United States Government Accountability Office

Washington, DC 20548 

January 25, 2008 

Congressional Requesters

Subject: VA and DOD Health Care: Administration of DOD’s Post-Deployment Health 

Reassessment to National Guard and Reserve Servicemembers and VA’s 

Interaction with DOD

Congress’s long-standing interest in health care services for servicemembers returning from 

deployment has grown regarding National Guard and Reserve servicemembers because they 

are being activated in numbers not seen since World War II.1, 2

 For servicemembers who have 

been deployed overseas—whether National Guard, Reserve, or active duty—the Department 

of Defense (DOD) has developed a continuum of programs to assess servicemembers’ health 

needs by obtaining information on their health concerns. One health assessment is 

administered before deployment, another about the time servicemembers return from

deployment, and a third 90 to 180 days after deployment, which is called the post-deployment 

health reassessment (PDHRA). DOD directed the PDHRA to be implemented in June 2005 in 

response to studies that showed that health concerns were emerging several months after 

servicemembers’ return from deployment.3

 One intent of the PDHRA is to identify 

servicemembers’ health concerns with a specific emphasis on screening for mental health 

and to assess whether servicemembers need referrals for further evaluation. PDHRAs can 

result in referrals being made to military treatment facilities, TRICARE providers,4

 chaplains, 

 1

See Related GAO Products at the end of this report. 

2

Between September 2001 and October 2007, nearly 620,000 National Guard and Reserve 

servicemembers have been activated in support of the Global War on Terrorism. 

3

For purposes of this report, we define servicemembers to include members of the National Guard and 

Reserves who fall under DOD’s continuum of care because of their active duty service overseas, even 

if they are no longer on active duty at the time the PDHRA is administered. 

4

DOD provides health care through TRICARE—a regionally structured program that uses civilian 

contractors to maintain provider networks to complement health care services provided at military

hospitals and clinics, commonly referred to as military treatment facilities. While servicemembers are

on active duty, DOD manages where they receive their care—at a military treatment facility, a

TRICARE civilian provider, or a VA medical facility. 

 GAO-08-181R DOD’s Post-Deployment Health Reassessment 
Military OneSource,5

 or Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities, such as VA medical 

centers, VA community clinics, and Vet Centers.6

Congressional interest in health care services for National Guard and Reserve 

servicemembers returning from deployment has increased because of their large numbers 

and because they have reported post-deployment mental health concerns at a higher rate 

than their active duty counterparts, though this varies by military service.7 Related to this 

interest, you asked us to describe the administration of the PDHRA to National Guard and 

Reserve servicemembers.8

 This report describes (1) how DOD administers the PDHRA to 

National Guard and Reserve servicemembers and what information it obtains and (2) how VA 

interacts with DOD in the PDHRA process for these servicemembers and the information VA 

obtains. 

Our work focused on National Guard (federally activated) and Reserve servicemembers from 

the military services who have been deployed overseas greater than 30 days to locations 

without a permanent military treatment facility.9

 National Guard servicemembers included 

the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard. Reserve servicemembers included 

Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Air Force Reserve, and Marine Corps Reserve. We did not 

include Coast Guard Reserve servicemembers since they represent less than 1 percent of the 

population of activated Reserve and National Guard servicemembers. 

To describe how DOD administers the PDHRA to National Guard and Reserve 

servicemembers and what information it obtains, we interviewed and obtained documents 

from relevant DOD officials from the Force Health Protection and Readiness Program in the 

Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs), the Army Medical Surveillance 

Activity, and each of the military services identified above. In addition, we interviewed and 

obtained documents from the health care contractor DOD uses to administer the PDHRA to 

National Guard and Reserve servicemembers. Further, we obtained completion and referral 

data from PDHRA administrations conducted from June 2005 through January 1, 2008. We 

 5

For National Guard, Reserve, and active duty servicemembers and their families, Military OneSource 

provides educational products on the Web and counseling on a variety of topics by phone and face to

face. 

