Department of the Army Historical Summary: FY 1993
9
Special Functions
In November 1992 the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) and the Chief of Engineers announced plans for a Corps of Engineers (COE) reorganization. The plans provided for closing five division offices and consolidating certain technical functions at approximately one-third of the COE districts. Strong opposition from members of Congress and local communities that would be affected by the reorganization delayed implementation of the reorganization. The plans were put on hold until the incoming Clinton presidential administration could review the proposals. At the end of the fiscal year, the plan remained under review by the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Funds appropriated for the COE Civil Works program for FY 1993 totaled $3,852,632,000, an increase of $184,499,000 over the previous fiscal year. Congressional action provided $3,677,632,000 through the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of 1993 (Public Law 102-377) and $175,000,000 from the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Relief from the Major, Widespread Flooding in the Midwest Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-75). At the end of the fiscal year, a total of $122,289,000 remained unobligated and was rescinded, reducing the total available to $3,730,343,000. This amount was augmented by $33,173,000 from the Coastal Wetlands Restoration Trust Fund and by $156,000,000 from Rivers and Harbors Contributed Funds paid by nonfederal sponsors under terms of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (WRDA 86), for a program total of $3,919,516,000.
As COE facilities aged and more projects were completed, the relative size and importance of the Operation and Maintenance, General, program continued to grow during FY 1993. This trend continued despite the changes in the law established under WRDA 86 that made operation and maintenance of many new projects a fully nonfederal responsibility. Of the $1,596,668,000 appropriated for Operation and Maintenance, General, 28 percent, or $446,164,000, was derived from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. This fund, authorized in WRDA 86, received fees paid for the use of harbors for imports, exports, and domestic coastal shipping.
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The COE authorized workforce for the Civil Works program in FY 1993 was 27,401 full-time equivalent (FTE) work years, or 324 fewer than in FY 1992. In February 1993 President Clinton issued Executive Order 12839, mandating a reduction of 100,000 FTEs in the federal government workforce over the next four years. The COE share of the reduction totaled 1,109 FTEs. Further COE reorganizations and cuts may be needed to meet a proposed goal of approximately 26,000 FTEs by FY 1999.
In FY 1993 flood control remained a top COE Civil Works priority. The great Midwest flood of 1993 was a natural disaster without historic precedent in terms of precipitation, record river stages, flood duration, extent of flooding, crop and property damage, and economic impact. Record and near-record summer rains fell on soil already saturated by the spring's snowmelt and precipitation. This combination produced flooding along major river systems and their tributaries in the upper Mississippi River basin in a nine-state region. River levels exceeded flood stage at approximately 500 official recording locations, and the U.S. Geological Survey gauging stations recorded enormous stream flows. Many locations remained above flood stage for weeks, and some were flooded for five straight months. The flood closed the Upper Mississippi to navigation for more than two months.
COE hydraulic and hydrologic engineers in the COE Division and District Reservoir Control Centers regulated the COE's seventy-six reservoirs in the upper Mississippi River basin throughout the flood to store floodwater and reduce the flooding damage. Altogether these reservoirs helped control a drainage area of 369,143 square miles. The COE estimated that these flood control facilities prevented $19.1 billion in additional damages during the floods. Augmenting the upstream reservoirs, the levees and floodwalls in the St. Louis metropolitan area prevented another $3 billion in damages, and similar flood control measures near Kansas City prevented $5.6 billion in damages to that city. COE flood control measures included providing 31 million sandbags to state and local authorities and repairing levees that had been severely damaged. By the end of FY 1993, COE estimates indicated that completing all repairs could cost as much as $250 million.
In FY 1993 the COE continued to maintain and improve the nation's coastal waterways. The COE oversaw more than 200 deep-draft coastal ports and channels, another 635 shallow-draft harbors (both coastal and inland), and nearly 25,000 miles of inland, intracoastal, and coastal waterways.
The COE annually removes through dredging approximately 300 million cubic yards of material from coastal and inland waters. Operation and maintenance (O&M) expenditures for the coastal and Great Lakes ports amounted to $523 million in FY 1993, of which $477 million was subject
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to reimbursement through the Harbor Maintenance Tax paid by commercial shippers. Another $109 million in federal spending went for new coastal harbor improvements, with an additional $88 million coming from nonfederal sponsors.
