Department of the Army Historical Summary: FY 1980

7.

Support Services

Support services help to sustain the morale of soldiers in time of peace. The continuing erosion of some fringe benefits for military personnel made the attraction and retention of good personnel more difficult in fiscal year 1980. Nevertheless, the Army did provide services and benefits that were attractive and, within the limits of its budget, sought to improve the quality of life in the service whenever possible. These support services, which ranged from health care to heraldic morale boosters, also included two items that are always of great importance to soldiers—food and housing.

Health and Medical Care

Total Army expenditures for medical services for all appropriations totaled $1,648.2 million in fiscal year 1980, an increase of $72.0 million above the preceding fiscal year. The increase resulted primarily from the military and civilian pay raises authorized by Congress, the continuing escalation of health service costs for Army beneficiaries both in Army medical treatment facilities as well as from civilian sources, and a rise in the level of purchases of medically related equipment. The table below compares Army expenditures for medical services in fiscal years 1979 and 1980, in millions of dollars.

Appropriation

FY 79

FY 80

Percentage of change

Military Personnel, Army

578.5

640.2

10.7

Operation & Maintenance, Army

725.8

828.0

14.1

Research & Development, Army

73.0

91.5

25.3

Military Construction, Army

145.0

20.3

-86.0

Other Procurement, Army

43.7

56.2

28.6

Reserve Personnel, Army

10.2

12.0

17.6

Total

1,576.2

1,648.2

4.6

During the 1980 fiscal year, the number of physicians on active duty continued to increase, with a gain of 5 percent from fiscal year 1979. As a result, there was a 2 percent increase in Army Daily Patient Load, and a 7.3 percent increase in clinic visits. The downward trend in average length of stay for hospital inpatients continued, with a decline from 7.1 to 6.9 days.

The Army Medical Corps ended the fiscal year with an increase of 224 officers over fiscal year 1979. The 1980 end strength of 4,627,

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while an improvement over recent years, was short of the minimum peacetime objective of 5,273 physicians. At the current rate of increase the Medical Corps expects to achieve the 5,273 level by fiscal year 1985.

In spite of the continuing improvements in total numbers, the specialty mix lacked balance with an obvious impact on patient care. Based on the ideal specialty distribution of the 5,273 objective, substantial staff shortages existed in twenty-four Corps specialties during the fiscal year which are listed in alphabetical order in the table below.

Specialty

5,273 Staff Objective

1 Oct 80 Staff

Number Short

Percentage Short

Anesthesiology

91

66

25

27.5

Cardiology

72

42

30

41.7

Dermatology

71

49

22

31.0

Emergency Medicine

148

14

134

90.5

Family Practice

662

159

503

76.0

Flight Surgeon

124

90

34

27.4

General Surgery

192

156

36

18.8

Infectious Disease

39

16

23

60.0

Internal Disease

238

206

32

13.4

Medical Oncology

31

14

17

54.8

Nephrology

28

18

10

35.7

Neurology

54

38

16

29.6

Neurosurgery

21

16

5

23.8

Nuclear Medicine

37

21

16

43.2

Ophthalmology

60

57

3

5.0

Orthopedic Surgery

184

99

85

46.2

Otolaryngologist

62

31

31

50.0

Pulmonary Disease

46

22

24

52.2

Radiology

120

94

26

21.7

Rheumatology

16

6

10

62.5

Thoracic Surgery

41

25

16

39.0

Urology

68

50

18

26.5

Vascular Surgery

8

3

5

62.5

Physician Assistant

565

345

220

38.9

There were less dramatic shortages in specialties other than those listed above, while general medicine, pediatrics, hematology, endocrinology, and pathology exceeded the objectives set for them; the 5,273 distribution objectives dramatically lowered the previous requirements for these specialties. By 1985 the Army Medical Department (AMEDD) expects shortages in family practice, emergency medicine, radiology, nuclear medicine, thoracic surgery, infectious disease, orthopedics, urology, and otolaryngology. All other specialties should be at or above their projected strength level. However, current trends in the health care industry may alter the situation either positively or negatively for the various specialties. Ac-

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cordingly, the Medical Department will monitor changes and update the projections as needed. The specialty resource mix will always require intricate planning and ongoing adjustments to meet current health care work load demands. Some imbalance will persist; and the Medical Department must manage its impact carefully. In this context, fiscal year 1985 projections are based largely on graduate medical education entrances and graduations with resulting obligated service commitments. Consequently, retention will continue to be the key to sustained success in meeting Army strength objectives.

