Brody's Notes... GAO Report: DADT Cost US Taxpayers $193.3 Million Dollars 2004-2009

By Mark Singer (Washington DC) JAN 20 | Fulfilling the request by Congresswoman Susan Davis, (D-CA), member of the House Armed Services Committee, the Government Accountability Office today released GAO Report 11-170 entitled: "Personnel and Cost Data Associated with Implementing DOD’s Homosexual Conduct Policy." The report found that the cost borne by taxpayers for the 3,664 servicemembers who were separated under DOD's homosexual conduct policy from fiscal years 2004 through 2009 was about $193.3 million ($52,800 per separation.)

"According to GAO’s analysis of Defense Manpower Data Center data, 3,664 servicemembers were separated under DOD’s homosexual conduct policy from fiscal years 2004 through 2009. Of the 3,664 separations, 1,458 of these separated servicemembers held a critical occupation or an important foreign language skill as determined by GAO and the services. 

More specifically, 1,442 (39 percent) of the servicemembers separated under the policy held critical occupations, such as infantryman and security forces, while 23 (less than 1 percent) of the servicemembers held skills in an important foreign language, such as Arabic or Spanish. 

Seven separated servicemembers held both a critical occupation and an important foreign language skill. However, the number of separated servicemembers with critical occupations could be an underestimation because of a number of factors."

The GAO staff also took note that during the period from fiscal years 1994 through 2009, the Department of Defense (DOD) separated over 13,000 active military servicemembers under its homosexual conduct policy. These separations represent about 0.37 percent of the 3.6 million members separated for all reasons, including expiration of terms of service and retirement. 

In making the request, the GAO was asked by Congress to examine data from fiscal years 2004 through 2009 to determine (1) the extent to which the policy has resulted in the separation of servicemembers with skills in critical occupations and important foreign languages and (2) the services' costs for certain activities associated with administering the policy. GAO obtained and analyzed DOD personnel and cost data; examined DOD regulations and policy documents; and conducted interviews with officials from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, the Defense Manpower Data Center, and each of the military services. GAO provided a draft of this report to DOD for review and comment. DOD did not have any comments on the report.

The breakdown on the fiscal data:

"Using available DOD cost data, GAO calculated that it cost DOD about $193.3 million ($52,800 per separation) in constant fiscal year 2009 dollars to separate and replace the 3,664 servicemembers separated under the homosexual conduct policy. This $193.3 million comprises $185.6 million in replacement costs and $7.7 million in administrative costs.

The cost to recruit and train replacements amounted to about $185.6 million. In calculating these costs, GAO included variable costs, such as recruiting bonuses, and excluded fixed costs, such as salaries and buildings, to the extent possible because according to service officials there would likely be no significant increase in fixed costs when recruiting and training a relatively small number of replacement personnel. 

Administrative costs amounted to about $7.7 million and include costs associated with certain legal activities, such as board hearings, and nonlegal activities, such as processing separation paperwork."