The paper-intensive process used by DOD to reimburse Army Guard soldiers for their travel expenses was not designed to handle the dramatic increase in travel vouchers since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent military activity. The increased operational tempo resulted in backlogs in travel voucher processing as DFAS CTO struggled to keep up with both the increased volume and complexity of the travel vouchers submitted. For example, the monthly volume of travel vouchers being submitted to DFAS CTO increased from less than 3,200 in October 2001 to over 50,000 in July 2003 and remained at levels over 30,000 through September 2004. To its credit, to address the large volume of vouchers received and the unprocessed backlog, DFAS increased its staffing by over 200 new personnel and reported an average processing time of 8 days for its part of the process in September 2004. While the inefficient, manual travel and reimbursement process may have offered some capability to process travel vouchers during periods of low activity when relatively few Army Guard members were mobilized, the current increased operational tempo has strained the process beyond its limits. As shown in figure 1, the monthly travel voucher volume has remained above 30,000 since the July 2003 peak. In addition to the rising volume, the increased complexity of the vouchers received further slowed down the process. As military activity increased for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Army Guard, Army Reserve, and active Army soldiers were preparing for duty, not all of the installations to which Army Guard soldiers were assigned had available government housing. As a result, the soldiers were housed off-post in commercial hotels or apartments. This created a number of novel situations that were not specifically addressed in regulations, as discussed later. During this time frame, DFAS CTO staffing levels were not keeping pace with the rising volume of vouchers. However, while DFAS CTO employed less than 50 personnel in October 2001, this number more than doubled by February 2003 and was increased further to about 240 in June 2003, including 83 Army Guard and Army Reserve soldiers, as shown in figure 2. A DFAS CTO official told us that the office was not properly staffed to process travel vouchers at the beginning of 2003 when the volume started to increase. Inadequate staffing and the time necessary to train new staff created a backlog of travel vouchers at DFAS CTO, ballooning to over 18,000 vouchers in March 2003. The majority of soldiers in our 10 case study units reported problems related to reimbursements for meal expenses that included late payments, underpayments, and overpayments resulting in debts to some soldiers in excess of $10,000. For example, we estimated that about $324,000 was paid more than a year late to 120 soldiers for meal expenses based on the proportional meal rate for their locality. One individual responsible for submitting his unit’s vouchers to DFAS CTO told us that he called the process “the travel voucher lottery” because “you never knew whether, or how much, you might get paid.” These issues were caused by weaknesses in the process used to pay Army Guard travel reimbursements; the human capital practices in this area, including the lack of adequate training; and nonintegrated automated systems. Table 1 summarizes the experiences of Army Guard soldiers in 10 units. Further details on our case studies are included in our companion report. During our audit of selected travel vouchers, we identified some that were paid as much as 16 months after travel ended. Table 2 shows examples of the extent of delays experienced by soldiers in obtaining payment for travel expenses. In another instance, Army Guard soldiers called to federal duty to provide security at the Denver International Airport in early 2002 experienced significant delays in getting reimbursed for travel expenditures. The soldiers were provided lodging but not meals and were not authorized per diem for meals on their orders. More than a year elapsed during which the Army Guard Adjutant General with authority over the respective soldiers and Army National Guard Bureau officials worked to obtain and provide the proper authorization to reimburse all the soldiers’ travel expenses. In the interim, Army Guard soldiers experienced financial hardships. For example, one soldier’s family had to rely on the spouse’s salary to pay bills, and another’s child support payments were late or less than the minimum required payments. Deficiencies in three key areas—process, human capital, and systems— were at the core of the travel and reimbursement problems we identified. Policies and guidance, the foundation of the process for authorizing travel entitlements and reimbursements, were not always known by the mobilized soldiers nor were they well understood by local base personnel, and the authorizations were not documented on their mobilization orders or travel orders. Human capital weaknesses included a lack of leadership and oversight in addition to inadequate training. Further, the lack of systems