In FY 1993 the COE maintained 167 lock sites with 216 lock chambers, situated on approximately 11,000 miles of inland and intracoastal waterway system channels. The COE also began major rehabilitation on two locks on the Upper Mississippi River and four locks on the Illinois River.
During the fiscal year the COE had 8 dams under design, 8 under construction, and 567 in operation. The COE spent approximately $16 million in O&M funding on modifications of dams and repairs related to dam safety. Another $75 million in construction costs was spent during the fiscal year under the Dam Safety Assurance Program. Most of this sum ($60.2 million) went to fix seismic and hydrologic deficiencies at the Mud Mountain Dam, including work on its spillway and tunnel outlet and a new intake tower. The COE also ran a number of training and outreach programs to increase dam safety and help inspectors locate potential structural problems.
During FY 1993 the Army adopted a new environmental strategy to assist in administering more than 20 million acres at its military installations and civil works projects. In a Pentagon ceremony held on 19 November 1992, the Honorable Michael P. W. Stone, Secretary of the Army, and General Gordon R. Sullivan, Chief of Staff, Army, signed "U.S. Army Environmental Strategy into the 21st Century." The Army's environmental strategy defined the service's goals and described its four environmental pillars-compliance, restoration, prevention, and conservation.
In FY 1993 the Army reorganized its environmental programs to improve efficiency. At the secretariat level, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Logistics, and Environment and the newly created Army Environmental Policy Institute provided policy and oversight. However, at the Army Staff level and below there were three major organizations concerned with environmental issues-the Army Environmental Office (AEO); the COE Natural and Cultural Resources Division, Engineering and Housing Support Center (EHSC); and the U.S. Army Toxic and Hazardous Materials Agency. In early FY 1993 the Army decided to consolidate some of these offices under the Director of Environmental Programs (DEP), a newly created position. The first director, Brig. Gen. Gerald C. Brown, reported directly to the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management-also a newly established position-
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and was responsible for environmental issues. The former AEO staff became the Office of the Director of Environmental Programs. The general officer-level directorate's position within the Army Staff gave environmental concerns a strong voice and allowed for better coordination with installation managers.
In February 1993 the Army reorganized and redesignated the Toxic and Hazardous Materials Agency as the U.S. Army Environmental Center (AEC), located at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. The AEC answered directly to the DEP and implemented programs for pollution prevention, environmental restoration, and conservation of natural and cultural resources. The Army Environmental Policy Institute had taken the lead in developing the Army's new environmental policy, and in FY 1993 AEC became responsible for implementing the strategy. The Army wanted participation at all levels to fully realize its environmental strategy, and the AEC developed a plan to increase soldier awareness of environmental concerns. In December 1992 Army leaders approved the Army Environmental Training Master Plan to integrate environmental awareness and training into the Army school system. The plan included providing resources and training aids to address environmental concerns in units and other non-classroom settings found at most installations. The AEC monitored the training program and was scheduled to prepare annual progress reports. The U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) assigned the U.S. Army Engineer School, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, as the proponent for integrating environmental awareness into the TRADOC school system.
In January 1993 the Army established new procedures for better managing threatened or endangered species on Army installations. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service identified 118 federally recognized threatened or endangered species living on 100 Army installations in FY 1993. The number of threatened species was expected to increase as the Fish and Wildlife Service addressed the growing list of candidate species waiting for review. The most prominent of the already identified endangered species were the red-cockaded woodpecker at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Fort Stewart, Georgia; the desert tortoise at Fort Irwin, California; the sage grouse at Yakima Training Center, Washington; the black-capped vireo at Fort Hood, Texas; and Sanborn's long-nosed bat at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Full compliance with the provisions of the Endangered Species Act placed severe constraints on the Army's use of its land for training and other missions. The new Army-wide guidance established procedures for coordinating with the Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as with state environmental agencies. It also set guidelines for identifying new species needing state or federal protection and for the development of plans to manage endangered species and preserve critical habitats.
