Department of the Army Historical Summary: FY 1981

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Human Resources Development

The field of human resources development in the Army encompasses almost all programs designed to improve the standard of living, education, leadership, and morale of Army personnel. It also includes preventive and remedial efforts in the areas of alcohol and drug abuse, accident prevention, discipline, and law enforcement.

To improve professionalism, the Army this year continued efforts to assure its officers and soldiers that they are important participants in a strong and vital arm of the nation's defenses and to show them in various ways that the Army as a whole has national support and a clearly defined mission and role. In July 1981, for example, the White House announced that President Reagan had created a new Military Manpower Task Force, whose goal would be to restore military people to first-class citizenship by awarding them better pay and new education benefits and, in general, by improving the quality of military life. The task force included several key White House advisers, all of the service secretaries, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the director-designate of the Selective Service System.

As it has since 1976, the Army this year used its Organizational Effectiveness (OE) program as one means of raising the quality of command and management practices. Almost 750 OE staff officers, trained at TRADOC's Organizational Effectiveness Center and School at Fort Ord, California, were available to assist unit commanders, especially those newly assigned, in setting goals, establishing methods of achieving them, developing leadership theory, and measuring unit progress. A principal objective of OE efforts was to increase a unit's combat effectiveness by making the chain of command more cohesive.

In the interest of promoting the ethical behavior of its leaders, the Army has developed a program of instruction in ethics for presentation in ROTC and basic officer courses. Given the importance of ethical behavior by all members of the military profession, a broader program of instruction is being developed for all officers and enlisted personnel. In a related matter, the Secretary of the Army approved the administration of an oath to commis-

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sioned officers detailed as inspectors general. The Inspector General had recommended the oath as a means of further identifying inspectors general as impartial fact-finders and problem solvers. The oath will also remind newly detailed inspectors general of their moral and ethical obligations.

Semiannual soldier opinion surveys used throughout the Army to assess command climate confirmed this year that a major turning point had been reached in the way soldiers perceived the Army. The career intentions of enlisted soldiers were higher than at any time during the era of the all-volunteer force, and more of them than ever before expressed a willingness to recommend Army service to friends and relatives. Their expressions of job satisfaction and attitudes toward their leaders showed improvement. Likewise, assessments by officers of the leadership of other officers and noncommissioned officers and of soldier morale, discipline, motivation, and trainability reflected significant progress. The career intentions of junior officers had also noticeably improved, and officers in general expressed greater satisfaction with their jobs.

This year the Quality of Life Program, after three years of planning and programming, at last received enough funding to make a noticeable difference for soldiers and their families. The living and working conditions of soldiers, especially in Europe, visibly improved.

The fiscal year 1981 budget provided a substantial increase in funds for the construction of family housing units and barracks, for the modernization of medical and dental clinics, for larger allowances for variable housing and permanent change of station, and for larger staffs and more supplies and equipment to support Army community activities relating to morale, welfare, and recreation.

This year the Army completed development of a resource packaging program titled "Personnel Readiness and Retention." Expected to cost $1.6 billion over five years, the program is designed to provide a balanced approach toward funding those needs of the soldiers that have the most affect on their intent to stay in the Army and their personal readiness to execute the Army's mission.

In the past, quality of life efforts have been handicapped in the competition for limited resources by the Army's inability to quantify the benefits derived from implementing the initiatives.

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There was no obvious way to measure soldier satisfaction and its effect on soldier commitment. To cope with this problem, the Army hired the Orkand Corporation, a consulting firm, to develop a model to forecast the effects of quality of life initiatives and the necessary levels of funding to achieve the greatest improvement in retention. The model is scheduled for completion in April 1983.

Apart from securing adequate funding, Quality of Life program managers have focused their efforts on upgrading family life. In October 1980 the Army Officers' Wives Club of the Greater Washington Area and the Association of the United States Army sponsored the first Army Family Symposium, held in Washington, D.C. Almost 200 delegates and observers attended, consisting mostly of Army wives from installations and units worldwide. The symposium resulted in the creation of the Family Action Committee, composed of wives from the National Capital Region who had served on the original family symposium steering committee.