6

VA’s integrated health care system provides primary care, specialized care, and related medical and 

social support services. VA medical centers provide a broad range of inpatient and outpatient medical 

services, including mental health services, to servicemembers and veterans meeting eligibility criteria. 

VA community clinics provide medical services, which may include mental health services, on an

outpatient basis in local communities. Vet Centers provide mental health services, including 

readjustment counseling, to all veterans who served in any combat zone. 

7

Colonel Charles W. Hoge, M.D., Director of Division of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Walter Reed

Army Institute of Research provided this comparative information in September 28, 2006, testimony

before the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Subcommittee on Health, House of Representatives. 

8

You asked us to describe the administration of the PDHRA either in requests focused on this subject 

or in requests for this information as part of a larger body of work. As requested, we are also 

conducting work on related issues for which we plan to issue additional reports.

9

For purposes of this report, we consider the National Guard to be federally activated when it is 

performing a federal mission conducted under the command and control of the President and

mobilized under authority contained in Title 10, U.S. Code. These mobilization authorities include, for 

example, 10 U.S.C. § 12302 and § 12304.

 2 GAO-08-181R DOD’s Post-Deployment Health Reassessment
assessed the reliability of those data by reviewing system documentation, interviewing 

knowledgeable agency officials, and testing the data to search for incorrect or missing values. 

We determined the data were sufficiently reliable for the purposes of this report. To describe 

how VA interacts with DOD in the PDHRA process for these servicemembers, we 

interviewed, and collected supporting documentation from VA officials from the Office of 

Seamless Transition, Office of Readjustment Counseling, Office of Mental Health, and

Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN) offices.10 We also interviewed and obtained 

documents from DOD’s contractor officials and relevant DOD officials from the Force Health 

Protection and Readiness Program in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health 

Affairs), the Army Medical Surveillance Activity, and each of the military services identified 

above. 

In addition, to address both objectives, we observed in-person administrations of PDHRAs to 

Army National Guard servicemembers in Kinston, North Carolina, during a weekend meeting 

(called a drill weekend) and to Army Reserve servicemembers in Indianapolis, Indiana, 

during a drill weekend. We chose these sites because they are located in different regions of 

the country and located in areas with respectively smaller and larger populations. We visited 

Army National Guard and Reserve units because they comprised about 80 percent of

deployed National Guard (federally activated) and Reserve servicemembers at the time of our 

review (July 2007). While this sample of site visits allowed us to learn about many important 

aspects of PDHRA administrations, the information does not permit us to generalize about 

PDHRA administrations departmentwide. At these sites, we met with and collected 

supporting documentation from officials responsible for administering the PDHRA and 

officials from VA medical centers, a VA community clinic, and Vet Centers. We conducted our 

work from April 2007 through January 2008 in accordance with generally accepted 

government auditing standards. 

Results in Brief 

DOD uses a health care contractor in all but a small number of cases to administer the 

PDHRA to National Guard and Reserve servicemembers either in person or by telephone 

through a call center. Specifically, DOD contracts with a company that provides 

administrative staff and health care providers—physicians, physician’s assistants, and nurse 

practitioners—to administer the assessments. The PDHRA form asks for demographic 

information—such as the servicemember’s date of birth, gender, and marital status—and 

health information that can lead to referrals for additional evaluation. For example, the 

PDHRA asks servicemembers questions about the occurrence of nightmares, conflicts with 

family and friends, and increased alcohol use. Servicemembers who answer affirmatively to 

these questions may receive a referral for further evaluation for mental health conditions, 

such as post-traumatic stress disorder or alcohol abuse. These referrals result from in-person 

or telephone discussions that take place between the servicemember and the health care 

provider during the PDHRA administration. Of the about 156,000 PDHRAs completed by 

National Guard and Reserve servicemembers from June 2005 through January 1, 2008, nearly 

46 percent resulted in referrals for further evaluation for physical or mental health concerns. 