During fiscal year 1980, The Surgeon General recommended, and the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army approved, a new policy on self-aid and first aid for nerve agent casualties. Three separate atropine and three separate oxime (2 PAM-chloride) auto-injectors will replace the current nerve agent antidote known as TAB. The new policy will supersede TAB auto-injectors with three atropine auto-injectors issued to the individual soldier. The Medical Department will issue separate oxime auto-injectors as soon as they become available.

Physical therapists with advanced specialty training in sports medicine and the evaluation of musculoskeletal injuries participated in the screening program of 300 Army personnel over forty years of age at Fort Benning, Georgia, prior to implementing a six-month physical fitness training program. In addition to participating in the over forty screening program, the Army therapists provided specific recommendations regarding the individual training exercises for the under forty years old group. By having this group of sports-minded medical professionals contributing to the program, The Surgeon General anticipates the creation of an improved physical training program which will contain safeguards to prevent musculoskeletal injuries.

A physical therapy officer participated in REFORGER 80 exercises. An analysis of the number and type of training injuries seen at clearing stations during this exercise will provide needed information relative to the rate of return to duty, need for evacuation, effectiveness of physical therapy evaluation and treatment at division level, and future programs for prevention of injuries.

In August 1980 the Army Nurse Corps assigned the first complement of ANC officers to the U.S. Army Medical Department Activity (MEDDAC) at Fort Irwin, California, which the Army reactivated to support the National Training Center, the large maneuver area in California. Approximately fifty Nurse Corps officers participated in AMEDD support activities for the Cuban Refugee Mission. These officers, representing Forces Command (FORSCOM) and Health Services Command (HSC) units, served at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas; Fort

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Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania; and Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, from 24 May to 28 August 1980.

In 1980 Congress directed the Department of Defense to appoint the Department of the Army as executive agent for DOD veterinary activities in food inspection services, animal care, zoonoses control, and support to research and development activities requiring veterinary medicine specialties. The plan for reorganizing veterinary functions limited the employment of veterinarians within DOD to those functions which require a doctor of veterinary medicine degree and consolidated within the Army the personnel management of uniformed veterinarians. The consolidation of veterinary services included the discontinuance of the Air Force Veterinary Service on 31 March 1980 and the transfer of its veterinary functions to the Army. The plan established a goal of a 10 percent reduction in total veterinary positions within DOD by 30 September 1980. Ultimately consolidation would mean the civilianization of 102 positions in veterinary medicine research and development through conversion to the civil service and the substitution of 158 other uniformed allied health professionals for veterinarians. Over a five-year transition period, fiscal year 1981-85, this will result in the elimination by attrition of 327 uniformed veterinarians or 49 percent of the fiscal year 1979 authorization.

Veterinarians assigned to the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command are actively engaged in research in such areas as: health hazard assessment of military weapons systems; infectious disease and medical defense against biological warfare; combat trauma; heat, cold and altitude stress; and chemical defense. The Army has rarely recruited a fully trained veterinary research scientist. The needs are filled by training young veterinary officers after their initial tour of duty. Thus, through a long-term civilian graduate training program and preceptorship programs in pathology and laboratory animal medicine, many veterinary officers in research and development have acquired a doctor of philosophy degree or board certification or both.

The passage of legislation to control exposures to noxious substances and to minimize possibilities of developing and fielding drugs and vaccines with adverse effects is increasing the national demand for the technical expertise to develop information required by industry and federal regulating agencies. The Good Laboratory Practices Act and Toxic Substance Control Act created a demand for veterinary pathologists and laboratory animal medicine professionals that exceeds the total number of specialists available in the country as a whole.

The Department of Defense and the Department of Agriculture   

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held a joint exercise in Puerto Rico from 17-23 May 1980 as part of the Emergency Animal Disease Eradication Program. The exercise simulated the mobilization and disease eradiction measures conducted under the 1965 Memorandum of Understanding between the Departments of Agriculture and Defense should a foreign animal disease be introduced into the United States. The scenario covered a ninety-day period which began by the introduction of African Swine Fever into Puerto Rico through the feeding to swine of pork scraps contaminated with the fever. The military support under the supervision of an Army veterinarian would assist the Department of Agriculture task force through professional and technical expertise; air, ground, and water transportation; and other forms of logistical support. The first hand experience received by Army veterinarians from their participation in such joint exercises will ensure competence and expertise in the event of a crisis caused by the introduction of foreign animal disease into the United States.

The U.S. Army Natick Laboratories began testing the conclusions obtained from a systems analysis of hospital food service operations at Moncrief Army Hospital, Fort Jackson, South Carolina. The testing included in-house bulk food preparation and freezing, and patient tray delivery systems designed to reduce labor and errors while improving the overall quality of food items. This study is designed to develop the most cost efficient and qualitative food preparation and patient service system for adaptation to all Army hospitals.