The committee recommended several actions which the Chief of Staff later approved. The Family Liaison Office was established within the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel to oversee all family issues. The Adjutant General's Office opened a Department of the Army Family Life Communications Line in the Pentagon on 8 September 1981. This 24-hour, toll-free service within the United States, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico enables family members of active and reserve component personnel, civilian employees, retired personnel, and other service personnel stationed with Army elements to communicate directly with Headquarters, Department of the Army. Family members will be able to obtain information and referral regarding programs that affect family life. Major Army commands overseas are expected to set up an intracommand system by which appropriate calls can be referred to Headquarters, Department of the Army, for response by an Army staff or other agency.

In another initiative, the Department of the Army Periodicals Review Committee approved a quarterly family newsletter to be printed by TAGO and distributed to Army families worldwide. The Chief of Staff approved the basic concepts for a number of new job centers, career planning seminars, and a skill bank system. The Chief of Staff also directed the general use in Army publications of the terms family member or souse in place of dependent, and he issued a policy statement supporting the right of family members to be employed without limiting a service member's assignment or position in the government. The policy state-

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ment read in part: "The inability of a spouse personally to volunteer services or perform a role to complement the service-member's discharge of military duties normally is a private matter and should not be a factor in the individual's selection for a military position."

The fiscal year 1981 Defense Authorization Bill provided improvements in military compensation. It increased military basic pay and allowances by 11.7 percent, provided a family separation allowance for E-1 s through E-4s who are stationed overseas without their dependents, increased the PCS (permanent change of station) movement allowance for house trailers, increased TDY (temporary duty) per diem reimbursement from $35 to $50, and raised the limit on this reimbursement in high-cost areas from $50 to $75 a day. The bill also authorized substantial increases in military bonuses. It raised enlistment bonuses from $3,000 to $5,000, and reenlistment bonuses from $15,000 to $20,000. It authorized reenlistment bonuses, for the first time, for members of the Individual Ready Reserve and for active duty service members with ten to fourteen years of service. The bill also continued bonus authority for pilots, even though Congress appropriated no funds for this purpose.

The Military Pay and Allowance Benefits Act of 1980, which became law on 23 December 1980, provided an optional basic allowance for quarters (BAQ) for bachelor E-7s and above, and also set up a bonus pay, leave, and travel package for SIMOS personnel who extend their overseas tours. The act redefined Regular Military Compensation to include a new variable housing allowance (VHA) or overseas station housing allowance (SHA). Regular Military Compensation now included these allowances for subsistence.

The new variable housing allowance, which originated in the Nunn-Warner amendment that became law on 8 September 1980, is intended to help defray high housing costs for service members stationed in the continental United States. Personnel who are -not living in government quarters but are assigned to a permanent station are eligible to receive the full difference between the average housing costs in their area and 115 percent of the average basic allowance for quarters. Personnel assigned to a permanent station outside the continental United States, and whose dependents reside in an area within the United States where the average cost of housing exceeds the average basic al-

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lowance for quarters by 15 percent or more, are also eligible for VHA payments. The Department of Defense set funding levels this fiscal year, and the VHA will become an entitlement in fiscal year 1982.

The Nunn-Warner amendment also increased the PCS mileage rate from $.10 a mile to $.185 a mile, effective 1 October 1980.

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, which became law on 13 August 1981, change the semiannual adjustment of retired and retainer pay (which had been adjusted on 1 March and 1 September) to one that is annual (occurring on 1 March). Because of the new law there was no adjustment to retired and retainer pay on 1 September 1981. Such pay was scheduled to be increased on 1 March 1982 by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for the period from 1 January through 31 December 1981.

Federal law requires that percentage increases in survivors' annuities and in pensions subject to the dual compensation restriction (5 USC 5532) must be handled on the same basis as percentage increases in retired and retainer pay. Therefore, percentage increases in the survivors' annuities and dual compensation amounts have also been placed on an annual basis.

This fiscal year the Army continued to make progress in developing the effective and efficient management of resources and facilities used for morale, welfare, and recreation. With the concurrence of the Army Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Review Committee, The Adjutant General's Office established a users' task force to determine specific needs of the Army for information relating to the management, control, and .oversight of nonappropriated funds. Task force members, representing Army headquarters and the major commands, discussed reporting problems and changes needed to achieve greater uniformity among the major commands in the management of nonappropriated funds. A major step agreed upon was to bring all Army commands except Korea into a centralized automated payroll system for employees paid with nonappropriated funds. By the end of the fiscal year, among those commands slated for incorporation, only Europe remained outside the centralized system. In another major step, in July 1981, new procedures were instituted for the reimbursement of nonappropriated fund programs with appropriated funds. The Army is now using fewer nonap-

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propriated funds for operating expenses and ensuring that morale, welfare, and recreation (MWR) programs are administered in strict compliance with governing regulations.