 10The VA health care system is organized into 21 geographically defined regions, or VISNs, that have 

budget and management responsibilities for VA facilities in their geographic area. 

 3 GAO-08-181R DOD’s Post-Deployment Health Reassessment
According to our discussions with VA and DOD officials, VA officials interact with DOD 

officials in the PDHRA process in several ways and receive information about 

servicemembers from DOD. Through coordination with DOD, VA officials are generally 

present when PDHRAs are administered to National Guard and Reserve servicemembers 

during drill weekends, whether the PDHRAs are administered in person or by telephone 

through a call center. VA interaction with DOD also occurs when servicemembers are 

referred to a VA facility. VA staff provide servicemembers with information about VA benefits 

and help them make appointments at VA facilities.

11 Information VA receives from DOD 

includes the location of PDHRA administrations, numbers of servicemembers referred to VA 

facilities, and the PDHRAs of individual servicemembers who access VA health care. Of the 

National Guard and Reserve servicemembers referred through the PDHRA process for either 

physical or mental health concerns from June 2005 through January 1, 2008, 

47 percent (almost 34,000) were referred to VA facilities. 

VA and DOD concurred with a draft of this report. 

Background 

Almost all National Guard and Reserve servicemembers serve in the military on a part-time 

basis while maintaining a civilian career. When not deployed, they usually meet 1 weekend a 

month for a drill weekend and 2 weeks a year for annual training. Commanding officers are 

responsible for ensuring that servicemembers in their military units are medically ready to be 

deployed. As part of that effort, they are responsible for having servicemembers in their unit 

complete deployment health assessments. 

DOD’s deployment-related continuum of health care includes three health assessments, 

which are used to determine whether further evaluation is needed for servicemembers 

deployed overseas greater than 30 days to locations without a permanent military treatment 

facility.12 They do not diagnose medical conditions. The pre-deployment health assessment is 

documented on Department of Defense Form 2795 and is administered within 60 days before 

deployment. It is a mandatory health assessment for most servicemembers deploying 

overseas. The post-deployment health assessment is documented on Department of Defense 

Form 2796 and must be completed between 30 days prior to leaving a deployment location 

and within 30 days after returning from deployment. It is a mandatory health assessment for 

servicemembers returning from deployment. The PDHRA is documented on Department of 

Defense Form 2900 (DD 2900) and is administered 90 to 180 days after returning from 

deployment.13 (See encl. I.) While it is mandatory that DOD offer servicemembers the 

opportunity to participate in the PDHRA, servicemembers are only required to answer limited 

demographic questions; they are not required to answer any of the health questions. Further, 

those who have left the military have the option to complete the PDHRA but are not required 

to do so. 

 11VA provides a range of benefits to eligible veterans, including disability compensation and pensions, 

education benefits, and hospital and medical care. 

12It is the commander’s decision whether servicemembers who do not meet the criteria complete these

health assessments. 

13Although a new DD 2900 dated September 2007 has been developed, it had not been implemented as 

of January 7, 2008. This report refers to the DD 2900 dated June 2005. 

 4 GAO-08-181R DOD’s Post-Deployment Health Reassessment
While the pre- and post-deployment health assessments were established in response to 

legislation, the PDHRA was created independently by DOD.14 In 2004, researchers published 

articles that indicated servicemembers reported a significant increase in mental health

concerns 90 to 120 days after returning from deployment compared with mental health

concerns reported before or just after deployment.15 In response, DOD developed the PDHRA 

process to provide identification of health concerns during this post-deployment time frame 

and to assess whether servicemembers need referrals for further evaluation. DOD and 

international health experts worked jointly with VA mental health experts to develop the DD 

2900. 

