United States General Accounting Office

GAO Report to Congressional Requesters

March 1997 DOD SERVICE

ACADEMIES

Problems Limit

Feasibility of

Graduates Directly

Entering the Reserves

GAO/NSIAD-97-89

GAO United States

General Accounting Office

Washington, D.C. 20548

National Security and

International Affairs Division

B-276401 

March 24, 1997

The Honorable Strom Thurmond

Chairman

The Honorable Carl Levin

Ranking Minority Member

Committee on Armed Services

United States Senate

The Honorable Floyd Spence

Chairman

The Honorable Ronald Dellums

Ranking Minority Member

Committee on National Security

House of Representatives

Section 557 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997

(P. L. 104-201) directed us to report to the congressional defense

committees on the policy and cost implications of up to 5 percent of each

academy’s graduating class serving in the reserve with a corresponding

increase in the number of Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC)

graduates serving on active duty. Based on discussions with your offices,

we (1) determined the number of academy graduates serving in an active

status in the reserve component; (2) obtained information regarding the

feasibility and implications of a proposal to have academy graduates serve

in a drilling status in the reserve component, without having served on

active duty, as a means of enhancing the capability of the guard/reserves;

and (3) identified other means through which the reserve components are

recruiting junior officers.

Background The Department of Defense (DOD) has several commissioning programs

that it uses to bring new officers onto active duty, including the service

academies, ROTC, and the services’ Officer Candidate Schools/Officer

Training Schools (OCS/OTS). These programs vary in length, intensity, and

content; the required period of active duty service incurred; and their cost

to DOD. Each of the academies produces about 1,000 graduates a year.

Consequently, if 5 percent of the graduates were to enter the

guard/reserve, it would involve about 50 graduates a year from each of the

3 DOD academies. In 1996, the numbers of ROTC and OCS/OTS officers

produced, respectively, in each of the services were: 2,887 and 350 in the

Page 1 GAO/NSIAD-97-89 DOD Service Academies
B-276401 

Army, 857 and 1,383 in the Navy, 227 and 365 in the Marine Corps, and

1,637 and 646 in the Air Force.

The reserve components have become increasingly central to the U.S.

national defense strategy and have played an integral part in most recent

military operations, including the Gulf War and Bosnia. The reserve

component consists of various categories involving different degrees of

participation. The policy proposal we examined specified that placement

of academy graduates would be in an active reserve status, which includes

only those in the selected reserve. The selected reserve includes those

individuals in a part-time, paid drill status in either a reserve or National

Guard unit, personnel in the Active Guard/Reserve (AGR) on active duty

providing full-time support, and trained personnel called Individual

Mobilization Augmentees (IMA) designated to fill specific positions during

mobilization. Since AGR personnel are on active duty and IMA personnel are

typically fully trained, we focused our examination of the policy proposal

only on the drilling guard/reserve. (See app. II for further background on

the reserve components.)

Results in Brief As of October 1, 1996, 5,014 service academy graduates were serving in the

active reserve components. Additionally, 424 academy graduates were on

active duty with a reserve component performing full-time AGR support

functions under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 12301(d) and 32 U.S.C. 502(f).

About 4.6 percent of the officers in the drilling guard/reserves were

academy graduates compared to 17.4 percent of the active forces.

Department of Defense, service, and academy officials, with the exception

of those representing the National Guard, believe that sending academy

graduates to the drilling guard/reserves upon graduation would be

counterproductive. They pointed to the need for new officers, regardless

of their commissioning source, to receive skill training and experience

before they can be productive guard/reserve members. Since the

academies are the most expensive source of new officers, concerns were

expressed that sending academy graduates to the reserves before they

complete their active duty obligation would not produce a sufficient

payback for the cost of their education. Department of Defense officials

additionally cited a number of administrative and practical problems that

would require policy changes at the academies and the selected reserves.

National Guard officials, however, noted that they have vacancies for

officers in the junior officer grades and believe that the assignment of

Page 2 GAO/NSIAD-97-89 DOD Service Academies
B-276401 

academy graduates directly to the National Guard would be feasible.

Based on their experiences with programs for new Reserve Officers

Training Corps graduate accessions, National Guard officials believe that

the policy and administrative difficulties in accessing academy graduates

could be managed.