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In April 1993 the Army released a report to Congress that inventoried 190 sites throughout the United States and its territories that were identified as having a potential for containing old buried chemical warfare material. The 190 sites were potentially dangerous because they were used as burial locations for chemical munitions prior to 1970. Since that year the Army has disposed of chemical munitions through incineration at very high temperatures rather than burning them at lower temperatures or neutralizing them with lime before burying the materials. The general public did not have access to 144 sites because they were located on military installations, but another 46 sites were located in public areas. The report, entitled "Interim Survey and Analysis Report of the Non-Stockpile Chemical Material Program," stated that there was no immediate threat to the public and included the service's plan for safely managing the sites. The Army planned to conduct extensive investigations at each site to determine the appropriate measures for cleaning contaminated areas. Plans called for assessment and clean-up procedures to be coordinated with the Environmental Protection Agency and state environmental programs. The Army also informed the congressional delegations of the affected states, as well as governors and local area officials. The Army considered chemical materials produced during the era of the two world wars less hazardous than the recently produced chemical munitions currently stockpiled as a deterrent.
In FY 1993 the Army Energy Office continued to manage the Army Energy Program, with assistance from the Army Energy Steering Committee. The committee's members currently include representatives from the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management (Facilities and Housing Directorate); the U.S. Army Center for Public Works (Directorate of Engineering, Mechanical and Energy Division); and the Logistics Evaluation Agency. During the fiscal year the Army remained committed to managing its energy resources efficiently and continued its successful efforts to meet the energy resources management goals of the National Energy Policy Act and Executive Order 12759, Federal Energy Management. These efforts included reducing facilities energy usage (measured in British thermal units per square foot) by 17 percent. Overall process energy consumption was reduced by 34 percent, but this saving was largely due to closing the production line of an ammunition plant. Mobility energy consumption was reduced 26 percent. Financially, the total energy bill for the fiscal year was $1.176 billion, up from the FY 1992 energy bill of $1.13 billion.
To help encourage and reward prudent management, the Army presented Secretary of the Army Energy Conservation Awards to six installa-
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tions in August 1993. The U.S. Training Center and Fort Jackson, South Carolina; Letterkenny Army Depot, Pennsylvania; and USAREUR's 100th Support Group (Area Support) were winners in the active Army category. Idaho and Louisiana took first and second place in the Army National Guard category, while the 79th U.S. Army Reserve Command was the Army Reserve's winner. Competing against the rest of the federal government, Army installations and personnel won eight of forty-four awards at the 1993 Federal Energy Efficiency Awards.
On 3 February 1993, the Office of Government Ethics' (OGE) Standards of Ethical Conduct became effective throughout the armed services and the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. Publication of the OGE standards ended a piecemeal process that started in FY 1992 whereby separate OGE rules continually superseded elements of the Army's AR 600-50, Standards of Conduct. OGE's guidelines are generally the same as the Army's standards of conduct in setting standards for ethics training, financial disclosures, and other ethics issues.
On 30 August the Secretary of Defense signed DOD Directive 5500.7 and 5500.7-R, Joint Ethics Regulation (JER), superseding the remaining sections of AR 600-50 and the elements of any other Army regulation inconsistent with DOD policy. JER republished and supplemented the OGE standards and provided additional DOD guidance. JER represents the single source of ethics guidance within DOD, and the services cannot supplement the regulation. Although ethics counselors are now appointed through legal instead of command channels, the JER clearly establishes the commander's responsibility for ethics. For the first time, Army personnel have detailed and specific guidance on official and personal participation in private associations and rules on accepting travel benefits from nongovernment sources. Some sections of the JER are enforceable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), and administrative sanctions may be used for other violations.
The new ethics rules required a massive training effort. Requirements outlined in AR 600-50 were relatively general and lacked firm accountability procedures. Under the new guidelines the Army must submit annual training plans and reports on its training accomplishments to OGE. OGE may also conduct audits to check for compliance. In FY 1993 all military and civilian Army personnel were required to receive an hour's orientation on the new standards of ethical conduct. All new employees receive an orientation, and certain employees who file public or confidential financial disclosure reports must receive annual training.