Veterans who have served in combat in certain conflicts, including those from the National 

Guard and Reserves, are presumed to be eligible for VA health care services for any condition 

for 2 years from the date of separation from military service, even if there is insufficient 

medical evidence to conclude that the condition is attributable to military service.16 This 

2-year presumptive eligibility includes those National Guard and Reserve members who have 

left active duty and returned to their units. If veterans do not enroll until after the 2-year 

presumptive period, they will be subject to the same eligibility and enrollment rules as other 

veterans, who generally have to prove that a medical problem is connected to their military 

service or that they have incomes below certain thresholds.17

PDHRA, Administered in Person or through a Call Center, Provides DOD with 

Servicemembers’ Health Information 

DOD generally administers the PDHRA to National Guard and Reserve servicemembers using 

a health care contractor either in person or by telephone through a call center, depending on 

 14The pre- and post-deployment health assessments were established in response to a provision in the 

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998. See Pub. L. No. 105-85, § 765(a)(1), 111 Stat. 

1629, 1826-27 (codified as amended as 10 U.S.C. § 1074f). The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health 

Affairs directed all military services to conduct health reassessments of servicemembers at 90 to 

180 days post-deployment. He directed implementation plans to begin 90 days after March 10, 2005. 

15P. D. Bliese, K. M. Wright, A. B. Adler, et al., Screening for Traumatic Stress Among Re-Deploying 

Soldiers, U.S. Army Medical Research Unit-Europe Research Report 2004-001 (Heidelberg, Germany:

USAMRU-E, 2004) and C. W. Hoge, C. A. Castro, S. C. Messer, et al., Combat Duty in Iraq and

Afghanistan, Mental Health Problems, and Barriers to Care (Boston, MA: The New England Journal 

of Medicine, 351, 2004). 

16To be eligible, the veteran must have served in combat during a period of war after the Persian Gulf 

War or against a hostile force during a period of hostilities after November 11, 1998. See 38 U.S.C. 

§ 1710(e)(1)(D); VHA Directive 2005-020, Determining Combat Veteran Eligibility (June 2, 2005). 

“Hostilities” is defined as an armed conflict in which servicemembers are subjected to danger

comparable to the danger encountered in combat with enemy armed forces during a period of war, as 

determined by the Secretary of VA. See 38 U.S.C. § 1712A(a)(2)(B). Eligibility under 38 U.S.C. 

§ 1710(e)(1)(D) does not extend, however, to veterans whose disabilities are found to have resulted 

from a cause other than the service described in the statute. H.R. 1585, the National Defense

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, contains a provision that would extend the length of the 

presumptive eligibility for certain combat veterans. The House and Senate approved this bill in 

December, 2007. However, on December 27, 2007, the President issued a memorandum indicating his 

disapproval of H.R. 1585 and declined to sign the legislation. 

17See 38 U.S.C. §§ 1705, 1710; 38 C.F.R. § 17.36 (2007). 

 5 GAO-08-181R DOD’s Post-Deployment Health Reassessment
the number of individuals being assessed.18 DOD officials said their contract officials 

generally administer the PDHRA in person when they can achieve economies of scale, that is, 

when a sufficient number of servicemembers—at least 60—are scheduled for an assessment 

at a drill location. At in-person administrations, contractor personnel—including 

administrative staff and health care providers—go to the drill location. Contractor officials 

stated that most PDHRAs are administered to Army National Guard servicemembers in 

person because they generally deploy in large enough groups. 

According to DOD officials, when fewer than 60 servicemembers are being assessed, 

PDHRAs are administered by telephone through a call center operated by DOD’s health care 

contractor. Contractor officials indicated that the Air National Guard and the Army, Navy, 

and Marine Corps Reserves typically use the call center because they tend to deploy

servicemembers in small groups. DOD officials told us that for administrations using the call 

center, commanding officers decide whether servicemembers complete PDHRAs by phone 

during a drill weekend or during their personal time. 

Whether administered in person or through the call center, the DD 2900 consists of two sets 

of questions—one set answered by servicemembers and the other by health care providers. 

