Department of the Army Historical Summary: FY 1983

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Support Services

Support services and benefits that are attractive and improve the quality of the soldier's life help to recruit and retain quality personnel, a prerequisite for an Army of Excellence. This fiscal year support services ranged from education to heraldic activities, with special emphasis on expansion of family oriented programs-always of great importance to soldiers. Knowing this, Lt. Gen. Robert M. Elton, Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, pledged his full support to Army families when he stated in October 1983: "If we are to achieve an Army of excellence, taking care of the Army family is not just a nice thing to do-it is an organizational imperative."

To improve the living and working conditions for soldiers and their families, on 15 August 1983 the Army signed the Army Family White Paper. This document includes a clear statement of the philosophy behind the Family Program and states that a partnership exists between the Army and Army families to promote wellness and develop a sense of community. The White Paper provides for the development of the Army Family Action Plan to convert the philosophy into action. The insertion of this document into the Congressional Record of 6 October 1983 underscored its significance.

On 6 July 1983, the Army formed the Family Action Coordination Team (FACT) within the Human Resources Directorate (HRD), ODCSPER, to act as the Department of the Army staff proponent for the Family Program and more specifically to write, coordinate, and publish the Family Action Plan. The Family Program would replace single-issue policies which heretofore addressed each problem as a separate issue. In December 1983, the Army expected the FACT (comprised of action officers drawn from the various ODCSPER divisions) to become the Community and Family Policy Division, HRD, ODCSPER, and to retain its mission for the Family Program.

Between 25-27 July 1983, the Army conducted a family conference at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, with representatives of the Army staff, MACOMs, and outside agencies, such as the National

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Military Wives' Association, the AUSA, and the Noncommissioned Officers' Association. Employing the draft of the Army Family White Paper, the conference provided a baseline upon which the FACT was able to build the Family Action Plan. Central to the plan are sixty-five issues of concern raised during former Army family symposia/conferences. Including additional research, information, evaluation, and criteria for future initiatives, the plan represents a road map to move the Army Family Program into the 1990s.

The Army chaplain sees to the moral and spiritual development of the military community (the active soldier and his family and retired military personnel) and is responsible for the religious education and the pastoral care of the people he serves. Keeping in mind the welfare of the soldier, the chaplain conducts religious services, including those of worship, baptisms, funerals, religious missions, and retreats. In fiscal year 1983, the Army directed chaplain programs and activities either toward the service member and his or her family or toward the chaplains themselves to better enable them to conduct their duties.

This fiscal year, for example, the Army completed a Chief of Chaplains' study program, begun in fiscal year 1982, directed toward Korean spouses. The study, entitled "Pre- and Post-Marital Chaplains Ministry to Military Personnel and Korean Nationals", conducted by the Triton Corporation in Washington, D.C., resulted in an Office of the Chief of Chaplains (OCCH) Handbook on pre- and post-marital counseling procedures for chaplains that include recommendations about continuing programs for Korean spouses.

During February 1983, OCCH published its goals and objectives for fiscal year 1985-86 and submitted them to Army chaplains worldwide as a guide in preparing their own goals and intentions. The document included the following statement:

The mission of the Army Chaplaincy is to serve the military community and provide for its religious and moral needs through the exercise of spiritual leadership and the nurture of individuals; to support the right of every soldier to the free exercise of his/her religion; to affirm the extrinsic worth of all soldiers; to develop a chaplaincy responsive to the future requirements of ministry; to insure the acquisition of material and management of resources; to support total chaplaincy goals, and to achieve a state of personal and organizational readiness for the strategic deployment world-wide.

Appendix A to the guide contained a copy of the OCCH goals and objectives for fiscal year 1985-86.

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In April 1983, the Chief of Chaplains approved the development of the Chapel Activities Special Branch Insignia. A study group had been working on the feasibility of developing the insignia since October 1980. The Chief of Chaplain formally submitted the decision for approval and adoption in June 1983 to the DCSPER.

During the period 25-28 July 1983, the Command Chaplains held their 37th Annual Conference at the Rosslyn Westpark Hotel, Rosslyn, Virginia, to review and evaluate the past year's programs and policies with command staff chaplains, outline and discuss concepts and priorities for the future ministry programs, and develop short-, mid-, and long-range goals and objectives; to enable chaplains to perform a more dynamic ministry to Army soldiers and their families. The major issues discussed were supervision, civilian contracting, volunteer lay leaders, training, and Family Life centers. Participants included senior MACOM and Army and Corps chaplains worldwide, and guest speakers included Army Chief of Staff General John A. Wickham and Cardinal Terence Cooke of New York.

Between 24 and 30 April 1983, the Chief of Chaplains sponsored the 1983 Multi-Cultural Training Course at San Antonio, Texas. Eighty-nine chaplains attended the two-tracked course-thirty-nine in Track One and fifty-one in Track Two. Personnel from the Defense Language Institute (DLI), Monterey, California, conducted Track One, designed as an intensive language laboratory for battalion and brigade level chaplains who work with Hispanic soldiers. The course objectives were to enable the chaplains to participate in a limited way in a Spanish speaking service and to apply for the eight-week Spanish language course for chaplains. A keynote address, other speeches, and small group discussions composed Track Two designed for brigade, supervisory, division, installation, and MACOM chaplains. Here the objective was to familiarize chaplain participants with the Hispanic culture and to be able to identify areas of tension and conflict between blacks, Hispanics, Orientals, and whites as a result of the increased Hispanic population.

During fiscal year 1983, the Chief of Chaplains continued to express his high degree of interest in ensuring a feasible mobilization plan throughout the chaplaincy. Chaplain participation in LOGEX 83 and MOBEX 83 proved beneficial in identifying and resolving deficiencies in existing mobilization plans for chaplains.

Army chaplains took a number of initiatives in the area of religious education. They increased soldier/young adult, adult and youth short course materials dealing with basic Bible studies and topical themes. The U.S. Army Chaplain Board sought outside help to provide them with a resource tool to assist young

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soldiers and youth in their relationships. The result was the board edition of Friend to Friend by J. David Stone and Larry Keefauver, which provides a nonprofessional approach to peer counseling. The Religious Education Strategy and Planning Group alerted the field to needs of the future. These will include nontraditional models of religious education. Religious education strategy will emphasize the chaplain team ministry concept, standardization of job descriptions of directors of religious education, identification of the common ground in a pluralist environment, all aspects of volunteerism, and the direction of future military religious education.