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The number of courts-martial continued to decline in FY 1993. General courts-martial constituted more than half of all courts-martial. Charges involving drug use and distribution, murder, robbery, and sexual assault formed a significant percentage of the offenses before courts-martial. Table 13 represents military justice trends from FY 1989 to FY 1993.
TABLE 13-MILITARY JUSTICE TRENDS FROM FY 1989 TO FY 1993
|
|||||
FY 1989 |
1990 |
1991 |
1992 |
1993 |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||
Courts-Martial |
2,620 |
2,372 |
1,852 |
1,778 |
1,287 |
Rate per 1,000 military |
3.45 |
3.26 |
2.59 |
2.86 |
2.20 |
|
The rate of nonjudicial punishments given under Article 15, UCMJ, remained steady in FY 1993 at about seventy-six per thousand soldiers. Numbers and rates of administrative discharge actions, notably those under chapters 10 (in lieu of court-martial) and 14 (misconduct), AR 635-200, declined.
The United States Army Trial Defense Service (USATDS) continued to provide professional defense counsel services to soldiers throughout the Army during FY 1993. Trial service counsels represented 1,190 clients at proceedings conducted under Article 32, UCMJ; 982 clients at general courts-martial; 412 clients at special courts-martial; and 783 soldiers at administrative boards. USATDS advised 36,273 soldiers regarding nonjudicial punishment under Article 15, UCMJ, and 20,362 clients on a variety of adverse administrative actions. Despite a reduction in defense counsels, the service continued to operate more than seventy offices worldwide and supported the Multinational Force in the Sinai and troops in Southwest Asia, Macedonia, and Somalia.
On 11 February 1993, the CSA approved a recommendation to prohibit the use of "by law" beneficiary designations for Servicemen's Group Life Insurance (SGLI). The change required soldiers to designate their primary and contingent beneficiaries "by name" on new SGLI-8286 forms. The CSA's purpose in designating beneficiaries by name was to be certain that the Army carried out the soldiers' intentions for their SGLI benefits. The Army ensured that legal assistance attorneys were available to assist soldiers with legal questions about the SGLI-8286 forms or beneficiary designations. Attorneys also assisted soldiers (particularly divorced soldiers) wishing to execute wills that established trusts so their minor children could receive direct payment of their SGLI proceeds and other property. Soldiers completing new SGLI-8286 forms were encouraged (but not required) to provide the address and social security number of each beneficiary to ensure the beneficiary could be quickly located after a sol-
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dier's death. Although soldiers were no longer authorized to use the "by law" designation, they were not required to immediately change their otherwise current SGLI-8286 forms, even if they used the "by law" designation. These forms will be changed to meet the new requirements when soldiers routinely update their SGLI paperwork.
The Office of the Judge Advocate General Procurement Fraud Division closed 700 cases in FY 1993, with 1,152 cases remaining open at the end of the fiscal year. This number of open cases was the highest in the division's history. The total figure for suspensions and debarments was lower than in the two previous fiscal years, a trend consistent with the decreasing number of indictments and convictions of government contractors over the three-year period. The division recovered a record $72.5 million during the fiscal year. More than $19 million was recovered from the settlement of two major cases. Goodyear Aerospace Corporation paid more than $9 million to settle allegations that it had overcharged the Army for parachutes attached to bombs to slow their descent. The settlement was reached after six years of investigation and litigation. In the second case, Teledyne Industries, Inc., paid $10 million in compensation to settle allegations that it had provided the Army with electronic aircraft identification systems that were falsely tested or had failed testing procedures. In addition to a $5 million cash payment, Teledyne agreed to a recall, screening, and repair program to ensure the reliability of systems that had already been delivered. Other significant cases resolved during the fiscal year included the criminal convictions of nine defendants resulting from one of the longest criminal trials (six months) involving one of the largest losses ever suffered due to procurement fraud (more than $100 million). Sooner Defense of Florida was tried on charges relating to false testing and false progress payment requests, primarily on fuses for ammunition for the Army's Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Sooner Defense and five of its officers were found guilty of a total of sixty-two charges, including money laundering, wiretapping, bribery, and conspiracy.