In recognition of the need to update the equipment and staffing of TOE units, the Office of The Surgeon General initiated efforts to standardize and procure new kitchens for field medical feeding missions. To augment these efforts, the Academy of Health Sciences completed an analysis of TOE food service staffing requirements. In order to further identify all problem areas, this year a full-time dietitian was assigned to support REFORGER 80. Additionally, three dietitians were deployed with medical units in support of Cuban refugee camps.

During fiscal year 1980, standardization of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) practices moved forward. The Army accepted a CPR kit developed by AMEDD in cooperation with industry. The kit is frequently identified as SPARK (Systematic Pulmo-Cardiac Anaphylaxis Resuscitation Kit). Its contents, based on standards established by the American Heart Association’s Steering Committee on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, includes essential drugs which are prediluted in color-coded medicine cartridges with injecting syringes, standard physiologic monitors, intravenous starter pack, and an airway management section. The Defense Medical Materiel Board standardized the Army-sponsored kit with the Navy and Air

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Force Medical Services. AMEDD should complete the evaluation of functional suitability, durability, and reliability of SPARK for use in field medical treatment facilities by early 1981. If successful, the Army will include the kit in authorization documents for TOE medical units.

Procurement of the most up-to-date medical equipment constitutes yet another way in which the Medical Department seeks to provide high quality patient care. During fiscal year 1980, the department obtained General Electric 8800 full-body Computerized Tomography Scanners for the William Beaumont Army Medical Center, the Madigan Army Medical Center, the Brooke Army Medical Center, and the Letterman Army Medical Center. AMEDD procured a head scanner for the Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center. The department also procured and issued seventy-five Low Capacity, 30MA, X-Ray Systems to high priority field medical units to replace the 2MA apparatuses which did not meet U.S. Army standards or needs in a combat zone. To support the low capacity systems, AMEDD replaced seventy-five unsatisfactory manual, spring-driven X-ray film processing units with electrically operated Radiographic Paper and Developer Assembly Processing Machines.

The Medical Care Support Equipment (MEDCASE) program provides equipment funding for the Army Medical Department worldwide. The fiscal year 1980 program totaled $56.2 million, an increase of $12.5 million over the $43.7 million fiscal year 1979 program. This increase is primarily applicable to the replacement and modernization line partially offset by decreases in other lines as shown in the table below which lists program funding in million of dollars.

 

FY 79

FY 80

Change

Expansion and New Installation

18.3

18.1

- 0.2

Pollution Control

.6

.4

- 0.2

Replacement and Modernization

24.1

37.2

13.1

Drug Abuse

.1

.1

0.0

Clinical Investigations

.6

.4

- 0.2

Total

43.7

56.2

12.5

During fiscal year 1980, the Department of the Army published AR 40-65, Review Procedures for High Cost Medical Equipment. This tri-service regulation details policy for the preacquisition review of requests for medical equipment costing over $100,000. At the same time AMEDD began a test of “turnkey” purchases of major items of equipment (the successful bidder not only delivers and installs the equipment but also prepares the site if site preparation is necessary).

AMEDD made a concerted effort to improve nonstocked supply

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support to overseas units. As a result, the department obtained a reduction of approximately 25 percent in the length of time between the placing of an order and the receipt of the shipment. The Surgeon General expects that this trend will continue for the immediate future.

The Medical Department initiated actions to improve support in Europe by pre-positioning equipment for reserve component general hospitals, increasing medical pre-positioning of materiel configured to unit sets (POMCUS) units for the Central Army Group and the Northern Army Group, and additional forward stationing of corps level medical units. In anticipation of the implementation of the new policy concerning nerve agent antidote, the Surgeon General positioned atropine auto-injectors at installation medical supply activities in CONUS, the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center, Europe, and the 6th Medical Unit (Supply Optical and Maintenance) in Korea for issue to forward deployed and Army Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) units.

Since the initiation of the AMEDD Automation Program in the 1960s with the acquisition of second generation computers, the program’s prime objective has been to provide technological state-of-the-art automation support. To accomplish this objective, AMEDD has fully exploited technological advancements within the computer industry and developed strategic plans accordingly. This has resulted in the planned acquisition of mini and micro data processing technology. As a long range goal, AMEDD directed its automation efforts during fiscal year 1980 toward satisfying information requirements in four general areas: command and staff, clinical and health care administration, the battlefield, and medical research and development.

