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Who Should Read This Report and Why? DoD civilian and military personnel who are responsible for the management of military personnel should read this report. The report discusses senior enlisted manning deficiencies and how Navy policies and procedures can be modified to help identify and correct those deficiencies.
Background. During March 2003, the Commander, U.S. Atlantic Fleet and the Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet deployed operating forces to the Commander, U.S. Central Command in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. This report discusses manning levels of Navy senior enlisted personnel for 14 units among those forces. Those 14 units were assigned personnel through the manning and distribution processes established within the Navy Manpower, Personnel, and Training process.
Results. We visited 14 Navy units at 5 locations and evaluated their senior enlisted manning levels for March 2003 when they deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. According to Navy officials, all 14 units met the Navy-required readiness levels to accomplish their missions. However, senior enlisted manning levels are not measured when assessing a unit’s readiness level. Four of the units we visited had deployed with less than 80 percent of their senior enlisted warfighting positions filled. Specifically, one carrier airborne early warning squadron and three strike fighter squadrons reported senior enlisted manning levels of 71 percent, 76 percent, 63 percent, and 72 percent. As a result, personnel in those units were exposed to a higher level of risk for mishap or injury during their deployment. Senior enlisted manning levels should be considered in determining a unit’s readiness level. Reviewing and updating Navy manpower and personnel guidance to clearly define acceptable manning levels, together with establishing procedures to alleviate senior enlisted manning deficiencies, will help to optimize personnel manning levels during future deployments and will correct the management control weaknesses we identified. See the Finding section for the detailed recommendations.
Management Comments and Audit Response. Comments from the Navy were received too late to be considered in preparing the final report. If the Navy does not submit additional comments by January 14, 2005, we will consider the comments received as the response to the final report.
Any comments or suggestions should be sent to: auditnet@dodig.mil