The reserve components presently receive academy graduates through

normal attrition as academy-produced officers join the drilling

guard/reserves after completing their obligated active duty service. In

addition, efforts to downsize the active duty force have had a side benefit

of enhancing the capability of the reserve component by getting more

trained and experienced officers into active reserve status. Recently, these

early release programs have been opened to graduates from the academies

and the Reserve Officers Training Corps. Since 1994, the Army National

Guard Combat Readiness Reform Act of 19921

 has allowed the Army to

bring in 482 academy graduates and 108 graduates from the Reserve

Officers Training Corps with 2 to 3 years of experience to serve the

remainder of their military service obligations in the selected reserves.

Academy Graduates

in the Drilling

Guard/Reserve

As of October 1, 1996, the drilling guard/reserve officer corps of 109,594

included 5,014 academy graduates, or about 4.6 percent (see fig. 1). This

percentage compares to academy graduates comprising about 17.4 percent

of the active duty officer corps (see fig. 2). The Navy reserve has the

largest proportion of academy graduates at 10.3 percent, followed by the

Air Force at 6.0 percent, the Marine Corps at 3.5 percent, and the Army at

2.6 percent.

About 424 academy graduates were on full-time active duty in a reserve

component under 10 U.S.C. 12301(d) and 32 U.S.C. 502(f) for the purpose

of organizing, administering, recruiting, instructing, and training the

reservists. See appendix III for additional details on the number of

academy graduates serving in the selected reserve.

1

Title XI of P.L. 102-484, October 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 2315, 2536.

Page 3 GAO/NSIAD-97-89 DOD Service Academies
B-276401 

Figure 1: Drilling Guard/Reserve

Officers by Source of Commission

Academy

ROTC

OCS

Other

4.6%

28.3%

17.7%

49.4%

Note: The “OCS” category in this figure refers to the active duty OCS/OTS program. The “Other”

category includes: graduates of the Army National Guard OCS schools run by each state and

territory, the 6-week Air National Guard Academy of Military Science, direct commissions, officers

trained in one service and accessed in another, and officers whose source of commission was

missing.

Figure 2: Active Duty Officers by

Source of Commission

Academy

ROTC

OCS

OTHER

17.4%

39.0%

21.0%

22.7%

Note: The “Other” category includes officers accessed by direct commissions (commissions

offered to professionals in medicine, law, and the ministry), officers trained in one service and

accessed in another, and officers whose source of commission was missing.

Page 4 GAO/NSIAD-97-89 DOD Service Academies
B-276401 

Feasibility of

Academy Graduates

Serving in the

Guard/Reserve Upon

Graduation

Concerns Raised

Regarding Lack of

Experience and Training

for Immediate Reserve

Duty

DOD, the active services, and the reserve components, with the exception

of the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard, stated that

sending service academy graduates directly to the drilling guard/reserve

without officer skill training or active duty experience would not enhance

the capability of the reserve component. Newly commissioned officers,

regardless of whether they come from the academies, ROTC, or OCS/OTS, are

not fully prepared for direct entry into military jobs. The military

education at the service academies and the other commissioning programs

focus on preparing graduates to go into the active component. But these

commissioning programs do not provide specific military occupational

skills. The transition into the active service is considered a necessary part

of completing an officer’s education. Also, DOD officials told us that those

officers who enter the guard/reserves without active duty experience

would likely be at a competitive disadvantage, which could negatively

affect their long-term career potential as a member of the reserve

component.

An additional concern to the reserve components is funding for mandatory

follow-on training for newly commissioned officers transferred directly to

units after commissioning. The requirement to train these officers would

shift to the respective component, imposing significant increases in

training funds because the basic branch qualification courses involve

active duty, with sometimes lengthy training.

Direct Entry Into

Guard/Reserve May Not Be

Considered Adequate

Payback for the Cost of

Academy Education

DOD, the service academies, and the reserves believe that serving in the

drilling guard/reserve may not be considered by the Congress or the

taxpayers to be sufficient recoupment for the cost of an academy

education. The service academies spent about $762 million in fiscal 

year 1995 to produce 2,900 officers. The cost of producing an officer in the

class of 1995 was $277,000 at the Military Academy, $218,000 at the Naval

Academy, $283,000 at the Air Force Academy, and $82,0002

 for the

2

The ROTC cost per graduate includes only those costs paid for by the military.

Page 5 GAO/NSIAD-97-89 DOD Service Academies
B-276401 

scholarship ROTC program. The services’ OCS/OTS programs and the National

Guard OCS programs are considerably less expensive.