In the Catholic pastoral field, three significant events in the chaplaincy occurred. First, the Catholic bishops published their Pastoral Letter on Peace in May 1983. The letter addressed two aspects: conscience and individuals personal service and the broader strategic policy of the Army. Immediately the Chaplain Board evaluated the influence and significance of the Pastoral Letter for Catholic service members and their families, and chaplains relayed this information to field commanders. The second significant event was the impact of the new Code of Canon Law updating adult Catholic curricula in the Rite for Continuing Instruction of Adults (RCIA). The third event was the attempt to strengthen the fraternaties of Catholic chaplains through spiritual educational workshops, thereby improving career retention and encouraging an increase in priest recruitment.

In the area of military pay, fiscal year 1983 focused on cost of living adjustments (COLA), retirement pay, benefits in divorce cases, a review of the military retirement system with its associated benefits, and the special and incentive pay system. Overall, however, 1983 was a year of pay retrenchment.

Changes occurred in the cost of living adjustment to retired military personnel. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1982 provided for limitations of nondisability retired pay cost of living adjustments for fiscal years 1983-85. Cost of living adjustments were to occur at thirteen month intervals-in May 1983, June 1984, and July 1985. Persons under sixty-two years of age were to receive half of the cost of living adjustment rather than the full adjustment, which would have matched projected consumer price index increases for those years. Further, for those retired military employed by the government, the Army offset (dollar for dollar) against their federal civilian pay their annual cost of living adjustments in retired military pay.

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Military pay adjustments still lagged behind private sector wage growth. Although wage increases reached 9.5 percent or 8.1 percent depending upon which Bureau of Labor statistics factor one examined, the FY 83 military pay adjustment was limited to 4 percent in keeping with the president's program to control inflation. Service members accepted this short-term departure from the principle of pay comparability with private sector wage growth because of a Defense Resources Board agreement to seek complete parity for FY 84.

The 1983 defense. authorization bill permits state courts to divide military retired pay in divorce cases provided that specific criteria are met. In many cases, the service finance centers make payments directly to the divorced spouse. Unremarried former spouses, who were married at least twenty years to a service member credited with at least twenty years of service, are also permitted continuing access to health care, post exchange, and commissary facilities. The law became effective on 1 February 1983.

On 1 October 1982 the Army formed the 5th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation (QRMC), a DOD study group, to review the military retirement system, with its associated benefits, and the special and incentive pay system. The president, who is required to conduct a complete review of the compensation system for members of the uniformed services not less than once each four years, called for the review. The review staff consisted of a director, Maj. Gen. Stuart H. Sherman, Jr., U.S. Air Force, and sixteen military members drawn from all the services.

Recognizing the importance of the review, the Army formed a review cell, on 10 January 1983, within Soldier Policy Division (formerly Compensation and Entitlements Division), Human Resources Development Directorate, DCSPER, to monitor the activities of the 5th QRMC. Serving as the focal point for all matters pertaining to the study, the Army review cell received, reviewed, and analyzed all review taskings; called on the appropriate agencies for input; and prepared and coordinated comprehensive Army positions on each issue provided to the 5th QRMC.

During the review of the special and incentive pay system, the Army responded to data requests on forty-one types of pay. In addition, the Army submitted three reasonable initiatives to the 5th QRMC for their review. These were higher parachute pay rates for soldiers who perform at dangerous high-altitude, low-opening parachute jumps (HALO), additional compensation for individuals assigned the responsibility of performing duties as jumpmasters, and Hazardous Duty Incentive Pay for soldiers involved with the physical handling of chemical munitions.

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To complete its review of the military retirement system, the 5th QRMC asked for three sets of force structure requirements by grade, years of service, and DOD occupational grouping. These were the actual force configuration on 30 September 1982; Objective Force (reduced to the fiscal year 1982 force size), which represented the best desired constant force profile that management could achieve under current financial constraints and manpower limitations; and Baseline Force (also reduced to the fiscal year 1982 force size), which represented the best desired constant force profile that management could achieve under current manpower limitations, but without financial constraints. For the enlisted force, the Army also submitted force structure requirements by mental category within skill level and DOD occupational grouping. As of 30 September 1983, the 5th QRMC was still conducting its review.

In the area of leave, funded emergency leave became effective 3 January 1983. Such leave authorizes space-available, round-trip transportation for service members and command sponsored family members on emergency leave from overseas locations to the United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or other U.S. territories. When government transportation is not available, passengers on emergency leave may use commercial transportation. Current policy allows family members to travel with the service members only when seats are available. This initiative also authorizes service members on a temporary duty assignment away from their permanent duty station to be paid round-trip transportation to the permanent station or other location.

As for travel, on 3 January 1983, the Army authorized household goods to be stored at government expense beyond 180 days, when orders direct TDY (temporary duty) in excess of 90 days or for an indefinite period. The previous law restricted all storage government expense to 180 days.

The Army made progress in several areas of housing and homeowners assistance, this year. These include reviewing housing policy to allow for greater flexibility; improving housing management; increasing construction, improvement, and repair programs; providing more and better housing for military families; and conducting economic analyses for housing alternatives. This fiscal year the Army's Housing Policy Team revised policies governing Unaccompanied Personnel Housing (UPH) and Housing Referral Services (HRS). The team changed the underlying philosophies of UPH policy by delegating more exception authority

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to local commanders; amending eligibility priorities to take care of "paying customers" first (e.g., bonafide single soldiers and personnel on official TDY) and authorizing the use of nonappropriated funds to maintain, repair, and operate transient facilities when appropriated funds are not available. Similarly the Housing Policy Team consolidated two HRS regulations into one thereby clarifying and simplifying housing referral plans and procedures by removal of all Army imposed reporting and operating instructions and requirements.