During fiscal year 1981 The Adjutant General's Office nearly completed the establishment of the Nonappropriated Fund Central Banking Program in the United States. Under this program all cash resources from nonappropriated morale, welfare, and recreation funds will be concentrated at a central bank where they will be invested. Managers of morale, welfare, and recreation programs .will draw upon the funds as needed for operations or facility improvements.

Congress has recently taken an interest in the number of military personnel assigned to morale, welfare, and recreation positions, both full and part time, and has put ceilings on the number of such positions. This fiscal year the Office of the Secretary of Defense directed the services to comply with the legislation.

TAGGEN's Army Community Service Division this year continued to administer several programs designed to improve the quality of life of soldiers and their families. One focus of the division's work was planning for implementation in fiscal year 1982 of the Army Consumer Affairs-Financial Planning Program. The program will be organized parallel to federal, state, and local consumer protection offices. It will offer guidance to service members seeking consumer information and will be a mechanism for resolving consumer complaints.

In May 1981 the Army expanded its Child Advocacy Program into a Family Advocacy Program, which now includes services to prevent spouse and child abuse and neglect. The program is designed to help prevent, evaluate, treat, and report child and spouse maltreatment, including physical and sexual abuse and physical, psychological, and emotional neglect. The detailed objectives of the program are expected to be published in AR 6081 (Army Community Service Program) in June 1983.

As the fiscal year came to a close, the Army was preparing to conduct an "open season" to allow eligible retired service members to take part in or increase their participation in the Survivor Benefit Plan. Eligible members may enroll initially in the plan, increase their contribution, expand their current coverage to include their spouse as well as children, or elect coverage for someone with an insurable interest if the retired member has no spouse or dependent child. Congress, which authorized the larger program in August 1981, requires a two-year waiting pe-

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riod before the designated beneficiary becomes eligible to receive an annuity.

As part of its community support effort, the Army participates in the ceremonial activities of Arlington National Cemetery. In April 1981 the Army accepted ten Lippizan stallions as a gift from Tempel Steel Company. The horses belong to a breed with 400 years of military tradition. The ten donated horses are descended from a herd of Lippizans that General George S. Patton, Jr., saved from the destruction of World War II for the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. The ten horses will be used by the Caisson Platoon of the 3d United States Infantry (The Old Guard) for ceremonial purposes at Arlington Cemetery.

The Armed Forces Professional Entertainment Office (AFPEO), in conjunction with the USO (United Service Organizations), continued to provide live professional entertainment to the Army overseas. Among the many entertainers sent abroad were Suzanne Somers, the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, Miss America, Miss Black World, the Crown Beauties of Soul, a troupe of former Miss Black Americas, and television star Norman Fell.

In October 1980 the Department of Defense assumed complete responsibility for the administrative processing of all touring groups selected by AFPEO and the USO. The USO agreed to provide press releases for all touring groups selected by AFPEO.

In this fiscal year the Army Photography Contest became an annual event. The contest in September 1981 at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, produced 72 winners from 831 entries. The winners will be entered in the 18th Interservice Photography Contest scheduled for December 1982.

The Army Art Contest held every four years was judged 25 September 1981 at Fort Meyer, Virginia. The 193 entries from 10 major Army commands represented 33 CONUS and 68 OCONUS installations and sites.

This year the Army lost its two-year-old title at the twenty second annual Armed Forces Interservice Chess Championship, sponsored by the American Legion and the American Chess Federation. For the first time in twenty years of interservice chess competition, the sea services teams defeated both Army and Air Force teams. The ten-day event tested the chess skills of the six member teams that were selected in earlier intraservice competition. The event took place in the American Legion Hall of Flags in September 1981.

Teams and individual competitors in a variety of sports took part in interservice, national, and international championships.

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In interservice competition, Army victories included first-place finishes in track and field, boxing, soccer, and men's basketball. In international military competition, the Army was first in parachuting, helicopter flying, shooting, and boxing. SFC James Grant of Fort Bragg, the 1981 Army boxing coach, was selected as the National Boxing Coach of the Year by the USA Amateur Boxing Federation. Five Army boxers were selected to the 1981 All-American boxing team.