The Congress has expressed concern about ensuring an adequate payback

for the cost of officer training. The minimum active duty service

commitment for academy graduates is 5 years, and ROTC graduates are

obligated to serve 4 years. The active duty service commitment for

academy graduates was raised to 6 years, starting with the class entering

the academies in 1992, in an effort to ensure a greater return for the cost of

an academy education. But before the change took effect, the 6-year

obligation was rolled back to 5 years in 1995 because of concerns that it

would harm academy recruiting.

DOD officials have raised the question of whether attendance at training for

2 days per month and an annual training requirement of about 14 days

would provide an adequate payback for DOD’s investment of $218,000 to

$283,000 in an academy graduate’s education. If an academy graduate’s

5-year service obligation was required to be served through drilling

guard/reserve participation, it would amount to about 190 total days of

service. That amount would provide an implicit payback rate for their

education of between $1,147 and $1,489 per day of drilling guard/reserve

service.

Administrative and

Practical Difficulties in

Accessing Academy

Graduates Directly Into

Active Reserve Service

Officials cited a number of administrative and practical difficulties that

would have to be overcome to make direct accession of academy

graduates into the reserves feasible. They cited problems regarding the

absence of an employment placement process at the academies;

placement of graduates into drilling guard/reserve units; enforcement of

guard/reserve service obligations; development of a fair and efficient

selection process for determining which academy graduates would go to

the guard/reserve, additional funding to provide skill training; the need to

increase Navy ROTC enrollments to take the place of the academy

graduates on active duty; and limited capacity in the Naval Reserve to

absorb additional officers.

The academies send their commissioned graduates to active duty and

therefore have had no need for a civilian job placement operation.

However, since service in the drilling guard/reserve would entail only

part-time service (1 weekend a month plus an annual 2-week training

period), academy graduates headed for immediate placement in the

guard/reserve would need to be offered assistance finding jobs. Job

Page 6 GAO/NSIAD-97-89 DOD Service Academies
B-276401 

placement assistance for ROTC students who are not offered active duty

assignments is handled the same way it is for other students by the college

or university they attend. Regardless of the source of commission, there is

no guarantee that graduates would take jobs that are geographically close

enough to guard/reserve units with vacancies.

Potential reservists cannot be directed to specific units with vacancies if

they live beyond a certain distance from the unit/reserve training site. The

current policy is that guard/reserve members must live within 50 miles, or

a 90-minute commute, of their training sites. If multiple training periods

are performed together and mess facilities are available at the site, the

distance is extended to 100 miles. However, we were told that the Army

National Guard makes exceptions to this policy in less populated states for

highly qualified officers and enlisted candidates who are willing to travel

greater distances.

DOD and service officials told us it would be difficult to enforce

participation in the drilling guard/reserve by academy graduates or others

who decided to leave active guard/reserve service with some remaining

service obligation. The guard/reserves depend upon voluntary service.

Under current policy, guard/reserve officers with a valid reason, such as

family hardship, can move from the drilling guard/reserve to an inactive

status at any time. Also, the enforcement alternative of calling to active

duty those members who fail to abide by their guard/reserve commitment

would be counter to the proposal’s objectives.

Sending academy graduates to the guard/reserve directly after graduation

would create a dilemma regarding fair and efficient selection criteria.

Presently, students select their service assignments based on class

standing, with top performing cadets/midshipmen having preference to

available assignments over lower performers. A determination would need

to be made regarding whether immediate guard/reserve selection would be

voluntary or involuntary. If voluntary, there would be at least two issues to

consider: whether there should be any restrictions on eligibility and what

would happen if less than 5 percent volunteered. If assignment to the

guard/reserve was involuntary, academy officials expressed concerns

about a negative impact on cadet/midshipman motivation and breaking

faith with the promise of an active duty assignment following graduation.

During the past 5 years, Air Force Reserve officer accessions have been

primarily those with prior active service. Consequently, they have not

planned or budgeted for training for officers without active duty

Page 7 GAO/NSIAD-97-89 DOD Service Academies
B-276401 

experience. The costs of initial skill training for academy graduates would

have to be programmed and budgeted by the Air Force Reserves.

Sending 5 percent of academy graduates to the reserve components would

require rescheduling a similar number of ROTC graduates to active service.

Initially, this would be a problem for the Navy. Navy ROTC programs have

not been producing any graduates for the reserve. Consequently, the Navy

would not currently have a sufficient number of excess ROTC graduates to

replace about 50 academy graduates a year diverted from active duty to

reserve service. Since most Naval ROTC students are on scholarship, with

long lead times between scholarship award and graduation, the

implementation of such a policy would require additional funding and

substantial lead time.