As executive agent for all military services, the Army paid $1.1 million under the Homeowners Assistance Program to fifty-two applicants as a result of base closures and realignment actions. Mortgage assumptions on ten properties acquired during the year totaled $344,000 for the fiscal year. The family housing new construction program more than doubled this fiscal year, involving 229 housing units for two installations at a total cost of $21,270,000. The family housing improvement construction program consisted of the Line Item Improvement Program (LIIP) and the Energy Construction Investment Program (ECIP). The LIIP involved twenty-one projects totaling $54,721,000 while the ECIP comprised forty-two projects totaling $43,800,000. The Maintenance and Repair Program totaled $416,293,000, which included a $73,654,000 jobs bill supplemental.

During FY 83, the Army approved 5,220 unaccompanied personnel housing spaces for CONUS (4,957 for new construction and 263 for improvements) and 3,917 to overseas (3,882 for new construction and 35 for improvements). This fiscal year, the Army processed forty-one persons for duty assignments overseas as housing managers and forty-eight persons for assignment within CONUS. The Department of the Army Housing Management Career Program Screening Panel will convene in November 1983 and review the records of 279 housing management careerists.

By the end of FY 86, Congress will phase out the domestic family housing leasing program of 1,043 units. On the other hand, overseas leasing authority reached 18,850 units this fiscal year and continues to increase. The majority of these units are in European installations. The additional time gained by leasing precludes the eviction of service families from current leases.

The Army Family Housing fund changed from an OSD account to an Army appropriation, thus permitting the Army to exercise greater control of its family housing destiny. With more money available, the Army provided better housing for military families. Funding was up by 57 percent over fiscal year 1982. Due largely to an infusion of $74 million in fiscal year 1983

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jobs bill funding, a backlog of maintenance and repair jobs declined from a peak $747 million to $646 million. New initiatives included upgrading substandard units, long-term renewal of an aging inventory, reducing high cost/uneconomical quarters, and introducing legislation for the provision of housing through the private sector. Improved management techniques included granting approval authority to field managers, bringing the Army family housing construction program cycle into synchronization with the successful military construction Army program cycle, and developing a multi-level computer system for the management of housing.

Progress continued on the development of the Housing Operations Management System (HOMES), a computer-aided management tool designed to assist Army housing personnel in the day-to-day management of all aspects of housing at installation, MACOM, and DA levels. Development involved several phases. Army housing personnel analyzed operating procedures and standardized data collecting procedures; developed a system which would maximize the use of the collected data and give managers much more flexibility in determining reporting needs and formats; developed a series of decision-algorithms and an economic analysis method, which managers could use to determine alternative ways of providing support as well as expected costs and benefits of each alternative. HOMES has become a fully interactive modular system that is user friendly, easily expandable, and useful for modeling future systems. The Army successfully tested the Assignments and Terminations (A and T) module at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and used it to support daily housing functions since December 1982. The module records all application data, maintains waiting lists, monitors the status of all family housing, prepares both assignment and termination orders, produces all standard management reports, and provides a method for processing ad hoc inquiries. The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Logistics, and Financial Management (ASA (IL & FM)) approved the module for the extension on the VIABLE (Vertical Installation Automated Baseline) computer (automated data processing resource). The ASA also approved the early extension of VIABLE to Fort Shafter, Hawaii, to provide HOMES support for the assignments and terminations for all military services in Oahu including the Coast Guard. The ASA also approved testing the remaining modules for housing support. The Army has completed functional descriptions and economic analyses for six of the modules, and they are now ready for software development. Estimated cost savings for the A and T module of HOMES will be $13 to $16 million

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over the next eight years based on the approved Milestone III Economic Analysis.

Several new initiatives involved housing economic analyses this year. The Assistant Chief of Engineers (ACE) Army Housing Management Division (AHMD) developed three courses of instruction for conducting economic analysis (EA) for housing alternatives. An economic and sensitivity analysis fulfills a requirement of the Congress and the OSD whenever the Army needs to acquire additional housing either through construction or lease. The ACE established EA for executives, managers, action officers. The Army conducts the courses worldwide to ensure that MACOM and installation housing managers can obtain the appropriate training. In addition, the ACE established the Housing Economic Analysis One-Stop program. This program provides USACE assistance to MACOMs and installations through its supporting divisions and districts to conduct these analyses. Pacific Ocean Division (POD) has been tentatively selected as the overall center of competence for the EA One-Stop Service program. The program will provide for computer capability at nineteen Office of the Chief of Engineers (OCE) One-Stop Service divisions and districts. Pending OCE authorization to field fully this computer capability, the AHMD has developed an emergency plan in which the Sacramento, Fort Worth, and Baltimore districts have been selected to process CONUS EAs as of 8 July 1983. The remaining CONUS One-Stop Service districts will be operational by June 1984. WESTCOM, U.S. Army, Japan (USARJ), and EUSA will use the services of POD, and USAREUR will use services of EUD. This computer capability will facilitate MACOM compliance with the HQDA required schedule for submission of EAs. In addition to the One-Stop Service program computer capability, the ACE will be implementing the automated program under the title "ECONPACK" in the Military Construction Programming, Administration, and Execution System (PAX). Any user that has a DD 1391 Processor terminal will be able to access the program.

The Army took several steps during the year to further the Army Continuing Education System (ACES) by offering educational programs and services in support of training, readiness, leadership development, and personal achievement at 378 education centers and subcenters. The staff consisted of more than 1,300 Department of the Army civilians and included about 488 full-time educational counselors.

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This fiscal year more than 300,000 of the total enlisted active duty force were potential students for the Army's Basic Skills Education program. The three-phase program provided remedial instruction in support of military training and soldier job performance. Overall there were more than 200,000 enrollments.

During the year the Army continued to redesign its Basic Skills Education program in order to develop a competency based, military related prototype of basic skills instruction for soldiers, which would also provide an opportunity for nonhigh school graduates to earn a diploma or certificate. Accordingly, as a follow-on to a TRADOC MOS baseline skills analysis (1981-1983), The Adjutant General's Office (TAGO) and the ARI began a curriculum-development project. Their objective is to develop a common, job-related job Skills Education Program (JSEP) curriculum. The Army hopes to complete JSEP in fiscal year 1985 and begin Armywide implementation in FY 86.

A project to develop NCO participation in the ACES began this fiscal year. As incorporated into Army Training 1990, the project uses diagnostic testing and remedial or refresher instruction, if needed, for those scheduled to attend basic and primary level NCOES courses. The project aims to assist those NCOs whose basic skill deficiencies have an adverse effect on service school participation and attrition rates.