Contractor fraud resulted in the largest environmental crimes case ever prosecuted under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1990. Chemical Waste Management, Inc., crushed and buried barrels of hazardous waste rather than properly removing and disposing of them as required by government contract. Chemical Waste Management provided $10.5 million in total compensation to resolve criminal and civil fraud allegations. This case also represented the growing cooperation between large government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and DOD in fighting fraud.
Prior to FY 1993 the Army's bid protest mission was split into two parts. Bid protests filed at the GAO were the responsibility of the Contract Law Division, Office of the Judge Advocate General. Bid protests filed at
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the General Services Board of Contract Appeals, in connection with the procurement of automated data processing equipment, were the responsibility of the Army Chief Trial Attorney, Contract Appeals Division (CAD). In FY 1993 the Army recognized the benefit of consolidating bid protest procedures. The Judge Advocate General integrated the entire bid protest mission at the Contract Appeals Division. With its new mission, CAD acquired one GM-15 attorney and two JAG attorney positions, along with one paralegal and a legal technician. The number of GAO bid protests grew to 355 during the fiscal year, 100 more than the previous year. The large majority of these were litigated after CAD assumed the responsibility for that mission. The active caseload of contract disputes before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals remained steady during the fiscal year at approximately 750 appeals. Of these, approximately 600 cases were Army appeals and 150 were from the COE. CAD also reviewed all performance and payment bonds for the Army. During the fiscal year the number of bonds reviewed decreased by 15 percent, from approximately 10,000 reviews in FY 1992 to approximately 8,500 in FY 1993.
During FY 1993 Chatman v. Shannon (D. Haw.) became the first Army case to go to a jury trial under the Civil Rights Act of 1991. The plaintiff alleged race discrimination when he was removed from the federal civil service and filed a civil action after the Merit Systems Protection Board upheld his removal. The jury upheld the Merit Systems Protection Board findings and returned a verdict favorable to the Army.
On 29 January 1993, President Clinton announced an interim policy pending a study of the ban on homosexuals in the military. The policy, referred to as "don't ask, don't tell," prohibited asking prospective recruits about their sexual orientation. On 19 July the President announced a new DOD policy that incorporated the provisions of the January policy and placed limitations on conducting investigations of alleged homosexuality. This policy became known as "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue" and clarified that only homosexual conduct was prohibited. Forbidden conduct was defined to include homosexual acts and marriages and making statements that identified oneself as a homosexual. Congress conducted hearings on the policy with a view toward legislating new military homosexual policy.
The case of Pruitt v. Cheney (9th Cir.) was one of three significant homosexual cases for the Army in FY 1993. Dusty Pruitt, a lesbian minister who was married to women on two different occasions, was discharged from the Army Reserve in 1986 after disclosing her homosexuality in a newspaper article. Pruitt sued, alleging her discharge violated her right to free speech and illegally discriminated against her because she was a lesbian. The trial court dismissed her case without reaching the merits of her claim. The 9th Circuit, on appeal, reversed and remanded the
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case to the district court, ruling that before Pruitt's challenge could be dismissed, the Army had to produce evidence to establish that the homosexual exclusion policy was rationally related to legitimate government interests. In December 1992 the Supreme Court declined to review the 9th Circuit's decision. During the remainder of FY 1993 Pruitt was amending her complaint before the district court to more clearly assert her equal protection claim.
In Cammermeyer v. Aspin (W.D. Wash.), the former Chief Nurse of the Washington National Guard, Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer, admitted on a security application and to a Defense Investigative Service agent that she was a lesbian. An administrative board recommended withdrawal of her federal recognition, and Colonel Cammermeyer was separated from the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve. She filed suit in June 1992, claiming the homosexual exclusion policy deprived her of equal protection and violated her rights to privacy and free speech. The government filed its answer to the suit in August 1993, and the case was ongoing at the end of FY 1993.