The Medical Department took several significant actions during fiscal year 1980 within this general policy framework. It replaced second generation automatic data processing (ADP) equipment at five medical centers with minicomputers, acquired and used extensively mini and micro data processing technology in support of diverse medical research and development activities, and continued its support and participation in the functional requirements development phase of the Tri-Service Medical Information Systems (TRIMIS) program. The Surgeon General expects the benefits for the Army derived from the Department of Defense TRIMIS program to increase greatly beginning in 1981.

The Department of Defense completed pilot testing of the Uniform Chart of Accounts (UCA), a cost accounting system for fixed medical treatment facilities of the three military services to provide consistent financial and operating performance data to managers

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who are responsible for health care delivery, and began implementation of the UCA on a worldwide basis. By the end of the year, thirty-nine medical facilities had implemented UCA and submitted their reports to DOD. Nine facilities are scheduled to implement the UCA in fiscal year 1981.

The Federal Health Resources Sharing Committee (FHRSC), chaired by the Director of Health Care Operations in the Office of The Surgeon General, has identified the obstacles to sharing patient services between the Department of Defense, the Veterans Administration, the Public Health Service, and other federal departments. The major obstacle is conflicting agency regulations with respect to reimbursement for services. Concurrent with the FHRSC study, Senator Percy introduced legislation entitled “The Federal Health Resources Sharing Act of 1980.” Close coordination between the FHRSC and Senator Percy resulted in a bill which is generally acceptable to all member agencies. The Senate passed the Percy bill in September 1980. Congressman Beard has introduced a similar bill in the House of Representatives. AMEDD hopes that these congressional initiatives will result in a public law by the spring of 1981.

Religion

The Army chaplain provides for the religious and moral needs of the military community, assists commanders in keeping the policies and practices of the command in conformity “with strict moral, ethical, and humanitarian” conduct, helps active and retired military personnel meet their religious and moral problems, and has responsibility for the religious education and the pastoral care of the individuals he or she serves. In particular the chaplain stresses the welfare of the soldier and conducts specialized religious services, including services of worship, religious missions, retreats, marriages, and baptisms.

To assist in the procurement and retention of Catholic chaplains and to improve ministry to Catholic personnel, the Chief of Chaplains requested a study by a senior Catholic chaplain. The Deputy Chief of Chaplains conducted a study from January 1979 to May 1980 on ministry to Catholic personnel in the Army and in June 1980 presented his findings to the Chief of Staff of the Army and the Military Ordinariate.

As a result of the study, the Chief of Chaplains approved the following actions to procure and retain Catholic chaplains and to improve ministry to Catholic personnel: design of a hometown procurement program for Catholic chaplains; use of auxiliary and contract chaplains more extensively; acceptance of ordained deacons as       

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chaplains if endorsed by the Military Ordinariate; provision of educational programs for commanders, chaplains and laity in Catholic ministry needs; revision of staff regulations to ensure that unmarried chaplains have an opportunity to compete for a two bedroom unit; and provision of additional opportunities for lay ministry.

The Chief of Chaplains Minority Ministry Training Program for fiscal year 1980, also known as the Cleveland Project, was held in Cleveland, Ohio, on 21-30 September 1980. Using model oriented training, the program sought understanding of the problems faced by members of minority groups, their cultural backgrounds, and the influence of their culture on their family and job environments. Ten chaplains participated in a multicultural education project by each spending two nights with different ethnic families in the Cleveland area. In addition to the experiences acquired by actual live-in situations with “adopted families,” the training also consisted of seminars and workshops.

In 1979 the Chief of Chaplains decided to assign a senior chapel activities supervisor to the Office of the Chief of Chaplains (OCCH) for matters regarding chapel activities specialists. Following a manpower survey in 1979, the Director of Management, Office of the Chief of Staff, Army, recommended an E-9 position with OCCH, and in August 1980 the Military Personnel Center assigned an E-9 chapel activities supervisor to OCCH. Responsibilities of this new position include recruitment, retention, training, job satisfaction, and developing policies for increased utilization and career management for chapel activities specialists.

Two third year Harvard Law students filed a civil action for declaratory and injunctive relief challenging the constitutionality of the U.S. Army’s Chaplain’s Corps in the case of Katcoff v. Alexander. On 20 August 1980 the district court denied the Army’s motion to dismiss holding that the plaintiffs had standing to sue as federal taxpayers, that the court had jurisdiction to consider the challenges, and that a ruling on the constitutionality of the chaplaincy cannot be made without a fully developed factual record.

Casualty and Memorial Affairs

The Army’s mortuary work load during fiscal year 1980 totaled 2,086 deceased persons. Local mortuaries, working under contract, prepared the remains of 1,161 active duty personnel and their dependents in CONUS. Six Army-operated mortuaries overseas handled 925 bodies. In Europe the Army recovered and identified the remains of 2 soldiers from World War II, 1 from Austria and 1 from Italy.