Currently between 10 to 20 percent of NCOs fail primary and basic levels of the NCOES due to academic deficiencies. For some MOSS, the attrition rate exceeds 41 percent, with math and reading skills the major problem areas. The Basic Skills Education Program and the Advanced Skills Education program are envisioned as the possible solutions for some of these problems. Several MACOMs have initial pilot remedial programs before course enrollment begins.

During FY 83, the Army Education Directorate participated in two JCS-sponsored mobilization exercises PROUD SABER and MOBEX 83, conducted in October-November 1982, and WINTER-CIMEX 83 in February 1983. The Army updated the education portion of the mobilization functions section of the TAG Regulation 10-5 draft and identified in the mobilization Tables of Distribution and Allowances (TDA) the seven positions to be retained in case of full mobilization.

Additionally, the Army identified and incorporated into its mobilization and operations planning system document the educational programs that it could expand during full mobilization. The Army emphasized that appropriated MACOMs will determine to what degree programs continue, are reduced in size and scope, or terminated.

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To advance morale, welfare, and recreation (MWR) programs and services for soldiers and their families, the Army emphasized overall improvement of program management, which would generate the money necessary to reduce the estimated $1.2 billion backlog in nonappropriated funds for MWR construction and elevate the quality of programs offered. Accordingly, the Army MWR Review Committee, comprised of senior major command and DA representatives and chaired by TAG, has endorsed major changes that will allow local commanders the flexibility and managerial latitude to direct programs in a manner similar to their civilian business counterparts.

Heretofore, the Army applied its share of dividends from Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) earnings primarily to operational expenses for MWR programs. Now the Army requires installation MWR managers to fund operations from locally generated income and appropriated funds, where authorized, reserving all monies from the exchange service for MWR major construction, which will enable full funding of a planned program to improve facilities. During fiscal year 1983, most installation MWR programs achieved self-sufficiency and were funding their own capital purchases and minor construction.

The financial results of the budgeting initiatives proved impressive. MACOMs far exceeded the challenge of self-sufficiency by generating $8.0 million in FY 83 profits before depreciation, $15.4 million greater than expected. Three years ago the Army Morale Welfare Recreation Fund (AMWRF) subsidized these same operating programs at $21.9 million. Locally generated income and reimbursements were $150.4 million, a 25 percent increase over FY 82. MACOM efforts clearly laid the foundation for achieving facility improvement goals. The Army redirected its FY 83 share in AAFES profits ($61 million) to capital improvement requirements.

To enhance nonappropriated cash management and maximize the efficient use of local resources, the Army approved for testing in fiscal year 1984 a concept to consolidate the funds of individual nonappropriated activities into one installation fund. So doing, the Army hopes to have cash on-hand for programs and for needed capital improvements. If the test satisfies Army, DOD, and congressional interests, the Army will approve for Armywide application the "one fund" approach to local cash management.

Other Army projects this fiscal year geared to fostering improved management of MWR programs included establishing an

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installation business manager position to advance the application of sound management practices to the total MWR program; expanding on-site technical assistance for managers of revenue producing activities; issuing guidelines for pricing; developing a return on investment concept to aid in evaluating MWR construction; completing an MWR survey that will assist in market research; increasing the use of print media for professional development; and improving recruitment procedures for MWR positions.

In line with improvement in program management, in October 1982 the Army established the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) Modernization Task Force as part of the MWR reorganization within TAGO. The task force was responsible for the development, analysis, and implementation of the MWR Modernization Program. It performed the conceptual, developmental, and evaluative work for the MWR program business manager, the National Armed Forces (NAF) managers' bonus incentive plan, and explored various modernization program options. It managed the development of the Installation MWR Fund (IMWRF) concept and initiated negotiations with OSD and Congress for a one-year test of the fund at TRADOC installations. Due to the similarity of functions, on 1 September 1983 TAG combined the Special Actions Office, responsible for studies warranting the personal attention of TAG as well as provision of analysis and consulting services to subordinate TAGO directorates, and the MWR Modernization Task Force to form the Program Analysis and Evaluation Office (PAEO).

In the area of community support this fiscal year, the Army focused its attention on the Family Advocacy program, the Exceptional Family Member (EFM) program, Child Development and Youth activities, a Fun, Food, and Fitness program, training soldiers in money management, and Army Community Service Volunteers. The Army took a number of initiatives to expand Family Advocacy program services this fiscal year. The Army Family Advocacy Program Guidance, published in the revised Army Regulation governing the Army Community Service (ACS) program, 15 June 1983, now requires installations to develop programs that address spouse abuse, child abuse, and neglect. Without additional spaces, installations used Family Advocacy funds to resort ingenuously to contracts to provide services to Army families in such areas as crisis intervention, hot lines, shelter, counseling, community awareness, parenting classes, short-term emergency child care, foster care, model projects, and professional and lay education.

The Army also automated the Central Registry located at Health Services Command (HSC) to monitor and track spouse

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abuse, child abuse, and neglect. It provides monthly and semiannual data to assist in resource and personnel management as well as program evaluation and development. Finally during May-August 1983, HQDA and HSC cosponsored three-day Family Advocacy training courses at six regional locations in CONUS. The trainers were outstanding, nationally recognized practitioners in the legal, law enforcement, medical, and counseling aspects of child and spouse abuse. The sessions were extremely successful with 523 MACOM and installation representatives in attendance. This was the first Army training to address the interacting needs of all the members on the installation staff (e.g., ACS Medical, Military Police, and Chaplains). The Army was able to undertake much of the above because of congressional increases in Family Advocacy funds from $1.5 million in FY 82 to $4.37 million for FY 84.

This year the ACS Division, TAGO, completed a number of initiatives to provide quality services to exceptional families. They developed a system for gathering and compiling data on the availability of special education and health-related services at all CONUS (to include Alaska and Hawaii assignment) locations; developed and conducted EFM training at regional medical centers; prepared two handbooks for publications and distributions in the next fiscal year, Army Community Service (ACS) Staff Handbook for Assisting Parents with Exceptional Children and Exceptional Children: An Army Parent Handbook, readied a Report of Special Education and Health-Related Services for EFMs (2 volumes), and revised the regulatory and procedural guidance for EFM.