Finally, Navy officials stated that there are too few billets in the Naval

Reserve to accommodate the number of officers already seeking Naval

Reserve participation. Taking some of those billets for newly

commissioned ensigns coming directly from the Naval Academy would

compound the problem.

National Guard Has

Vacancies at Junior Officer

Grades

Army National Guard officials stated that they have about 2,261 vacancies

at the first and second lieutenant grade levels and believe the vacancies

could be partially filled by academy graduates entering directly after

commissioning. The Air National Guard has about 200 entry-level officer

vacancies a year, particularly in technical occupations, that could be filled

by newly commissioned officers directly after graduation.

Both the Army and the Air National Guard have recently been recruiting

ROTC graduates who were commissioned but were not offered active duty

service. The Army Guard brought 283 ROTC graduates directly into drilling

guard service in 1994 and 852 in 1996.3

 The Air Guard brought in 15 ROTC

graduates in 1995 and 40 applied in 1996. ROTC graduates entering the

guard directly after commissioning are given the appropriate officer skill

training.

3

The Army’s database would not allow the number entering the guard to be separated out from the

total number entering the guard and reserve in 1995.

Page 8 GAO/NSIAD-97-89 DOD Service Academies
B-276401 

Efforts to Enhance

the Capability of the

Reserve Component

The Army National Guard Combat Readiness Reform Act of 1992 provided

several initiatives for enhancing the capability of the Army National Guard

to deploy. Responding to the act, the Secretary of the Army established an

objective of increasing the proportion of qualified prior active duty

officers in the Army National Guard to 65 percent. However, as shown in

table 1, the proportion of officers in the Army guard/reserve with 2 or

more years of active duty service is only about 50 percent. The 65-percent

goal has been suspended because under current manpower ceilings,

increasing the percentage of experienced officers would require forced

early retirement of guard officers with limited active duty experience.

Table 1: Army Reserve Component

Officers With 2 or More Years of Active

Duty

Fiscal Year Component Number Percent

1996 Army National Guard 20,247 49.3

Army Reserve 17,245 49.4

1995 Army National Guard 21,509 49.8

Army Reserve 21,623 53.8

Another provision of the act, section 1112, allowed the Secretary to

provide a program under which academy graduates and distinguished ROTC

graduates could complete their military service obligation in the selected

reserve. ROTC graduates with 2 years of service are allowed to serve the

remainder of their obligation in the Army National Guard. This program

has since been consolidated into the Voluntary Early Release/Retirement

Program (VERRP)4

 under category G.

The number of academy and ROTC graduates leaving active duty before

completing their initial active duty service obligation under VERRP are

shown in tables 2 and 3. Those leaving active duty under category G before

completing their military service obligation were required to serve out

their remaining service obligation in the selected reserve. Those officers

shown in the inactive reserve column qualified for VERRP under a category

other than category G (e.g., having less than 1 year of initial active duty

service obligation remaining) and were not required to serve in the

selected reserves.

4

VERRP, which began in 1993, was designed to reduce the size of the officer corps by allowing officers

on active duty to volunteer for release or retirement under specific conditions. Category G of the

program includes all lieutenants in competitive branches with 24 to 36 months of active service. These

officers qualify for early release if they obtain a National Guard or Army Reserve assignment and agree

to serve the remainder of their military service obligation in the selected reserve.

Page 9 GAO/NSIAD-97-89 DOD Service Academies
B-276401 

Table 2: Academy Graduates Released

by the Army Under VERRP, 1994-96

Fiscal year

Total

released

Released

to selected

reserves

Released

to inactive

reserve

Hardship

releases

1994 90 90 N/A N/A

1995 446 223 186 37

1996 223 169 47 7

Total 759 482 233 44

Note: N/A—Not available in the current Army database.

Source: Army Posture Statements, Fiscal Year 1997 and Fiscal Year 1998 and Army officials.

Table 3: ROTC Graduates Released by

the Army Under VERRP, 1994-96

Fiscal year

Total

released

Released

to selected

reserve

Released

to inactive

reserve

Hardship

releases

1994 27 27 N/A N/A

1995 63 36 17 9

1996 47 45 0 2

Total 137 108 17 11

Note: N/A—Not available in the current Army database.

Source: Army Posture Statements, Fiscal Year 1997 and Fiscal Year 1998 and Army officials.

These numbers indicate that there is a potential for the drilling

guard/reserve to get junior officers through programs such as VERRP. Also,

such officers would enter the guard/reserve already possessing military

skill training and active duty experience.