In 1981 the Army published a pamphlet entitled "Hazards in the Arts" to alert personnel in Army arts and crafts centers to the growing evidence of health hazards involved in exposure to many toxic art materials. In conjunction with federal health officials and agencies, the Army is looking for ways to minimize the hazards in its arts and crafts programs.

This fiscal year the number of Army libraries participating in the Federal Library Information Network increased from thirty-eight to forty-one. The Army purchased 191,318 clothbound books for its libraries and obtained 27,731 paperbound book kits of twenty titles each for distribution to military personnel without access to libraries. There were special purchases of children's books and Spanish-language publications.

This year the Army continued to increase funding for construction of a variety of morale support facilities. Most were sports facilities, but there were also two travel parks, five auto self-help centers, a craft shop, and two dependent youth activity facilities.

During fiscal year 1981 Army clubs had a total revenue of $256.81 million, a 7-percent increase over 1980. Sales increased 7 percent in 1981, up to $187.45 million. Net income increased 17 percent, up to $21.34 million (8.3 percent of revenue). The year's most notable progress came in food operations, which realized a $3.63-million net income (4 percent of sales) compared with a net income of $73,097 (.1 percent of sales) in 1980.

Braced by six consecutive years of favorable financial operating results, Army clubs were being renovated and built at an unprecedented rate in fiscal year 1981. At the end of the year there were fifty-two club projects in various stages of development, with $71 million in facility improvements scheduled over the next five years. During 1981 seven installations in the United States started new construction projects, and six others began renovations. Six projects were completed in fiscal year 1981. In Europe facility improvement projects costing $25 million were under way, and two club projects were being designed for the Army in Korea.

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Package beverage stores increased their net income 10 percent from last year, up to $18.59 million. The stores distributed $6.47 million for morale support activities, compared with $4.47 million in fiscal year 1980. This fiscal year the package stores retained $2.37 million for capitalization. Total store revenue was $115.94 million, a 9-percent increase from fiscal year 1980.

The Adjutant General's Office this year began a phased reinstatement of recreational (slot) machines in overseas areas where permitted under status of forces or other local agreements. Army clubs in the Kaiserslautern and Frankfort military communities received 250 machines. Profits from the machines will be used to improve the clubs and other recreational facilities.

The Army Bands Office conducted auditions during the fiscal year to find potential band officers for its new career management plan, which was begun last year. The office also developed several successful recruiting measures to assist USAREC in attracting potential band members. This fiscal year the Army also developed a doctrine for using bands at division and higher echelons in support of combat operations. To assist commanders in maintaining morale among their troops, bands will offer music whenever opportunities arise. When combat becomes intense, band members are to assume secondary duties: security of command posts, perimeter defense, traffic control, and security for prisoners of war. Commanders will also take every opportunity to use their bands to foster good will among civilians in zones of operations.

This fiscal year the newly appointed Secretaries of Defense and the Army published and disseminated policy statements outlining their commitment to equal opportunity. The equal opportunity staff at Headquarters, Department of the Army, continued to impress on all levels of command that fostering equal opportunity for Army minorities plays a key role in promoting soldier effectiveness and unit cohesion. The staff participated in several functions sponsored by Blacks in Government, Women's Forum, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Urban League, American G.I. Forum, Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Week, Asian-Pacific American Heritage Week, the National Congress of American Indians, and others.

The equal opportunity staff took steps in conjunction with TRADOC to revitalize the Army's equal opportunity training

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program. The Department of the Army conducted a program analysis of several major Army commands. The analysis resulted in a number of proposed policy changes to be implemented by the end of next fiscal year, including new and extensive instruction on countering sexual harassment.

Based on guidance received from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of the Army developed a Transition Year Affirmative Action Program Plan. Occupational series (job categories) were evaluated for representation of minority group members and women. Department of the Army representation was compared with civilian labor force data that reported the availability of women and members of certain minority groups with comparable skills. Where groups were found to be underrepresented in the Army work force, they were targeted for placement by numerical goals. Only four series were targeted in the transitional year. During a period when hiring restrictions were imposed, the Army succeeded in meeting or exceeding its goals for three of the four targeted occupational series in the majority of grade levels comprising entry, midlevel, and senior groupings.

The Department of the Army this fiscal year allocated 227 man-years and $6.2 million in administrative costs to survey its requirements for developing Federal Equal Opportunity Recruitment Programs. As a result, the Army identified each major operating component in the department that is required to develop and implement such programs and assessed the components' determinations of under representations, internal and external recruitment activities, interagency programs, and establishment of representative applicant pools.