The Army also contributes to soldiers and their families through child development services and youth activities (CDS/ YA). This mission of the CDS/YA Division, under the Soldier/ Family Assistance Directorate, is to establish policies, guidelines, and standards for programs involving children and youth of Army families. In FY 83, the Army expanded child development services (CDS) in a number of ways. For instance, it upgraded child care programs and facilities, including the construction of new facilities to replace inadequate structures; published Army Regulation 608-10, which reflects changes and expanded guidance in the areas of funding support, organizational structure, staff training, minimum standards regarding fire, health, safety, food and nutrition program management, developmental programming, and facility structural requirements; coordinated child care center design criteria for each service to follow and produced a design guide; revised the common Table of Allowance, which will provide a comprehensive listing of furniture, equipment, supplies, and materials authorized to implement CDS programs; undertook a number of CDS personnel

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initiatives; developed a three-week pilot ACS/CDS management course and a prototype statement of work to provide guidance to installations preparing to conduct a comparative cost analysis to determine whether installation CDS should be performed by contract or by in-house DA personnel. In response to a DOD MWR child care subcommittee initiative, Caspar Weinberger, Secretary of Defense, designated April 1983 as the "Month of the Military Child." In a proclamation dated 22 February 1983, Secretary Weinberger recognized "the essential role that military child care services and youth activities play in fostering readiness and enhancing the quality of life of military families." He encouraged each service to develop promotional materials and plan events that emphasized the importance of providing quality service and activities that contribute to all aspects of children's development.

In the area of Youth Activities (YA) the Army shifted management responsibility for YA from Morale Support Activities to the Soldier/Family Assistance Directorate. This move separated YA from its traditional recreational base while it consolidated the management of programs for children under the directorship of one office. This move also initiated an assessment period to determine if the program continued to meet the needs of today's Army families. Specific youth-related needs and issues the Army is considering include sole parent families, families in which both parents work, and neighborhood problems related to adolescent adjustment, mobility, father absence, drug abuse, vandalism, and self concept.

Quality soldiers must be healthy and fit. This year the Club and Community Activities Management Directorate developed a Fun, Food, and Fitness program to provide MWR activities low calorie menus and promotional materials, which stressed diet as an integral part of the Army fitness program. The Army announced the program with a letter to the major commands and other agencies charged with executing quality life programs. Additional initiatives included articles in the Army Host magazine and a nutritional brochure.

Furthermore, the Army took a number of steps this fiscal year to help train soldiers in money management. They issued a newly revised Army Regulation that mandates personal financial training for all soldiers at their first permanent duty station. Also this year the Office of the Comptroller of the Army initiated a handbook on the soldier and money management aimed at reducing the increasing number of bad checks written by service members. The ACS of the Office of the Comptroller of the Army, Soldier Support Center, and Training and Doctrine Command have met to coordinate their efforts in money management

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training. Finally, the Army is in the process of initiating a course guide for use by ACS Consumer Affairs professionals to conduct financial training. The Army's efforts in FY 83 should reduce the number of poor money managers, which are counterproductive to combat readiness.

This fiscal year the Congress passed legislation that legalized the use of volunteers for certain tasks by the military services. In December 1982, the Army assigned a full-time paid staff member from HQDA, ACS Division to address volunteer policy issues and established two new voluntary advisory positions. These positions are held by the wives of the Chief of Staff and Sergeant Major of the Army. Gifts and donations to the Army community were again generous this year. During the period 1 October 1982 through 30 September 1983, the Secretary of the Army accepted $1,358,784.60 in gifts to schools, medical centers, libraries, and museums.

In the area of morale support, the Army was extremely busy this year. Army activities focused on library activities and management, interservice sports, interservice chess tournaments, the Army band, the official Army song, the Armed Services YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association), the USO (United Service Organizations), hotel recreation, and morale support funds. The Army Morale Support Library program sustains the informational, educational, and recreational needs of today's soldiers and their family members. Ongoing projects this fiscal year included a centralized book acquisition program through which the Army purchased 177,470 volumes for 277 libraries, emphasizing selection of materials in the areas of physical fitness, computer science, consumer affairs, and family life. Moreover, the Army purchased 25,518 paperbound book kits and distributed them to military units and activities not having access to a library as well as troops participating in exercises in the Sinai, Honduras, El Salvador, and Grenada. Title selection reflected the increasing number of women readers in these remote units.

In another continuing project, forty-three morale support library systems are currently participating in the Federal Library Information Network (FLIN) for shared cataloging and interlibrary services through the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), Inc. The Adjutant General's Office has continued funding fifteen systems, with the major commands or installations funding the remainder.

Test projects in library activities this fiscal year include a three-phase pilot project, sponsored by the Federal Library Committee, for centralized payment of interlibrary loan fees. The Army will expand the twenty-five Army libraries included in the first phase to fifty libraries in 1984 and to all Army libraries in 1985.

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During FY 83, the Army Library Management Office (ALMO), which gives focus for Armywide library matters, established the Army Automated Library and Information Support System (AALISS). The AALISS provides coordination and support for the automation of Army libraries and reinforces the development of a cohesive Armywide program for sharing library resources and capabilities.

The ALMO also funded the development of self-paced library instruction modules for Army library technicians. The instruction modules consist of audiovisual cassette lectures accompanied by workbooks with study guides and training exercises. Finally, ALMO served as the proponent for DA Circular 370-82-1, Army Libraries Materials Acquisition Survey. The Army sent the survey to Army libraries worldwide in October 1982. The survey results will provide ALMO and command librarians current data to initiate new acquisition training materials for Army librarians and documentation to determine whether changes to existing Army regulations are necessary. The Army Library Committee established the Acquisition/Procurement Standing Committee, who developed the survey.