Conclusions The proposal to send up to 5 percent of service academy graduates

directly to the drilling guard/reserve would likely encounter significant

administrative and practical difficulties and be perceived as expensive.

Reserve component capability would not be appreciably enhanced

because the newly commissioned officers would not enter the

guard/reserve with specific military skills or experience. Also, the small

number of potential officer accessions proposed (about 50 per service per

year) would not go far in relieving the junior officer needs of the National

Guard. However, the program to attract academy- and ROTC-educated

officers with 2 to 3 years active duty experience under the Army’s VERRP

into the selected reserve appears to be relatively successful and offers the

Page 10 GAO/NSIAD-97-89 DOD Service Academies
B-276401 

potential to access a number larger than 50 junior officers, who would be

trained and experienced.

Agency Comments

and Our Evaluation

DOD reviewed a draft of this report and concurred with our conclusions.

DOD’s comments are reprinted in appendix III.

Scope and

Methodology

To evaluate the feasibility of sending service academy graduates directly

to the drilling guard/reserve, we interviewed officials at the Office of the

Secretary of Defense, the service headquarters, the service academies,

reserve headquarters, and the National Guard Bureau about the potential

benefits and difficulties in accessing academy graduates directly into the

drilling guard/reserve.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense provided the cost data for the

service academies and ROTC program. The information on the number of

officers and types of commissions for the services and the drilling

guard/reserve was provided by the individual services from their personnel

databases. The VERRP results were provided by the Office of the Chief of

Staff, U.S. Army, Congressional Activities Division. We did not

independently verify the data provided.

We conducted our work from November 1996 to February 1997 in

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.

We are sending copies of this report to other interested congressional

committees; the Secretaries of Defense, the Army, the Navy, and the Air

Force; and the Superintendents of the Military, Naval, and Air Force

academies. Copies will also be made available to others upon request.

If you or your staff have any questions concerning this report, please

contact me at (202) 512-5140. The major contributors to this report were

William E. Beusse, Lawrence E. Dixon, and Jeanett H. Reid.

Mark E. Gebicke

Director, Military Operations and

 Capabilities Issues

Page 11 GAO/NSIAD-97-89 DOD Service Academies
Contents

Letter 1

Appendix I 

Reserve Components

14

Training of the Guard/Reserve 14

Appendix II 

Active Duty and

Drilling

Guard/Reserve

Military Officers

16

Appendix III 

Comments From the

Department of

Defense

18

Tables Table 1: Army Reserve Component Officers With 2 or More Years

of Active Duty

9

Table 2: Academy Graduates Released by the Army Under

VERRP, 1994-96

10

Table 3: ROTC Graduates Released by the Army Under VERRP,

1994-96

10

Table I.1: Composition of the Ready Reserve 14

Table II.1: Source of Commission of Navy and Naval Reserve

Officers

16

Table II.2: Source of Commission of Army Active Duty, Reserve,

and National Guard Officers

16

Table II.3: Source of Commission of Air Force Active Duty,

Reserve, and National Guard Officers

16

Table II.4: Source of Commission of Marine Corps Active Duty

and Reserve Officers

17

Table II.5: Active Duty Guard/Reserves serving under 10 U.S.C.

Section 1230

17

Figures Figure 1: Drilling Guard/Reserve Officers by Source of

Commission

4

Page 12 GAO/NSIAD-97-89 DOD Service Academies
Contents

Figure 2: Active Duty Officers by Source of Commission 4

Abbreviations

AGR Active Guard/Reserve

DOD Department of Defense

IMA Individual Mobilization Augmentees

OCS Officer Candidate Schools

OCS/OTS Officer Candidate Schools/Officer Training Schools

ROTC Reserve Officers Training Corps

VERRP Voluntary Early Release/Retirement Program

Page 13 GAO/NSIAD-97-89 DOD Service Academies
Appendix I 

Reserve Components

The reserves consist of three major categories: the Ready Reserve, the

Standby Reserve, and the Retired Reserve. The Ready Reserve comprises

three groups—the Selected Reserve, the Individual Ready Reserve, and the

Inactive National Guard (see table I.1). The military members of the Ready

Reserve are organized in units, or as individuals, both of which are liable

for recall to active duty to augment the active forces in time of war or

national emergency. The Selected Reserve includes the drilling National

Guard and reservists assigned to units, full-time support personnel, and

individual mobilization augmentees.