As a result of the Panama Canal treaty, the Army assumed opera-

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tional responsibility for the Panama Canal Commission Mortuary—located at Ancon, Panama—on 1 October 1979. The mortuary, staffed with three morticians, prepares approximately 350 remains each year.

The Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii (CILHI), continued to support Commander in Chief, Pacific (CINCPAC) mortuaries and the Joint Casualty Resolution Center (JCRC) by identifying remains. In addition, the laboratory conducted search and recovery missions to New Guinea, Wake Island, Tarawa, the Philippines, Guam, Enewetak, Mili Atol, and Pelilieu. The laboratory located 108 bodies, identified 12 casualties of World War II, and designated 1 body as an unknown World War II casualty. It classified the balance as Japanese, Filipinos, and four unrelated portions of bodies. The laboratory continued to receive visits from congressional delegations and members of veteran and funeral service associations.

On 26 December 1979 the Army transferred responsibility for graves registration to the Troop Support Division, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics (ODCSLOG) and the U.S. Army Troop Support Agency (TSA). The Services Branch of the Troop Support Division assumed responsibility for policy implementation, while the TSA at Fort Lee, Virginia, performs field operations.

The Arlington National Cemetery dedicated the first 5,000 niche section of its columbarium for cremated remains on 26 April 1980. Eventually, the columbarium will contain 50,000 niches. Located in the southeast section of the cemetery about half a mile from the Memorial Gate, it is one of the few active columbariums and the only one of such magnitude. Because of space limitations, ground burial is restricted. The criteria for interment in the columbarium are more liberal, and extend to all honorably discharged veterans. Ground burials in Arlington and the Soldier’s Home National Cemetery during fiscal year 1980 totalled 2,745; cremated remains inurned in the columbarium numbered 427.

The Casualty Services Division of The Adjutant General’s Center processed 927 active duty deaths, 6,494 retiree deaths, and 973 cases involving very seriously ill and seriously ill individuals in overseas commands. It also handled 738,000 records of emergency data in addition to processing 206 deaths of service members who died within 120 days of separation, discharge, or retirement.

During the period 1 October 1979 to 30 September 1980, The Adjutant General’s Center completed four individual case-by-case reviews under the Missing Persons Act for the service members reported as prisoners of war or missing in action in Southeast Asia. It declared 1 prisoner of war, 2 men missing in action, and 1 man missing (nonhostile) to be dead.

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Housing and Homeowners’ Assistance

Fiscal year 1980 was a year of retrenchment in the area of housing and homeowners’ assistance. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) eliminated the new construction program. The Congress cut the minor construction account for the Army to $500,000. It became apparent early in the year that the cost of repair to fire damaged units, which utilizes the minor construction account, would exceed this amount. Accordingly, the Corps of Engineers withheld the money from the major commands to permit the prioritization of projects toward the end of the fiscal year. OMB eliminated the Improvement Program and the Energy Conservation Investment Program, both parts of the Family Housing, Maintenance, Repair, and Improvement Program.

Leased housing gives an alternative means of providing shelter for military sponsors with dependents. In CONUS leasing is employed to house personnel on detached duty. In foreign countries it is primarily conducted through the build-to-lease method because of existing housing shortages. As of 30 September 1980, the Army had approximately 1,876 domestic leases and 9,042 foreign leases in its family housing inventory.

In fiscal year 1980 the Office of the Chief of Engineers (OCE) began development of the Housing Operation Management System (HOMES). The objective of the system is to provide improved management capabilities for family, bachelor, and transient housing and offpost referral. The Corps began initial planning to modernize existing system capabilities and establish modular development of HOMES. It awarded a contract to identify and analyze the benefits of incorporating the OCE proposed maintenance, repair, and improvements in standards and procedures into the HOMES development package.

During fiscal year 1980, the first seventeen interns in the Army’s Housing Management Career Program completed their two-year internship and received assignments to Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Carson, Colorado; and Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The Chief, Position and Pay Management Branch, Department of the Army Civilian Personnel Division, determined in March 1980 that major command housing managers at Headquarters, FORSCOM, TRADOC, and DARCOM should be classified in the Housing Management Series (GS-1173) in grade GS-14. In August 1980 Headquarters, USAREUR, also established a senior housing manager, GS-1173-14. The first series 1173, GS-15 Army Housing Management position was established on 6 July 1980 as Chief, Housing Management Branch,

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Army Housing Management Office, within the Office of the Chief of Engineers.

As executive agent for all military services, the Army paid $1.3 million under the Homeowners’ Assistance Program to 103 applicants as a result of base closures and realignment actions. Mortgage assumptions on twenty-seven of the thirty-one properties acquired totaled $732,004 for the fiscal year.