Servicemembers answer the first set of questions online. These questions ask about 

servicemembers’ demographics—such as the servicemember’s date of birth, gender, and 

marital status—and health concerns. The second set of questions is completed by a health 

care provider—typically a physician, physician’s assistant, or nurse practitioner. The provider 

discusses with the servicemember answers from the first set of questions and uses that 

information to answer the second set of questions, which ask the provider to assess 

servicemember’s health concerns and make referrals if needed.

19

DOD obtains information from the PDHRA process that can lead to referrals for additional 

evaluations. For example, the PDHRA includes questions about the occurrence of 

nightmares, conflicts with family and friends, and increased alcohol use. Servicemembers 

who answer affirmatively to these questions may need further evaluation for mental health 

conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or alcohol abuse. Of the about 156,000 DD 

2900s completed by National Guard and Reserve servicemembers between June 2005 and 

January 1, 2008, about 46 percent resulted in referrals for further evaluation for physical or 

mental health concerns.

VA Interacts with DOD in the PDHRA Process and Receives PDHRA Information 

from DOD 

According to our discussions with VA and DOD officials, VA officials interact with DOD in 

the PDHRA process in several ways. VA staff routinely attend when PDHRAs are to be 

administered in person. DOD’s health care contractor provides VA’s senior military liaison 

with information about the location and schedule as well as the number of National Guard 

 18The Air National Guard requires the PDHRA to be administered in person by a military provider to

servicemembers assigned to the Personnel Reliability Program. In addition, since the Air Force

Reserves are small in number and co-located on an Air Force Base with active duty servicemembers, 

their PDHRAs are usually administered in person by a military provider. 

19The Army National Guard and Army, Navy, and Marine Corps Reserves all require servicemembers to 

speak with a health care provider. However, most of the Air National Guard and all Air Force Reserve

servicemembers are not required to speak with a provider if they report no health concerns on the DD

2900. 

 6 GAO-08-181R DOD’s Post-Deployment Health Reassessment
and Reserve servicemembers expected to be assessed. Local VA officials told us that when 

they are scheduled to attend a PDHRA in-person administration, they contact the unit’s 

commanding officer or the officer’s representative to obtain information on the unit’s combat 

experiences and to coordinate the number of VA staff and materials needed for the number 

of servicemembers scheduled to complete PDHRAs. At our site visits, we observed officials 

from VA medical centers and Vet Centers providing servicemembers with information about 

VA benefits, enrolling servicemembers in the VA, and helping servicemembers make 

appointments at VA facilities. At our Indianapolis site visit, local VA officials provided Army 

Reserve servicemembers with appointment contact information for VA facilities located not 

only in Indiana but also in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, 

and Texas for servicemembers who lived outside of Indiana.20 VA officials we interviewed at 

headquarters, the VISN, and the local office noted that PDHRA administrations provide one 

of the best ways for VA to give information about their benefits to National Guard and 

Reserve servicemembers. 

VA officials told us they also interact with DOD when the PDHRA is administered through the 

call center. When units schedule PDHRA administrations using the call center during drill 

weekends, VA officials told us they generally coordinate in the same ways as they do for inperson PDHRA administrations. For example, a headquarters official said local VA officials 

usually go to the unit’s location to provide educational materials about VA benefits, enroll 

servicemembers in VA, and help them make appointments at VA facilities. Officials at VA 

headquarters and a VISN indicated that VA officials also provide educational materials for 

servicemembers who complete PDHRAs using the call center when the assessments are not 

administered on a drill weekend. For example, for a unit in Jacksonville, Florida, a VISN 

official sent the unit’s commanding officer packets of information for distribution to the 

servicemembers at the unit’s next drill weekend. The information included VA enrollment 

forms and brochures about VA benefits. Regardless of whether the PDHRA is administered 

during a drill weekend, VA and DOD interact when servicemembers are referred to VA

facilities. According to VA headquarters and DOD officials, the contractor’s call center 

personnel will either connect servicemembers directly to a VA facility or give them 

information to contact the facility themselves. Following the telephone interview, call center 

personnel mail servicemembers a brochure about VA benefits for National Guard and 

Reserve servicemembers, a copy of their DD 2900, and contact information for the VA senior 

military liaison to assist them if they experience problems getting an appointment at a VA 

facility. 