In January 1993 a federal court temporarily restrained the Army from discharging Maj. Joyce Walmer for homosexual acts in Walmer v. Department of Defense, et al. (D. Kan.). Knowledge of Walmer's homosexual acts came to light while she was a student at the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth. After referral to a show cause board, she admitted engaging in homosexual acts and the board recommended that she receive an honorable discharge. Walmer, however, claimed that the DOD homosexual exclusion policy lacked a rational basis and deprived her of equal protection. At the close of the fiscal year, Walmer's motion for a preliminary injunction was before the court.
In March 1993 the Acting Secretary of the Army, John W. Shannon, approved a Department of the Army Inspector General (DAIG) Special Inspection of Environmental Program Management report that concluded that the Army's environmental program lacked unified direction, with resultant confusion and wasted resources. The report recommended appointing a general officer at HQDA to direct and coordinate all Army environmental actions. This recommendation validated an existing proposal to create an Office of the Director of Environmental Programs, which was quickly established to integrate environmental policy and programs throughout the Army Staff and support agencies.
One of the DAIG's most significant inspections in FY 1993 concerned deficiencies in the Field Artillery force structure as well as command and control problems exposed during DESERT STORM. The inspections con-
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firmed that deficiencies existed, and DAIG produced options to resolve the problems. With the DAIG's encouragement, DCSOPS initiated an Army Science Board Ad Hoc Study, scheduled for completion in FY 1995, to consider the issues and recommend appropriate actions.
Another follow-up to DESERT STORM issues during the fiscal year resulted in the DAIG's creation of an audit trail to ensure that the Army implemented recommendations contained in the 1990/91 DAIG Special Assessment of National Guard Brigade Mobilization. Audit trails traced major reserve component initiatives from the originating source through the Roundout Brigade Task Force, Training and Leader Development Action Plans, and Title XI Task Force processes to confirm that the original intent of the DAIG recommendations was not lost and that all issues were addressed.
Other FY 1993 inspections or assessments focused on Total Army issues or responded to requirements from the Army's senior leadership. These efforts included assessments of the Army Safety Program, Operation RESTORE HOPE, stock funding of depot-level reparables, and reserve component training institutions. Areas under inspection included environmental program management, Advanced Individual Training and One Station Unit Training, and the Army's command and control of geographically dispersed detachments. Numerous technical inspections were conducted at chemical, surveillance, and reactor facilities, and, in conjunction with the DOD Inspector General, there was a special assessment of the use of live animals in research.
The DAIG's responsibilities continued to encompass investigating allegations against general officers, Senior Executive Service civilian employees, inspectors general, and officials in high-visibility positions. During the fiscal year the DAIG conducted 34 formal investigations and more than 160 preliminary inquiries. Of the thirty-four formal investigations, approximately 31 percent were substantiated. The most frequent allegations concerned fraud, waste, and abuse; questionable personnel actions; preferential treatment; misuse of government equipment and personnel for personal gain; misuse of government aircraft and vehicles; and sexual harassment and improper relationships.
The DOD waste, fraud, and abuse hotline resulted in 896 referrals to the DAIG during FY 1993, with a substantiation rate of 19 percent. The DAIG received 2,027 Inspector General Action Requests (IGAR) during the fiscal year. The active Army produced 30 percent of the requests, DA civilian personnel produced 14 percent, the reserve components produced 9 percent, and 46 percent came from unknown sources. Of the total IGARs, 640 we re for assistance and 1,387 were allegations, of which 250 allegations (18 percent) were substantiated. Nine hundred allegations (65 percent) were not substantiated and another 237 (17 percent) were not assigned categories
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(neither substantiated nor nonsubstantiated). The most common type of DAIG request, of which there were 559 (28 percent), involved personal conduct, including sexual harassment, discrimination, and nonsupport of family. Command and management problems, such as exercising undue influence or deficiency in soldier and family support, resulted in 324 requests, or 16 percent of the cases. There were 284 complaints (14 percent) concerning military personnel management issues (recruiting, reassignments, evaluation, promotions, and awards) and 235 complaints (12 percent) concerning civilian personnel management issues. There were also 138 IGARs (7 percent) involving finance and accounting issues.