In the area of external recruitment, the Office of Personnel Management delegated to the Army the authority to conduct its own examinations, to identify jobs that could be redesigned by requiring bilingual or bicultural capabilities or by not requiring fluency in English, to recruit at historically black colleges and at colleges with a high enrollment of women and minorities, and to support interagency clearinghouses in metropolitan areas.

The purpose of the Army's Severely Handicapped Affirmative Recruitment Program is to hire employees with severe handicaps, such as deafness, blindness, or missing extremities. The program is open to disabled veterans. In fiscal year 1981 the Army was not able to meet its goal of obtaining at least 1.5 percent of all new personnel with severe handicaps.

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The Army's continuing educational efforts seek to benefit the Army as well as to support the soldier's personal and professional goals. Army benefits encompass efforts to support readiness through improved professionalism and skill proficiency, increased recruitment and retention, as well as advanced technology expertise. Support for the soldier is aimed at increasing self-esteem and motivation; enhancing professional development, military effectiveness, and leadership abilities; and providing productive post service career skills.

In accordance with the fiscal year 1981 Department of Defense Authorization Act, the Army conducted one-year tests of four different post service educational incentives: loan forgiveness; a miniature G.I. Bill proposed by the House Armed Services Committee; a noncontributory veterans educational assistance program proposed by the Senate Armed Services Committee; and an "ultra" contributory educational assistance program. For a four-year enlistment during fiscal year 1981, a recruit could combine one of these initiatives with an enlistment bonus in selected military occupational specialties. The test goal was to assess the effect of these special incentives over and above that of the preexisting basic contributory Veterans Educational Assistance Program (VEAP). The Army, like the other services, already supports the concept of a G.I. Bill-a noncontributory college educational incentive program that would replace VEAP.

In fiscal year 1981 the Army favored a G.I. Bill that would double the monthly allowance for soldiers with six or more years of honorable service. It would also authorize the transfer of all unused benefits to children and spouses of active duty personnel with more than ten years of service. In addition, the Army believes that a provision benefit is needed to fill critical specialty shortages. At the close of the fiscal year, Congress was considering a variety of draft G.I. bills.

The Army Continuing Education System (ACES) provides off-duty voluntary educational opportunities and on-duty job related educational programs. ACES funds are administered by the Army Education Directorate, Office of the Adjutant General. These funds may be used to pay for off-duty college programs, vocational and technical courses, and skill development programs such as the Army Apprenticeship Program. The apprenticeship program allows soldiers to document their actual work experience and to earn a Department of Labor Journeyworker's Certificate upon successful completion.

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The Basic Skills Education Program remained the commander's primary on-duty educational tool to upgrade reading, writing, speaking, listening, and math skills that are related to duty performance. Provided at no cost to the service member, the program calls for maximum decentralization and flexibility so that commanders may mold content and delivery methods to fit command and mission requirements. The commander is encouraged to give priority of enrollment to those soldiers with the greatest chance for success and, therefore, retention. Improvements are under way which will enhance the program substantially in the next few years.

During the fiscal year the English Language Branch of the Defense Language Institute's Language Center at Lack land Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, completed a six-month residency program for 200 soldiers needing instruction in English as a second language (ESL). The institute also began a similar three month program for 151 soldiers to help in developing a long range Army policy for providing English as a second language. By the end of the fiscal year, some 5,800 soldiers had completed the Army's resident and nonresident ESL courses, which are part of the Basic Skills Education Program.

The Advanced Skills Education Program (ASEP) is intended to provide on-duty remedial education to noncommissioned officers (E-6 and above) and to improve duty performance. Regionally accredited educational institutions are normally awarded contracts for the development of ASEP courses to meet objectives determined by the installation commander and education services officer.

The Servicemembers Opportunity College Associate Degree (SOCAD) program consists of forty-five accredited civilian schools which offer off-duty college associate degree programs in sixteen occupational areas. Extension of the SOCAD program to Europe, the Pacific, and the Far East, scheduled for this fiscal year, has been delayed.

This fiscal year saw the beginning but not the end of a controversy over sharp reductions in federal financial aid to school districts that must educate large numbers of students from legally nonresident military families, especially those who reside on federal property and pay no local property taxes. The basis of Congress' rationale for providing this impact aid since 1950 has been that federal property is exempt from state and local taxation and that some local school districts depend on such taxation as their main source of education funds. Without federal reimbursement, in the form of impact aid, local districts are left with the choice

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of reducing the per-pupil expenditure for both military and nonmilitary students in the district, or raising local taxes on nonfederal real property, or eliminating the provision of a free public education to students from military families.