Food Services

There were many new initiatives in the Army Food Service Program during fiscal year 1980. The Department of the Army hosted a major food service conference at Fort Lee, Virginia, from 4-7 March 1980 to review current operational requirements and to plan for improved food service. Attended by more than eighty food service professionals from the other services, the major Army commands, the U.S. Army Troop Support Agency, and the Quartermaster School, the conference focused on innovations by the other services and the major commands, changes in regulations, new programs under development, and reserve component support and mobilization planning. The conference’s fifty-two major recommendations for improvements included the development of the fast food concept of operation for dining facilities, renewed emphasis on the dining facility modernization program, improvements in the Table of Distribution and Allowances (TDA) dining facility staffing criteria, upgrading of the eighty-two officer specialty, “Subsistence Management,” and expedited implementation of the automated headcount program.

The Troop Support Agency developed a new, comprehensive concept of design and operations for Army dining facilities to ensure that new facilities would be modern, assure efficient diner flow and work patterns, and incorporate the most up-to-date energy efficient measures. Design features included increased seating, the capability to accommodate more self-service equipment, modern decor, and inside queuing.

On 2 November 1979 the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics solicited the personal support of the MACOM commanders to bring the dining facility modernization program, created in 1974, to a successful conclusion. In response FORSCOM submitted a prioritized dining facility modernization program to the Department of the Army which encompasses eighty-four dining facilities costing $80 million over a five-year period beginning with fiscal year 1983. The

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plan resulted from a joint review by the TSA and FORSCOM of command-wide dining facilities. At the close of fiscal year 1980, 223 dining facilities throughout the Army required modernization under this program.

The 1980 Military Construction, Army (MCA) program—a line in the budget in which new projects costing more than $50,000 are placed, requiring specific Congressional approval before they are implemented—included the modernization of the dining facility at Fort Richardson, Alaska, at a cost of $611,000. The year also witnessed the construction of two new dining facilities, one at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and one in Germany, at a cost of $2,608 million.

The Troop Support Agency prepared a major study on TDA dining facility staffing during the year. The study noted that staffing, not increased since 1950, was inadequate to support substantial increases in the variety of fare on Army menus and the modernization of the dining facilities since the early seventies. The changes have resulted in sixty- to eighty-hour work weeks for TDA dining facility staffs. The study recommended a 12 percent increase in food service specialist personnel over a three-year period to correct the situation. FORSCOM was actively reviewing the study at the end of the fiscal year. The command had tentatively approved increases in administrative support and baking personnel and requirements for extended hours, extra serving hours, and field feeding as criteria for future staff increases. Onsite reviews of this problem will form the basis for future corrective action.

During fiscal year 1980, five operational Food Management Assistance Teams operated out of the Troop Support Agency. They provided dining facility management and technical assistance to active Army and reserve component commands and installations and to food service personnel worldwide. During the year, they visited sixty-nine active Army and reserve component commands and installations, including lengthy trips to Germany, Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the Far East. The teams assisted 8,240 food service personnel at 603 dining facilities. A total of 252 reserve component dining facilities and 1,736 food service personnel, representing twenty separate brigades or divisions from sixteen states, received aid from the teams. In addition, they provided help for the operation of newly constructed or modernized dining facilities.

On 4 August 1980 the Department of Defense directed the Army to develop a general testing and implementation plan for an automated headcount system that will be compatible for use by all service dining facilities. By the end of the fiscal year, the Army Staff, the major Army commands, and the other services were reviewing a

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functional description and economic analysis of the plan developed by the Troop Support Agency.

The Quartermaster School submitted a final report on the Combat Field Feeding System in August 1980 and briefed key Army staff agencies in August and September. The report recommended use of the T-ration—a fully prepared, shelf-stable, heat-and-serve ration, modular kitchen units, and paper plates and other disposables in place of the messkit. The study observed that the new system would improve food service mobility, flexibility, sanitation, and responsiveness while reducing personnel, fuel, and water requirements. The Quartermaster School asserted that the system would be cost effective, reduce annual operating costs by a projected $210 million, and cut life cycle costs by 26 percent for a mobilized force of 1.1 million. TRADOC developed plans to bring the Combat Field Feeding System into the Army in 1987, two years earlier than originally projected. The force development testing and evaluation test was tentatively scheduled for mid-1982.

Natick Laboratories continued to develop a replacement for the M1945 Mobile Field Bakery. Emphasis was placed on an automated bakery system to produce bread similar in quality and appearance to the commercial product in CONUS.