As a result of the HQDA Transformation Study, conducted from October 1992 to January 1993, the Army moved followup and external audit focal point functions from the U.S. Army Inspector General Agency (USAIGA) to the U.S. Army Audit Agency (AAA). Upon completion of the transfer of functions and personnel spaces on 19 September 1993, the AAA's new Audit Followup and Compliance Division became responsible for managing and overseeing the effective execution of the Army Followup and Compliance Program and keeping the Army Secretariat and Staff aware of the status of Army activity audits conducted by the DOD Inspector General, GAO, and AAA. The DAIG retained responsibility for elevating unresolved AAA issues to the VCSA or the Under Secretary of the Army and unresolved DOD Inspector General audit issues through HQDA to the Deputy Secretary of Defense for resolution.
Doctrinal updates were one way the Army prepared for the twenty-first century, but in FY 1993 the Army also examined the role of technology in future warfare and the way battlefield leaders could use new technologies. The Army called this process the Louisiana Maneuvers (LAM) to acknowledge another intellectual movement, spearheaded by Generals George C. Marshall and Lesley J. McNair to prepare the Army for World War II. LAM identifies issues that today's changing Army must resolve and searches for common ground among the senior leadership (four-star generals who are also referred to as the LAM Board of Directors) for examining these issues and finding a consensus. Solutions developed through LAM may result in force structure changes and the fielding of improved technologies or weapon systems. LAM expects to take the information obtained from its studies and provide accelerated feedback to the senior leadership to improve decision making on priorities for funding initiatives. A small LAM task force in the Chief of Staff's Office connected the ARSTAF to MACOMs and joint commands to help coordinate and integrate changes.
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At the end of FY 1992 the LAM process identified over 200 issues for further study and refinement. A General Officer Working Group (GOWG) consisting of brigadier and major generals from the ARSTAF, MACOMs, and reserve components examined issues and presented the top twenty to the first LAM Board of Directors meeting in October 1992. Some of the "war-fighting" issues included headquarters above the corps level and joint task forces; military operations with unfamiliar forces; owning the night; battle command; and command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I). The LAM Board of Directors also deliberated Title 10, U.S. Code, issues such as force structure, equipping the force, mobilization and demobilization, and sustainment.
As FY 1993 drew to a close, the LAM Task Force prepared a new agenda for a Board of Directors meeting in October 1993. Several solutions explored and developed during the fiscal year were expected to receive approval at this session. One proposal was to use commercially available space-based equipment to improve command and control of force-projection battlefield operations. A second item was in-transit visibility, a program to track the movement of critical parts and equipment during unit deployments and sustainment operations. In-transit visibility is expected to enhance readiness of the Army's Contingency Force Package and ensure that supplies get to the right unit at the right time. Better logistics control is also expected to help lower overall stock levels in Army inventories because of the ability of such a system to stock and deliver more precisely what customers need rather than the older system's vaguer awareness of where and when needed supplies might arrive. LAM also worked with AMC to develop a computer system to support split-based logistics operations. Under this concept, instead of deploying a large logistics force to manage sustainment operations, much of the sustainment force could remain in CONUS to support the deployed force through a linked computer system that would facilitate the electronic exchange of information. This computer system would reduce the number of combat service support personnel deploying to a theater and free valuable transportation assets to move combat forces and supplies. Recognizing the growing role of the reserve components in force projection, the Board of Directors planned to examine development of a new modeling system that would help FORSCOM analyze and plan the mobilization and deployment of the reserve components.
LAM modernization projects during FY 1993 put direct practical benefits into the hands of the soldiers. Satellite-based multispectral imagery (MSI) provided units with up-to-date maps and terrain databases, allowing commanders to receive real-time reconnaissance photographs through digital transmissions. When deteriorating conditions in the former Yugoslavia alerted the Army to begin planning for possible deployment to
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Bosnia, unit leaders requested terrain information for training simulations, such as Brigade/Battalion Simulation and the Urban Combat Computer Assisted Training System (UCCATS). The Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Topographic Engineering Center used MSI and other data to build terrain databases. In less than three months USAREUR soldiers were rehearsing operations on simulated Bosnian landscapes. MSI is currently being assembled to create a UCCATS digitized terrain for U.S. forces in Somalia.