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of fiscal year 1981 provided $475 million for the Impact Aid Program, a reduction of $723 million from the previous year. In response to anticipated cuts in impact aid, several states and their local school districts prepared to charge tuition for the public education of members of military families. The Secretary of Defense, however, announced that no service member would be forced to pay for public education. He obtained a commitment by the Department of justice to take school districts to court to ensure that children of military families would be educated at no expense to their parents. The concerned state education agencies likewise expressed their willingness to pursue court action to obtain tuition fees in lieu of impact aid.

At the end of the fiscal year two states (Virginia and North Carolina) had passed tuition legislation, and their local school districts had taken measures to charge tuition to military families. The Department of Defense was having difficulty in finding a congressional sponsor for a bill to prohibit any state or local education authority from denying a free public education to children of military families residing on federal property.

In response to a request by the Chief of Staff, four additional states have granted military personnel and their family members resident status for tuition purposes at state colleges and universities. Thirty-three states now extend such support. Seventeen of the twenty-one states who were asked for such support this year, however, have declined to return a favorable response.

The Army Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Program (ADAPCP) is made up of prevention, identification, and rehabilitation services. During fiscal year 1981 a total of 26,385 active duty personnel entered ADAPCP treatment programs. Of those individuals whose treatment year (360 days) ended in fiscal year 1981, a total of 17,065, or 65 percent, completed treatment and were returned to active duty.

The Department of Defense recently contracted for a study of drug and alcohol abuse in the military which shows that, while the Army has a better record in this area than the Navy or Marine Corps, its record does not match that of the Air Force. Of those

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Army personnel who responded to the survey, 24 percent admitted at least some incidents of work impairment in 1979 and early 1980 because .of alcohol use, and 22 percent (E-1 to E-5 only) because of drug use. Drug use occurred almost entirely among personnel in pay grades E-1 through E-5. Overall, the survey showed that military personnel had about the same incidence of drug and alcohol use as the civilian population. One notable exception was the much greater use of amphetamines and other "uppers" among 18-25 year olds in the military.

For the first time in two years several types of accidents in the Army increased during this fiscal year. Army motor vehicle accidents increased slightly from 5,194 to 5,208, although the accident rate decreased from 5.1 to 4.8 per one million miles traveled. Army Class A aviation accidents increased slightly from 37 last fiscal year to 43 in fiscal year 1981, and the Class A aviation rate rose slightly from 2.41 to 2.6 per 100,000 flying hours. The number of destroyed aircraft increased from 31 to 36. Accidents in privately owned vehicles increased from 1,860 to 1,863.

In spite of the increased accidents, however, fatalities decreased. This fiscal year the Army experienced a 15-percent reduction in fatalities, from 549 to 466, the lowest number recorded in many years. This was primarily the result of an overall reduction in military personnel fatalities from 504 to 415, an 18percent decline. Deaths in Army motor vehicle accidents decreased 27 percent, from 59 to 44. Army aviation fatalities remained at 26, the same as last year. Deaths resulting from accidents in privately owned vehicles decreased from 292 to 287.

The Office of the Director of Army Safety served as the focal point for further study and development of the Army Safety Program 5-10 Year Plan, parts of which had been scheduled for implementation this year. The office also assumed responsibility for assisting the ODCSPER in studying chemical agents and related munitions systems and for developing a radiation protection program throughout the Army to coordinate and resolve issues in occupational radiation exposure and related matters.

Discipline in the Army improved considerably over the last fiscal year, but progress was uneven, with some areas reporting continued problems. Worldwide, crimes of violence have de-

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creased 22 percent since the end of fiscal year 1974, and they decreased 4 percent in the past year. Crimes against property have declined 13 percent since fiscal year 1974, but increased 2 percent since fiscal year 1980. Marijuana use and possession has risen to an all-time high since 1974-10 percent higher than in 1.974 and 26 percent higher than in 1980. Other drug offenses decreased by 36 percent since 1974, and decreased 3 percent since fiscal year 1980. AWOL rates have dropped 59 percent since fiscal year 1974 and were down 13 percent during the past year. Desertions have dropped 61 percent since fiscal year 1974 and registered a 19-percent decrease this year over 1980 levels. Total courts-martial were up 13 percent. Nonjudicial punishment was up 3 percent, and separations other than honorable were up 3 percent over fiscal year 1980.

