 16 percent of the 99,715 civilians employed overseas, compared with only 12 percent last year.

In carrying out the various reorganizations and base closures of the past two years, the Army has sought to reduce the effects on civilian employees. Beneficial in this regard has been Public Law 93-39, which permits employees of an agency undergoing a major

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reduction to retire earlier than would otherwise be possible. With 4,500 resultant early retirements coupled with 8,500 others the Army last year was able to retain many young employees who otherwise would have been involuntarily separated. Few employees who were geographically mobile were separated without an offer of continuing employment.

Last year 9,842 military jobs were converted to civilian positions. These positions were in support activities such as medical care, clerical work, motor transport, food service, and law enforcement. The conversion not only freed military personnel for strictly military duties but also helped to reduce the effects of reorganizations and reductions by making jobs available for civilian employees who would otherwise have been separated.

The Army continued to monitor and control the grade average of white collar civilian workers. Since the beginning of the grade control program in fiscal year 1971, the Army's average General Schedule grade has been reduced from 7.75 to 7.50, with a resulting annual savings of $79 million.

The Army maintains civilian career programs for employees in eighteen professional and technical occupations, such as science, engineering, automatic data processing, and financial management. These programs provide for the recruiting and training of career interns, further training, development, and counseling as employees progress in their careers, and Army-wide consideration for top-level jobs. A total of 71,000 careerists, including 85 percent of upper level white collar employees, are currently covered by these career programs. Management has been consolidated under the newly established Civilian Career Management Agency, which provides centralized support to the top executives responsible for each career field. Using a centralized data bank, these executives annually review employees' records and evaluate their progress. The centralized data bank is also used to establish lists of employees who are eligible for promotion or for reassignment to vacant jobs worldwide. In related areas, the Army is realistically projecting intern requirements, reducing losses among interns, and insuring that nonprofessional employees with high potential are considered for intern positions.

In August 1973, the Office of Management and Budget selected the Department of Army as one of twelve federal agencies to conduct a special executive development program during fiscal years 1974 and 1975. As part of this program, the Army has identified 3,832 executives and mid-level managers to receive special training

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and developmental assignments and has prepared career plans for them. The training is now under way.

Advancement opportunities for minority and women employees continued to improve. The average grade gap for minorities decreased slightly during the past year, and two minority employees received promotions to supergrade positions. Minority interns recruited for career programs increased by 35 percent and women interns by 38 percent. The percentage of the work force composed of Spanish-speaking employees also increased.

During fiscal year 1974 the Army employed 14,493 Vietnam veterans, one of every four persons hired and considerably more than the 9,688 hired last year. About a quarter of the veterans hired during the fiscal year were appointed under a work-training program especially designed for them.

To improve the attractiveness of a military career, the Army has made a special effort to hire dependents. In the United States wives and children are informed of Army job opportunities and are encouraged to compete for vacancies. Overseas the Army has permission from the Civil Service Commission to give employment preference to military dependents for positions to be filled locally. As a result, appropriated fund employment of dependents overseas increased substantially during the year to 6,705. Most employed dependents reside in Europe, where they are almost half of the U.S. citizen work force paid from appropriated funds. Additionally, many jobs in nonappropriated fund activities are opened to dependents.

The Army has improved personnel services for nonappropriated fund managers and employees who provide recreation and entertainment for the military. With these services centralized at installation level, managers and employees now have a reliable source of information about the proper application of laws and regulations pertaining to them.

The number of Army employees represented by labor unions declined during fiscal year 1974 for the first time since unionization was permitted in 1962. On 30 June 1974 there were 722 exclusive bargaining units covering 213,037 civilian employees, compared to 740 units and 221,852 employees in 1973. This decrease is the result of Army reorganizations and reductions in strength, which in some cases eliminated organizations with recognized bargaining units.

In complying with a new U.S. Civil Service Commission requirement, the Army began to review its regulations to revise those that unnecessarily restricted labor management bargaining. By the end of the year local installations Army-wide could negotiate agree-

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ments with unions without prior review by Headquarters, Department of the Army. After the agreements are put into effect, major commands will review them to assure compliance with laws and regulations.

Since the start of the labor management relations program in 1962, the Army has trained more than 8,200 civilian and 4,900 military managers and supervisors. Within the last six months alone, and in connection with the delegation of authority to local commanders to sign labor agreements, the Army conducted eleven executive labor relations seminars attended by 600 major commanders, installation commanders, and key managers. In recognition of the quality of its labor relations training, the Army was named the executive agent for establishing and running a Department of Defense Center for Labor Management Training beginning in fiscal year 1975.

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