At the end of the fiscal year, the Army operated 1,104 dining facilities worldwide (557 CONUS and 547 overseas). Of these, sixteen were free-standing specialty or shortorder facilities and five were officers’ field ration dining facilities. During the year, the Army served 336,157,004 meals valued at $271,004,058. The single garrison bread bakery in Berlin and the single Central Pastry Kitchen at the Aberdeen Proving Ground continued in operation.

The International Food Service Executives Association presented the 12th Annual Philip A. Connelly Awards for excellence in the Army food service at their 79th Annual Convention in Los Angeles, California, on 19 August 1980. The winners were Service Battery, 4th Field Artillery, 9th Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Washington, for the best small dining facility (serving 200 or less); Headquarters, 2d Brigade, 5th Infantry Division, Fort Polk, Louisiana, for the best large dining facility (sustaining 201 or more); B Company, 2d Battalion, 1st Brigade, 7th Infantry Division, Fort Ord, California, for the best field kitchens; and Service Battery, 3d Battalion, 197th Field Artillery, New Hampshire Army National Guard, Somerworth, New Hampshire, for the best Army National Guard field kitchen; and the 28th Maintenance Company, 99th Army Reserve Command, Altoona, Pennsylvania, for the best Army Reserve field kitchen.

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Commissary and Subsistence Supplies

During fiscal year 1980, Congress, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Department of the Army, and marketing organizations focused considerable attention on Army commissary operations. Efforts to improve the management and operation of the commissaries through Project Impact paid large dividends as the number of “out of tolerance” stores decreased significantly.

As of 30 September 1980, the Army operated seventy-one domestic commissary stores and seven annexes. During the year, two additional stores opened in Panama (Balboa and Coco Solo) and two annexes opened in Germany (Wildflecken and Neckarsulum). A domestic annex located at Fort Wadsworth closed. The Army will open an additional store on 1 October 1980 at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California, and two more annexes in Germany at Fischback and Kirchgoens later in fiscal year 1981.

The Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics continued the expanded scope of the Command Inspection Program, originally increased significantly during fiscal year 1979 to obtain better operational effectiveness. The Troop Support Agency Staff Director and command inspection teams, composed of approximately thirty personnel from four directorate and two special staff offices, visited each field office and sixty-four stores.

During fiscal year 1980, troop issue specialists or trained food management team members made management assistance visits to sixty-one installations. They found that the majority of the troop issue subsistence activities were providing good support. The most prevalent discrepancies uncovered included: errors in computing the basic daily food allowance (BDFA), failure to properly requisition or reduce prices for “B” ration rotation items (canned items prepared and served by food service personnel in the field), establishing improper prices for locally procured items, and improperly performed inventories by the Troop Issue Subsistence Activity (TISA) and disinterested inventory teams.

The Commissary Specialist Intern Program completed its third year in fiscal year 1980. By the end of the year, nine of the twenty interns hired had completed two-year training programs and were filling positions in the Troop Support Agency or in the field offices. One intern resigned after completion of the training program. At the end of the year, ten interns were in the program. The Troop Support Agency planned to recruit seven additional interns during fiscal year 1981.

On 24 April 1980 Department of the Army and Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) representatives signed a Memorandum of Understand-

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ing (MOU) delineating specific command, control, and operational relationships between the Army and DLA elements in the supply of subsistence in Europe during peace and war. It provides that the DLA element, the Defense Subsistence Region-Europe, will come under the operational control of the U.S. Army, Europe, at an early stage of mobilization and will collocate with the Theater Army Materiel Management Center. The agreement stipulated that the dominant service in areas external to central Europe will requisition from and be supported by the Defense Personnel Support Center. The Army and the DLA agreed on issues relating to personnel, equipment, and funding requirements and directed follow-on detail planning.

The new Meal, Ready-to-Eat, Individual (MRE)—developed to replace the Meal, Combat, Individual (MCI)—reflects breakthroughs in technology that significantly increase the acceptability, portability, and overall utility of the standard combat meal for U.S. troops. With flexible packaging replacing metal cans, the new meal accomplishes a weight reduction of more than 36 percent compared to that of the MCI without impairing durability. The MRE’s components can be easily carried in pockets. Each meal weighs approximately 1.2 pounds and provides one-third of the daily food allowance, including an average of approximately 1,200 calories. Following successful service tests by the Army and Marine Corps in which soldiers consistently expressed strong preferences for the test meal over the standard MCI, the Army adopted the MRE as standard in 1975. By 30 September 1980, the Defense Personnel Support Center had begun large scale procurement with three prime contracts, each for eight million meals.