The breakdown of court-martial statistics for fiscal year 1981 is as follows:

*In 1,220 of the special court-martial cases, the approved sentence included a bad conduct discharge. Also imposed during the year were 156,497 nonjudicial punishments under Article 15, Uniform Code of Military Justice.

The indiscipline index at the following table provides a comparison of quarterly rates for offenses, punishments, and separations less than honorable since the beginning of fiscal year 1977.

Over the twelve-month period ending 30 November 1980, 78,751 U.S. military and civilian personnel and their dependents were charged with offenses within the exclusive or primary jurisdiction of foreign tribunals. Of the offenses charged against Army members, 14,625 were subject to the primary jurisdiction of foreign courts. The Army obtained waivers of jurisdiction in 14,201 of these cases, which amounted to a waiver rate of 97.1 percent. Of U.S. personnel confined in foreign penal institutions during the twelve-month period, fifty-eight were Army personnel, civilians, or dependents.

On 7 November 1980 the Army Chief of Staff approved the permanent establishment of the U.S. Army Trial Defense Service (USATDS), a separate organization providing military defense counseling throughout the Army. USATDS will continue to be organized as an activity of the U.S. Army Legal Services Agency, a field operating agency of The Judge Advocate General. On 15

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INDISCIPLINE INDICATORS-WORLDWIDE
(rate per 1000)

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September 1981 the Army issued a change to Army Regulation 27-10, Military justice, providing regulatory authority for USATDS. By 30 September 1981 approximately 215 judge advocates were assigned to USATDS and were stationed in field offices that serve all of the Army's commands.

During fiscal year 1981 USATDS continued to develop its capability to serve combat and combat support units. USATDS counsel participated in many local field exercises, in deployment exercises at Fort Irwin, California, and in a major REFORGER exercise with the 1st and 4th Infantry Divisions in Germany. The new organization also expanded its coordination with reserve units. Reserve defense counsel teams performed their two-week active duty training under the supervision of Senior Defense Counsel at ten posts throughout the continental United States.

On 15 September 1981 the Army published other important changes to Army Regulation 27-10: clarification of which personnel records of a convicted soldier may be presented to the military judge before sentencing, and a provision for the detailing of military judges from another armed service. During fiscal year 1981 the Army also conducted an extensive evaluation of AR 27-10, with an eye to a major revision. Major changes being considered deal with the administration of nonjudicial punishment and the inclusion of records of such punishment in a service member's personnel file. The revision is expected to be published next fiscal year.

Several amendments to the Manual for Courts-Martial were put into effect by Executive Orders 12306 and 12315, signed on 1 June 1981 and 29 July 1981 respectively. The most significant change dealt with producing witnesses during the sentencing portion of a court-martial. The change recognized that the requirement for the personal appearance of a witness during sentencing differed substantially from when the testimony of a witness is offered on the merits. This change allows evidence on sentencing to be produced through oral depositions, written interrogatories, and former testimony.

This fiscal year the joint Services Committee, composed of representatives from all the services, worked toward a complete revision of the Manual for Courts-Martial. The goal is to complete the revision in fiscal year 1983.

On 14 May 1981, a bill was introduced in the Senate (S. 1181) which would amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to permit the general court-martial convening authority to place on involuntary excess leave those service members who have received a punitive discharge and are awaiting appellate review of

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their court-martial; establish a two-year statute of limitations on petitions to The Judge Advocate General for review under Article 69, UCMJ; allow service secretaries to define, by regulation, the reasonable availability of individually requested military counsel; as well as several other changes. At the close of fiscal year 1981, passage of the bill was imminent.

On 9 March 1981 the Army established the U.S. Army Military Police Operations Agency (USAMPOA), a field operating agency under the staff supervision of the DCSPER, for one year pending the completion of an ODCSPER study to determine the best organizational structure for all agencies of Army law enforcement. The USAMPOA assumed responsibility for several functions formerly performed by the ODSCPER Law Enforcement Division, which has been renamed the Office of Army Law Enforcement. The mission of the USAMPOA is to monitor implementation of Army law enforcement policy, to develop and promulgate military police operational and technical guidance, and to disseminate this guidance to other Army law enforcement elements.

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