Another technology that the Army exploited during the fiscal year in preparation for potential peacekeeping missions was the use of prototype transmitters installed on Apache helicopters based in USAREUR. The transmitters send real-time images from crew sights and dedicated photographic equipment into command posts, where commanders receive immediate accurate pictures of a given situation. A similar prototype system, the Nightstalker, placed an elaborate sensor package atop an elevating mast mounted on a HMMWV. This prototype reconnaissance vehicle, which evolved from the border surveillance systems used for counterdrug operations in the American Southwest, was originally deployed to support intelligence collection in Somalia. Images from these systems could be transmitted over almost any communications system, making the information widely available to units. Army peacekeeping forces in Macedonia used another LAM technology to track the movements of their patrols and supply vehicles, also recording the motion of any vehicle or container moving in strategic, operational, or tactical environments during defined intervals.
Battlefield digitization was a major LAM initiative in FY 1993. The Army expected to use digital information technologies to increase the breadth and depth of command and control through near-real-time situational awareness. On 22 January 1993, the CSA endorsed the concept of digitizing divisions. During the fiscal year the Army's Battle Labs experimented with a number of procedures and systems to take advantage of the latest technologies in electronic and information management to greatly improve battlefield operating systems and the command and control structure. These systems are intended to link soldiers and commanders together in one vast information network, and digitization systems are expected to eventually be fielded from tank crews and infantry squads all the way up to the National Command Authority. In FY 1993 the Army's National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, evaluated the Inter-Vehicular Information System (IVIS), which improves tactical control of mechanized units. IVIS provided all crews in the same mechanized task force with current intelligence, the locations of friendly units, graphics, and incoming orders over tactical radio in digital bursts. This was accomplished in real time as soon as the information became available. Among
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other benefits, advanced systems such as IVIS are expected to help reduce the number of friendly fire losses in combat.
One of the LAM highlights for the ARSTAF was the General Headquarters Exercise (GHQx) 1993, held in August to test the ARSTAF's ability to allocate scarce resources in order to man, organize, equip, train, and sustain the Army elements provided to the combat theaters' commanders in chief (CINC). The exercise's name reflected General George Marshall's legacy and the World War II planning activities of his headquarters, although the ARSTAF is no longer a general headquarters organization. The ability to accomplish missions with limited resources became more important with the Army's continued downsizing. Following requirements laid out in the National Military Strategy, in the GHQx 1993 the ARSTAF planned resourcing for synchronizing and maintaining Army assets during two simulated regional contingencies. The GHQx 1993 coincided with two military exercises that simulated the two nearly simultaneous contingencies: FUERTES DEFENSAS in Central America and ULCHI-FOCUS LENS in Korea. These exercises provided added realism for the Army Crisis Action Team activated to resolve the problems generated during the scenarios.
GHQx 1993 was an effective means to evaluate the Army's wartime responsibilities and its ability to support multiple war-fighting theaters. The exercise confirmed that the Army needed early access to high-priority reserve component units and selected individual reservists and that it had to work with Congress to change the legislation controlling the Presidential Selected Reserve Call-up. The GHQx 1993 revealed problems concerning mobilization and deployment planning, as well as the serious obstacles to allocating scarce military resources to support two nearly simultaneous contingencies. The GHQx 1993 proved a successful tool for the Army leadership, and Army leaders planned a larger GHQx for 1994.
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
In FY 1993 Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) continued to provide leadership and citizenship training to high school students across the United States and its territories. During the fiscal year there were approximately 130,000 JROTC cadets in 1,142 high schools.
Since December 1990 the Army has served as the executive agent for the Department of Defense World War II Commemorative Program, in which role it established a committee to plan, coordinate, and assist in
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fiftieth anniversary events. With the assistance of a number of DOD agencies, the Commemorative Committee financed and distributed World War II educational materials such as videos, maps, bookmarks, and fact sheets during the fiscal year. The committee also assisted a number of private commemorative efforts undertaken by communities to honor the nearly nine million remaining World War II veterans. Although hampered by limited funding, much of the committee's effort in FY 1993 was aimed at preparations for the upcoming fiftieth anniversary of the Normandy invasion.
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Last updated 30 October 2003
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