The U.S. Armed Forces have long recognized sports as an effective means for developing strength, ability, endurance, teamwork, self confidence, and the will to win. In FY 83, Army service members competed in nineteen men's and women's interservice sports competitions. Of those competitions, Army teams won three first places, eleven seconds, three thirds, and two fourths. Army team members selected to compete on Armed Forces teams also participated in nineteen national sports competitions. In Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM) competitions, Armed Forces teams, which included forty-three Army members, participated in eight events, placing first in five and second in one other. Seventy Army athletes participated in the National Sports Festival sponsored by the U.S. Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs, Colorado, 23 June through 3 July 1983. Sixteen Army personnel participated in the 1983 Pan Am Games held in Caracas, Venezuela, 14-29 August 1983.

Besides participating in sports activities this year, the Army entered the 24th Armed Forces Interservice Chess Tournament. The Army, Sea Services, and Air Force chess teams matched skills at the American Legion Hall of Flags between 20-28 September 1983. The Air Force won with 48 points, followed by Army, 33 and Sea Services, 26.

Through the years the Army band has always provided a morale boost to Army forces. This year the U.S. Army Recruiting Command (USAREC) produced bandperson recruiting adds, posters and a new publication titled "Start Your Music Career in

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an Army Band." As USAREC gradually shifts its recruiting emphasis from high school to college students, the Army Bands Office supported four conventions selected by USAREC for their national convention schedule this year.

The Outdoor Recreation program also expanded Armywide during FY 83. Expenditures were approximately 30 million dollars, representing an annual growth of 25 percent. Total staffing approached 1,000 with 2 officers, 187 enlisted, 435 appropriated fund civilians, and 352 nonappropriated fund civilian personnel assigned. The Army published DA Pamphlet 28-14, Program Guide for Outdoor Recreation Personnel, in July 1983 and conducted a training workshop for USAREUR outdoor recreation personnel during April 1983 in West Berlin and for CONUS personnel during October 1983 at West Point. Air Force personnel participated in the latter workshop, which FORSCOM sponsored.

This fiscal year, the Armed Forces Professional Entertainment Overseas program involved ninety-three performing units, which toured military installations throughout the world for DOD or combined DOD/USO shows. These units gave approximately 3,000 performances for over 400,000 personnel in areas that ranged from the Pacific, Indian Ocean to Europe, Alaska to Lebanon, and Greenland to the Caribbean, including Honduras and Grenada.

As part of its morale support activities, the Army initiated a management study of the Armed Forces Recreation Center, Europe. On 30 September 1983, DA awarded a contract to Pannel Kerr Forster, a commercial firm with a wealth of experience in the recreation and hospitality industries, to conduct the study concentrating on the areas of management and operations in both hotels and outdoor recreation, the level of authorized appropriated fund support, effectiveness of management policies and operating procedures, adequacy of accounting structure for both hotel operations and recreational facilities, and overall Armed Forces Recreation Center (AFRO) efficiency.

This U.S. Army club system provides a morale boost to soldiers during peacetime. The system consists of officers' clubs, noncommissioned officers/enlisted clubs, and community clubs Armywide, and alcoholic beverage stores operated by installation club systems in the U.S. and Far East. During FY 83, the Army club system's total earnings decreased 18 percent to $21.5 million on revenues of $369.2 million.

Membership clubs had fiscal year 1983 total revenue of $278.2 million, up 1 percent from last year. Sales increased less than 1 percent from $197.2 million in fiscal year 1982 to $197.4 in fiscal year 1983. Net income was $17.1 million, which

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amounted to a 23 percent decrease from the previous year. Major reasons for the decline were found in package beverage distribution to the club system and operating expenses that escalated faster than revenues. Army package beverage stores had total revenue of $161.7 million for the year, a 15 percent decrease from the previous year. Net income was $32.8 million, a decline of 30 percent. These figures include $126.5 million revenue and $21.8 million net income by club-operated package beverage stores and $35.2 million total revenue and $11.0 million net income by the USAREUR Class VI Agency.

During the summer of 1983, having determined that the club system contractually operated in the Sinai had become totally unsatisfactory in meeting the needs of soldiers of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO), the Army terminated the contract and requested TAG to assume the operations of the club system in the Sinai for six months. Their prime task was to develop a system of MFO and international club annexes tailored to each unique requirement to include the combining of a series of unit lounges, a technically correct and workable system of controls including accounting, and a comprehensive food and beverage program.

In June 1983, the Army contracted with Bally Manufacturing company for the purchase of approximately 5,000 slot machines that they will install in Army clubs and Armed Forces Recreation Centers overseas, beginning in Germany, Italy, Korea, and Japan in October 1983. In the first full year of operation expected net income will be $25 million. The Army will use the income only for MWR capital improvement projects.

The Army made significant strides in providing guidance concerning the management of clothing and equipment throughout FY 83. They renegotiated a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Air Force Exchange Service for the management of military clothing sale stores, and initiated a new regulation dealing with the life cycle of clothing and individual equipment. In addition, the Clothing Advisory Group, consisting of representatives of selected major commands and key staff agencies, met on three separate occasions; the Army Clothing Equipment Board (ACEB) held its first meeting to consider and approve such issues as the wearing of earrings by female personnel and the standard athletic ensemble. These and other actions have given new direction to the management of clothing and equipment for the Army and are expected to have a positive impact in the years to come.

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On 9 July 1983, one month after the first ACEB met, the Army Chief of Staff approved the following ACEB recommendations for which the DCSPER has Army staff responsibility to retain earflaps in the BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) cap, to authorize female soldiers to wear earrings on an optional basis with all Army uniforms except those worn in the field, on utility or hospital duty, and in the food service. The earrings had to be small (not to exceed 6 m.m. or 1/4 inch in diameter) unadorned spheres that screwed on or were the post-type, and they had to be made of gold, silver, or white pearl. They also had to fit snugly against the ear and be worn as a matched pair, with only one earring per earlobe.

In the Food Service program this year, the Army directed its efforts toward improving the nutritional level of the Army diet and upgrading dining facility and combat feeding operations. To improve the Army diet, subsistence accountability and nutrition training teams visited seventy-two locations and trained 4,989 personnel during the year. The Army continued to develop the Food Management Information System, an automated system designed to improve management and control of dining facilities, which, when implemented, is expected to generate savings of over $11 million a year in reduced subsistence expenditures. Other food service improvements including modernizing three dining facilities, approving the construction of twelve more, and planning to build a food service training facility at Fort Lee, Virginia. Work also progressed on the development of a new combat field feeding system, which consists of a tactical kitchen with two major subsystems-the Mobile Kitchen Trailer and the Supplemental Field Kitchen Kit. When fully staffed both subsystems have the capability to heat and serve A, B, and T rations. The new T rations are fully prepared food items, capable of being stored safely on shelves, and packaged in half-size steam table containers that allow rapid heating and serving.