Table I.1: Composition of the Ready

Reserve

Units and Active Guard/Reserve

Selected Reserve

Ready Reserve

Drilling

Guard/Reserve Units

Full-time Active

Guard/Reserve

Individual

Mobilization

Augmentees

Individual Ready

Reserve and

Inactive National

Guard

Under the total force policy, reserve component forces are considered an

integral part of the U.S. Armed Forces and essential to implementation of

the U.S. defense strategy. Reductions in the size of the active force and

increased U.S. participation in peace operations since the end of the Cold

War have increased reliance on the reserve forces, as illustrated by the

inclusion of reserve component units in war-fighting contingency plans

and peacetime operations.

Training of the

Guard/Reserve

As part of their service obligation, most guard/reserve members are

required to participate in prescribed training activities. Members of the

Selected Reserve are required to participate in training to maintain their

readiness and proficiency. Each year they must participate in at least 48

4-hour inactive duty training periods—the equivalent of 24 8-hour days, or

12 weekends a year. They must also participate in annual training periods

of about 2 weeks, which is generally done during one consecutive period.

However, some reservists, particularly those in the Air Force and the Navy

components, often fulfill the annual training requirement during several

shorter periods.

Members of the Individual Ready Reserve and Inactive National Guard are

not required to meet the same training requirements as members of the

Page 14 GAO/NSIAD-97-89 DOD Service Academies
Appendix I 

Reserve Components

Selected Reserve. However, they are required to serve 1 day of duty each

year to accomplish screening requirements and may participate voluntarily

in inactive duty training. Members of the Retired Reserve are not subject

to mandatory training. However, they are encouraged to participate

voluntarily to maintain their readiness.

Page 15 GAO/NSIAD-97-89 DOD Service Academies
Appendix II 

Active Duty and Drilling Guard/Reserve

Military Officers

Table II.1: Source of Commission of

Navy and Naval Reserve Officers

Active duty Reserve

Navy

Source of commission Number Percent Number Percent

Academy 10,566 17.98 1,916 10.25

Reserve Officers Training Corps 11,278 19.19 2,723 14.57

Officer Candidate Schools 12,570 21.39 4,644 24.84

Other 24,357 41.44 9,410 50.34

Total 58,771 100.00 18,693 100.00

Table II.2: Source of Commission of

Army Active Duty, Reserve, and

National Guard Officers Active duty Reserve National Guard

Army

Source of

commission Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Academy 11,168 16.27 1,282 3.95 501 1.41

Reserve Officers

Training Corps 39,829 58.01 12,854 39.59 10,925 30.71

Officer Candidate

Schools 6,032 8.79 2,928 9.02 2,107 5.92

Other 11,624 16.93 15,403 47.44 22,038 61.96

Total 68,653 100.00 32,467 100.00 35,571 100.00

Table II.3: Source of Commission of

Air Force Active Duty, Reserve, and

National Guard Officers Active duty Reserve National Guard

Air Force

Source of

commission Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Academy 14,743 19.30 626 7.09 600 5.22

Reserve Officers

Training Corps 31,809 41.64 2,244 25.43 2,041 17.76

Officer Training

Schools 16,016 20.97 2,010 22.78 5,497 47.82

Other 13,820 18.09 3,945 44.70 3,357 29.20

Total 76,388 100.00 8,825 100.00 11,495 100.00

Page 16 GAO/NSIAD-97-89 DOD Service Academies
Appendix II 

Active Duty and Drilling Guard/Reserve

Military Officers

Table II.4: Source of Commission of

Marine Corps Active Duty and Reserve

Officers Active duty Reserve

Marine Corps

Source of commission Number Percent Number Percent

Academy 1,691 10.55 89 3.50

Reserve Officers Training Corps 2,848 17.77 201 7.90

Officer Candidate Schools 11,488 71.68 2,253 88.60

Other 0 0.00 0 0.00

Total 16,027 100.00 2,543 100.00

Table II.5: Active Duty Guard/Reserves Serving Under 10 U.S.C. Section 12301(d)

Army Air Force

Source of commission Navy Reserve ARNG Reserve ANG

Marine

Corps Total

Academy 149 43 54 15 102 61 424

Reserve Officers Training Corps 329 1,328 1,016 61 349 92 3,175

Officer Candidate Schools/Officer

Training Schools 973 391 431 81 752 212 2,840

Other 436 924 2,688 43 170 0 4,261

Total 1,887 2,686 4,189 200 1,373 365 10,700

Page 17 GAO/NSIAD-97-89 DOD Service Academies
Appendix III 

Comments From the Department of Defense

(703163) Page 18 GAO/NSIAD-97-89 DOD Service Academies
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