Through interaction with DOD officials, VA officials obtain PDHRA information about 

servicemembers referred to VA and individual servicemembers’ DD 2900s when they access 

VA health care. Each month, VA receives a report that provides monthly and cumulative 

totals of servicemembers referred, including servicemembers referred to VA facilities. For 

example, the January 1, 2008, report showed that of the number of servicemembers referred 

from June 2005 through January 1, 2008, nearly 34,000 (47 percent) were referred to VA 

facilities for either physical or mental health concerns. For mental health concerns, more 

than 11,000 servicemembers were referred to VA medical centers or clinics and over 16,000 

 20Because of personnel shortages in Reserve units that are deploying, it has been necessary to transfer 

servicemembers from units that are not deployed into the deploying unit. The deploying units may or

may not be located in the same state as the nondeploying units. 

 7 GAO-08-181R DOD’s Post-Deployment Health Reassessment
were referred to Vet Centers.21 VA also receives a weekly report that lists the location of all 

in-person PDHRA administrations during the past week and shows the number of referrals to 

VA from each PDHRA administration. Further, when servicemembers obtain health care from 

VA, VA officials have access to individual servicemembers’ DD 2900s. DOD provides VA with 

electronic access to servicemembers’ DD 2900s, according to headquarters VA and DOD 

officials. In addition, servicemembers may provide VA officials with paper copies of their DD 

2900s. 

Agency Comments 

VA and DOD reviewed a draft of this report. VA stated in an e-mail response that it agreed 

with the facts presented in the report as they pertain to VA, and had no additional comments. 

DOD stated that it concurred with the report’s findings and conclusions. DOD asked that we 

clarify in the first paragraph that the focus of the report is National Guard and Reserve 

servicemembers, and we made revisions to do so. DOD also provided technical comments 

which we incorporated where appropriate. DOD’s comments are reprinted in enclosure II. 

- - - - - 

We are sending copies of this report to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of 

Defense and appropriate congressional committees. We will also make copies available to 

others upon request. In addition, the report is available at no charge on the GAO Web site at 

http://www.gao.gov. 

If you or your staff have questions about this report, please contact me at (202) 512-7114 or 

kanofm@gao.gov. Contact points for our Office of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs 

may be found on the last page of this report. GAO staff members who made key contributions 

to this report are listed in enclosure III. 

Marjorie Kanof 

Managing Director, Health Care 

Enclosures – 3 

 21Servicemembers may be referred to both a VA medical center and a Vet Center so these numbers

cannot be combined to determine the total number of individual servicemembers referred. 