During fiscal year 1983, the Army initiatives to advance the development of combat food service systems and field rations through a series of tests. The Army tested field equipment and rations in Force Development Testing and Experimentation at Fort Hood, Texas, in Development Test I in Norway during the COLD WEATHER EXPRESS exercise, and during REFORGER and CABER Toss exercises in Europe. The results were totally successful with T rations and equipment receiving high acceptance among the troops. The Army also completed field testing for the Marine Corps on the assault packet for feeding individual

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fighting men for periods up to ten days without resupply, continued to develop the Arctic ration, and technical data packages in support of production testing of military foods. This year the Army completed the two-year test using simulated warehouse and controlled conditions to determine the risk of insects penetrating the new Meals, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) package and evaluated protective features of alternative packaging materials and design. Results indicated that there was no insect penetration and, therefore, an alternative container was not needed. The Army also completed engineering development of the Air Force New Harvest Eagle Food Service System and provided first procurement support for the system.

During FY 83, the Congress, OSD, DA, and marketing organizations focused considerable attention on Army commissary operations, whose sales reached $1.6 billion. Assistance visits to the field and various training programs improved operations at all levels. As of 30 September 1983, the Army operated 71 domestic commissary stores and 8 annexes as well as 70 foreign stores and 30 annexes. During the year, the Army also constructed new commissaries at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana; Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; and Kitzingen, Germany; renovated the commissary at Taegu, Korea, and opened a new annex at Hannam Village, Korea.

In compliance with a congressional mandate, Dr. Lawrence J. Korb, Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics), directed the commissary services to implement a new surcharge rate effective 1 April 1983. Accordingly, the Army increased the surcharge rate from 4 percent to 5 percent worldwide. Consolidation of the armed forces commissary systems remains a long-range objective.

In compliance with OMB Circular A-76, the Army completed the cost studies at Fort Leonard Wood (Missouri) and Yuma Proving Ground (Arizona) commissaries, and opted to operate the commissary at Yuma on contract, beginning on 1 December 1983, and compare its contract-run operations with that of the commissary at Fort Leonard Wood, which is run in-house. The Army plans to pause in FY 84 to review the progress of contract performance. Studies on fifty-seven other CONUS commissaries will be conducted in later years.

This fiscal year the Army developed a plan to reorganize the European Commissary Region (EURCOR) into seven districts. An interactive distributed data processing system will be in support of each district. The system uses commercial dial up

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telecommunications daily from a district to a Regional Data Center. The Army expects to have the first district in Frankfurt, Germany, operating in February 1984.

Actions to enhance the graves registration (GR) capabilities of the Army continued throughout FY 83. Particularly noteworthy were initiatives to increase GR specialist enlistment in the U.S. Army Reserve, a joint service agreement on a major revision to the GR field manual, and publication of a handbook on GR operations for the soldier who is not specifically trained in GR procedures. The Army believes that these actions, along with other initiatives undertaken this fiscal year, have materially contributed to its ability to implement an improved GR program prepared for any contingency.

There were many new initiatives in the Army Safety program during FY 83. These produced analyzing safety systems to investigate accidents, with special emphasis on helicopter and light aircraft mishaps. Based on the Army Safety Center's earlier identification of the problem of helicopter accidents involving loss of tail rotor effectiveness, the result of about one-half of all Army OH-58 aircraft accidents, this year HQDA directed that an Army Joint Working Group research the problem and recommend possible countermeasures. Also, in response to this problem, the Army initiated actions in flight test and engineering analyses at a number of Army agencies and within civilian industry. The Army Safety Center was instrumental in evaluating the plans for these actions and the results as an "honest broker" to ensure that the conclusions were well substantiated and formed the basis for effective corrective actions. Based on the working group's efforts, the Army identified countermeasures in helicopter design, operating procedures, and mission planning. In November 1983, the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army received a briefing on these countermeasures, which he is considering for Armywide application.

This year the Army Safety Center performed a System Safety Trade off Analysis for the family of light helicopter experimental aircraft (LHX) as part of the overall DARCOM Trade off Analysis regarding the conceptual design of various alternative configurations for this new aircraft. The Army Safety Center studied safety implications of such configurations as tilt rotor, advanced blade concept, and compound helicopter as well as the influences

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of design details such as number of pilots, number of engines, and degree of crash worthiness. The basis for the analysis was the case files of aircraft accidents for Army OH-58, AH-1 and U H-1 and UH-60 helicopters. Analysis demonstrated the effectiveness of the Army aircraft accident data base for identification of the required information about the aircraft and will form the basis for more informed decisions regarding safety measures.

During fiscal year 1983, the Army Safety Center evaluated the safety programs at FORSCOM, the HSC, the National Guard Bureau (NGB), and the Corps of Engineers. They also conducted an aviation safety evaluation for the U.S. Army aviation units based in West Germany in conjunction with an evaluation by the Department of Evaluation and Standardization, U.S. Army Aviation Center. At the request of field commanders, the Army Safety Center conducted safety inspections at four Aviation/Army airfields this year, and students in the Aviation Safety Officer course taught by the Army Safety Center conducted Aviation Mishap Prevention Surveys at three installations.

This fiscal year the Army Safety Center investigated forty-seven major aircraft accidents under the DA Centralized Mishap Investigation (CMI) program. These investigations produced significant findings which had Armywide impact on the safety of aviation operations and served as the impetus for major improvements in operational and safety features of the Army aircraft fleet as well as improvements in operational and maintenance procedures and aviator and maintenance personnel training. Efforts continued to improve upon the standardization of the conduct of aircraft mishap investigations and technical report preparation. The Army has investigated 321 aircraft mishaps under the CMI program since its inception in April 1978.

As a result of several drowning accidents involving water operations, the Centralized Accident Investigation (CAI) team identified major system deficiency in the arena of Personal Flotation Devices (PFD). They discovered that the Army had accomplished very little standardization on the use and types of PFD. The Army is now actively correcting this deficiency in an effort to identify the proper use and type of PFD that will suit the Army's varied missions.