In 1975 the Department of Defense approved a recommendation by a joint service study group that the services adopt a centralized management system for commissary stores. The Army’s automated data processing system was not sophisticated enough to support centralized management, and the Department of Defense had placed a moratorium on purchasing new data processing equipment. DOD did, however, permit the Army to upgrade existing equipment. Headquarters, United States Army and the Troop Support Command (TROSCOM) reviewed all systems and concluded that the Automated System for Army Commissaries (ASAC) 360E showed the most potential for future development. After extensive work by TROSCOM and the Computer System Command (USACSC), the Army deployed the expanded system, designated ASAC 360 Plus, to the southeast region during fiscal year 1976. The following year USAREUR conducted field tests on the system, which it passed. In October 1977, ASAC 360 Plus became the system of record in          

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Europe. It became fully operational in support of all five commissary regional offices in 1980.

ASAC 360 Plus provides a totally automated financial management system interface for supply transactions and better control of inventories which provides commissary officers greater flexibility by allowing multiple deliveries during the month. In turn, this reduces on-hand inventory levels and eases the problem of inadequate warehouse space. The whole system depends upon access to accurate and up-to-date source data. The Army Commissary Computer Entry Store System (ACCESS) should meet this need. During 1980, the Army let a contract to acquire automatic data processing equipment for ACCESS, scheduled for completion during the 1981 and 1982 fiscal years.

Laundry and Dry Cleaning

Of the Army’s forty-seven laundry and dry cleaning facilities, private contractors by the end of the year provided the personnel and management for twenty-one plants, seven more than were operated under commercial contract last year. The continuing implementation of this practice was the principal subject of a seminar in July at Fort Hood, Texas, which was attended by all laundry and dry cleaning managers, laundry staff officers, and newly-appointed contracting officers’ representatives. The Chief of Staff meanwhile directed the conduct of triannual cost analyses at all Army laundry and dry cleaning facilities to determine whether commercial contract or in-house operation is more cost effective.

In addition to arranging the regular visits made to the Army’s forty-seven plants by management specialists to promote greater operating efficiency, the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics this year assumed responsibility for monitoring mobile laundry and bath units worldwide. Most visits to mobile units were made during the summer months to Reserve and National Guard units in the field.

Clothing and Personal Equipment

The Army Uniforms Board consists of eleven members: The Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, who is the chairman; eight other general officers; the Sergeant Major of the Army; and the senior female officer in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel. The board meets periodically to consider uniform changes, to include those proposed by an advisory panel of young officers and enlisted

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soldiers, and, in turn, sends its recommendations to the Chief of Staff for final decision.

As a result of deliberations this year, the Army will replace the winter-weight and summer-weight green uniforms for both men and women with green uniforms that can be worn year-round. The change to a single fabric can save the Army several million dollars a year. Also approved for adoption was a zip-in liner for the black windbreaker adopted last year and, as an optional purchase item, a part-wool, gray-green shirt heavier than the standard gray-green shirt approved earlier. In addition, the Chief of Staff gave approval for the procurement of desert camouflage uniforms. These uniforms will be available for issue to Rapid Deployment Forces in fiscal year 1982. Issue of brown underwear, handkerchiefs, and towels in addition to white, and a color change of the cardigan sweater from green to black received approval, and tests of the brown combat boot and a standard athletic shoe were okayed. As the fiscal year closed, a request for approval for airborne units to wear maroon berets had just been submitted.

Policies and procedures for requisitioning and controlling clothing issued to components under the “issue in kind” system were adopted and published in AR 700-84, Issue and Sale of Personal Clothing. The implementation date for these procedures was 15 September 1980.

Also initiated last year was the transfer of Clothing Sales Stores operations to the Army-Air Force Exchange System. Details of the transfer in Europe were worked out this year, with the actual transfer set to take place on 1 October 1980. The worldwide transfer was scheduled to take place early in fiscal year 1982.

Heraldic Activities

The Institute of Heraldry continued to meet the need for symbolic items of the Army and the other armed services and agencies of the government. Its activities included research, design, development, standardization, and technical services. Emphasis continued to be placed upon research which would result in less costly alternate materials in the development of new items and the review of specifications to determine if changes to be made would have the effect of broadening the procurement base. During the year, there was an increase in the services performed for non-Army agencies in comparison with fiscal year 1979. The following statistics reflect the accomplishments of the Institute: design of 454 items; completion of

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2,321 paintings and drawings and 168 sculptured items (molds, models, and casts); the development of 170 items (some new and some modified), which were placed in the procurement system; and the inspection of 179,000 items for quality during visits to fifty-three post and base exchanges. In addition, the Institute performed 1,700 research and engineering support actions to assist the Defense Personnel Support Center and other government procurement agencies.

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