 8 GAO-08-181R DOD’s Post-Deployment Health Reassessment
List of Requesters 

The Honorable Michael H. Michaud 

Chairman 

Subcommittee on Health

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

House of Representatives 

The Honorable Daniel K. Akaka 

Chairman 

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

United States Senate 

The Honorable Wayne Allard 

United States Senate 

The Honorable Christopher S. Bond

United States Senate 

The Honorable Barbara Boxer 

United States Senate 

The Honorable Tom Harkin 

United States Senate 

The Honorable Joseph I. Lieberman 

United States Senate 

The Honorable Claire McCaskill 

United States Senate 

The Honorable Patty Murray 

United States Senate 

The Honorable Barack Obama 

United States Senate 

The Honorable Ken Salazar 

United States Senate 

The Honorable Bernard Sanders 

United States Senate 

The Honorable Peter Welch 

House of Representatives 

9 GAO-08-181R DOD’s Post-Deployment Health Reassessment 
Enclosure I 

Department of Defense Form 2900 

10 GAO-08-181R DOD’s Post-Deployment Health Reassessment 
Enclosure I 

 11 GAO-08-181R DOD’s Post-Deployment Health Reassessment
Enclosure I 

 12 GAO-08-181R DOD’s Post-Deployment Health Reassessment
Enclosure I 

 13 GAO-08-181R DOD’s Post-Deployment Health Reassessment
Enclosure II 

Comments from the Department of Defense 

14 GAO-08-181R DOD’s Post-Deployment Health Reassessment 
Enclosure III 

GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 

GAO Contact 

Marjorie Kanof, (202) 512-7114 or kanofm@gao.gov

Acknowledgments 

In addition to the contact named above, key contributors to this report were 

James C. Musselwhite, Jr., Assistant Director; Rebecca Abela; Laurie E. Ekstrand; 

Hannah Fein; Cynthia Forbes; and Julianna Weigle. 

15 GAO-08-181R DOD’s Post-Deployment Health Reassessment 
Related GAO Products

Defense Health Care: Comprehensive Oversight Framework Needed to Help Ensure

Effective Implementation of a Deployment Health Quality Assurance Program. 

GAO-07-831. Washington, D.C.: June 22, 2007. 

VA and DOD Health Care: Efforts to Provide Seamless Transition of Care for OEF and OIF 

Servicemembers and Veterans. GAO-06-794R. Washington, D.C.: June 30, 2006. 

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: DOD Needs to Identify the Factors Its Providers Use to 

Make Mental Health Evaluation Referrals for Servicemembers. GAO-06-397. Washington, 

D.C.: May 11, 2006. 

VA and DOD Health Care: VA Has Policies and Outreach Efforts to Smooth Transition 

from DOD Health Care, but Sharing of Health Information Remains Limited. 

GAO-05-1052T. Washington, D.C.: September 28, 2005. 

Defense Health Care: Occupational and Environmental Health Surveillance Conducted 

During Deployments Needs Improvement. GAO-05-903T. Washington, D.C.: July 19, 2005. 

Defense Health Care: Improvements Needed in Occupational and Environmental Health 

Surveillance During Deployments to Address Immediate and Long-Term Health Issues. 

GAO-05-632. Washington, D.C.: July 14, 2005. 

Defense Health Care: Force Health Protection and Surveillance Policy Compliance Was 

Mixed, but Appears Better for Recent Deployments. GAO-05-120. Washington, D.C.: 

November 12, 2004. 

Gulf War Illnesses: Federal Research Efforts Have Waned, and Research Findings Have Not 

Been Reassessed. GAO-04-815T. Washington, D.C.: June 1, 2004. 

Department of Veterans Affairs: Federal Gulf War Illnesses Research Strategy Needs 

Reassessment. GAO-04-767. Washington, D.C.: June 1, 2004.

Defense Health Care: DOD Needs to Improve Force Health Protection and Surveillance 

Processes. GAO-04-158T. Washington, D.C.: October 16, 2003. 

Defense Health Care: Quality Assurance Process Needed to Improve Force Health 

Protection and Surveillance. GAO-03-1041. Washington, D.C.: September 19, 2003. 

VA and Defense Health Care: Progress Made, but DOD Continues To Face Military Medical 

Surveillance System Challenges. GAO-02-377T. Washington, D.C.: January 24, 2002. 

VA and Defense Health Care: Progress and Challenges DOD Faces in Executing a Military 

Medical Surveillance System. GAO-02-173T. Washington, D.C.: October 16, 2001. 

(290600) 

16 GAO-08-181R DOD’s Post-Deployment Health Reassessment 
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Washington, DC 20548 

Chuck Young, Managing Director, youngc1@gao.gov, (202) 512-4800 

U.S. Government Accountability Office, 441 G Street NW, Room 7149 

Washington, DC 20548 

Obtaining Copies of 

GAO Reports and 

Testimony

Order by Mail or Phone 

To Report Fraud,

Waste, and Abuse in 

Federal Programs 

Congressional 

Relations 

Public Affairs 

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