The CAI team's analysis of vehicle accident reports and several investigations reveal that driver's training and licensing procedures are very weak in instances involving driving as a secondary skill. The Army Safety Center, in conjunction with TRADOC, is strengthening licensing procedures and developing exportable driver training packets for specific mission and type of vehicle. In an effort to improve the safety awareness of ground vehicle operators, both the Tank Automotive Command

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(TACOM) and USAC have initiated the establishment of emergency procedures in the operation's manual. Present operator manuals have not readily identified emergency procedures. This initiative will eventually provide standardized emergency operating procedures for each type of vehicle.

Since February 1983, the Army Safety Center has been developing a system safety assessment for each system under review by the Army Systems Acquisition Review Council (ASARC). They developed these assessments using data already generated by the combat and material development communities and forwarded to the Human Resources Development Directorate, DCSPER, HQDA, prior to the ASARC meeting. These staff papers ensure that system safety issues are properly addressed and form the basis for informed decision making by HQDA at these important milestone reviews.

During 1983, the Army Safety Center provided the chairmanship for the joint Services Safety Conferences System Safety Panel. This panel is made up of representatives from each military service (including the Coast Guard), other federal agencies such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and professional groups such as the System Safety Society and industry. The panel recommends approaches to strengthen DOD policy in the area of system safety and to facilitate the implementation of that policy by mutual exchange of ideas and information. During this year, the System Safety Panel successfully developed improved policy and guidance for the OSD regarding DOD acquisition and testing directives, developing and coordinating a substantially improved MIL-STD-882 (System Safety Program Requirements), developing and staffing military standard requirements for laser safety design and, initiating development of a DOD film for the system safety training of project managers and the senior decision makers.

This fiscal year the Military Postal Service Agency (MPSA) participated in several JCS exercises. Their continued participation in a JCS-warplanning exercise led to the development of detailed planning guidance for the postal service published in JCS Publication 15 and scheduled to appear in Change 2 of the DOD postal manual. MPSA is reviewing other service and joint publications to determine the applicability of those presentations to postal operations. On I January 1983, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) agreed to process indemnity claims involving mail sent to or from Areal Post Offices (APOs) and Federal Post Offices (FPOs) in the same manner as domestic mail claims. Indemnity

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claims processed through the domestic system average thirty days, whereas heretofore MPSA claims average ninety days. The new procedure significantly reduced the time involved in processing claims and ensured that MPSA patrons received the same standard of postal service (approximately thirty days) enjoyed by domestic patrons.

Transit Time Information System for military mail is the basis for developing mail delivery standards, monitoring actual performance, and identifying and resolving mail processing and transportation problems in a systematic, disciplined way. Using the system MPSA, together with the USPS, tested automatic machine sorting of letter class mail by zip code and depositing the mail into trays, which were then transported to post office for delivery. The test involved mail to and from CONUS to overseas locations to determine if transit times could be reduced. Test results suggested a reduced transit time of one to two days, to and from test locations, and also indicated a substantial reduction of mail processing time at military post offices and the USPS gateways. MPSA is taking steps to use the traying system worldwide as an on-line program.

During the year, ten Army and two Air Force IMAs performed their annual training with MPSA and worked on a number of MPSA initiatives. They prepared draft legislation to authorize postage-free mail for military personnel and their dependents overseas when such mail remains within the Military Postal Service, developed policies and procedures for implementing the proposed USPS official mail stamp, prepared a postal operations plan to be incorporated into the DOD postal manual, reviewed computer systems and management concepts for application within the MPSA, and reviewed operations at the joint Military Postal Activities.

The Joint Military Postal Activity-Atlantic conducted an orientation and liaison trip to Honduras and Panama this year to evaluate the mail pipeline from CONUS to Honduras. The postal activities visited in Honduras were in the field and their dispersion resulted in a complex logistical system. The visitors noted that MPSA could improve several areas of mail support.

The Army also conducted a DOD test of INTELPOST-a concept that promises to bring personal mail delivery and dispatch into the 21st century through satellite communication-to determine its military application. The Command and Control Test Division (TCATA), U.S. Army, Fort Hood, Texas, and the USPS coordinated the test, which occurred during the REFORGER 83 military exercise in Europe. TCATA will report on the test in 1984. The Army agreed to pay for the use of the system at a cost

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of $9.00 per page from Germany to the U.S. and $5.00 per page from U.S. to Germany during the test period.

Heraldic activities focused on items of symbolic significance to the Army this year, including flags and distinctive unit insignia. The Institute of Heraldry assured Army units that heraldic items would be available upon a unit's activation under the Army Regimental System. To meet these demands the institute designed and developed sixty-seven distinctive unit and sixteen shoulder sleeve insignia. To save on cost and to broaden the procurement base, the institute continued its program of evaluating various materials and methods of manufacturing flags. The following statistics reflect, in part, the accomplishments of the institute this year: design of 668 items; completion of 1,120 paintings and drawings and 129 sculptures (molds, models, and casts); the development of 349 articles, some new and some modified, which the Army placed in the procurement system; and the inspection of 114,225 items under the optional quality control system, during visits to 42 posts and base exchanges. In addition, the institute performed 1,520 research and engineering support actions to assist the Defense Support Center.

The Army was successful this fiscal year in providing quality support services to the soldier and his family-services that boost morale during peacetime, while meeting physical, spiritual, and intellectual needs. The development of an Army Family Action Plan that will lead us into the 1990s was a singular achievement. The plan, however, is only a first step. Installations at lower levels must take initiatives similar to those undertaken at the DA level, and family action programming must have priority in major command budget requests. "To keep the quality of people the (Army) needs to maintain readiness," stated Lt. Gen. Robert Elton, DCSPER, in October 1983, "it must also emphasize the well-being of spouses and children." Other major programs the Army worked on this year to support the soldier and his family include quality of life efforts, community services work such as help for exceptional family members and family advocacy, the specifics of pay and allowances, and proposals to reduce out-of-pocket costs in connection with change-of-duty station travel. All have helped to retain quality soldiers and their families upon which the future of our Army of Excellence depends.

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