integration and automation along with other systems deficiencies contributed significantly to the travel reimbursement problems we identified. The lack of clear procedural guidance contributed to the inaccurate, delayed, and denied travel reimbursements we identified and created problems not only for Army Guard soldiers but for numerous other personnel involved with authorizing travel entitlements. Prior to September 11, 2001, most travel guidance addressed relatively routine travel for brief periods and was not always clearly applicable to situations Army Guard soldiers encountered, particularly when they could not avail themselves of government-provided meals due to the nature of their duty assignments. In October 2001, although the Army issued new guidance that was intended to address travel entitlements unique to Army and Army Guard soldiers mobilized for the war on terrorism, it was not well- understood. Furthermore, inappropriate policy and guidance on how to identify and pay soldiers entitled to late payment interest and fees because of late travel reimbursement meant that DOD continued to be noncompliant with TTRA. We found a number of cases in which soldiers should have been paid late payment interest and indications that thousands more may be entitled to late payment interest. We found that a key factor contributing to delays and denials of Army Guard reimbursements for out-of-pocket meal expenses was a lack of clearly defined guidance. We noted that the existing guidance (1) provided unclear eligibility criteria for reimbursement of out-of-pocket meal expenses, (2) lacked instructions for including meal entitlements on mobilization orders, and (3) contained inadequate instructions for preparing and issuing SNAs. Two primary sources of guidance used by both Army Guard soldiers and travel computation office personnel for information on travel entitlements were (1) the Army’s personnel policy guidance (PPG) for military personnel mobilized for Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, and Noble Eagle; and (2) DOD’s Joint Federal Travel Regulation (JFTR). We found that both Army Guard soldiers and travel computation personnel had difficulty using these sources to find the information necessary about the rules regarding travel-related entitlements. Table 3 shows the sources of common problems related to meal expense reimbursements experienced by soldiers in our case studies. Unclear eligibility criteria. We found that guidance did not adequately address some significant conditions that entitled a soldier to reimbursement of authorized meal expenses. For example, although the JFTR entitled soldiers to reimbursement for meal expenses when transportation was not reasonably available between government meal facilities and place of lodging, the term “reasonably available” was not defined. The PPG directed the maximum use of installation facilities, and if not feasible, then “multi-passenger vehicles should be used” to transport soldiers to installation facilities. However, the PPG is silent regarding what constitutes adequate transportation, particularly when transportation to government meal facilities is necessary for Army Guard soldiers who cannot be housed in government facilities. As discussed in our companion report, we found disagreements between the soldiers and their command officials about the adequacy of transportation to government meal facilities and their entitlement to get reimbursed for eating at commercial facilities closer to their lodgings. Without clear guidance on these issues, Army decisions will continue to appear arbitrary and unfair to soldiers. Lack of specific entitlements on orders. Army and Army Guard policies and procedures do not provide for mobilization orders issued to Army Guard soldiers to clearly state that these soldiers should not be required to pay for meals provided to them at government dining facilities. As a result, we noted instances in which mobilized soldiers arrived at government mess halls carrying mobilization orders that did not specifically state that the soldiers could eat free of charge and were inappropriately required to pay for their meals. Consequently, many Guard soldiers were unable to obtain reimbursement for their out-of-pocket costs in a timely manner. The PPG states, “TCS soldiers who are on government installations with dining facilities are directed to use mess facilities. These soldiers are not required to pay for their meals.” In addition, the PPG states, “Basic Allowance for Subsistence will not be reduced when government mess is used for soldiers in a contingency operation.” As such, an Army Guard soldier called to active service is entitled to eat at a government mess hall without charge and concurrently entitled to receive BAS as part of his military pay. However, the PPG does not provide guidance addressing the content of mobilization orders for Army Guard soldiers with respect to meal entitlements. In response to questions we posed to officials representing the Mississippi Adjutant General’s office regarding why mobilization orders did not include adequate provisions about food entitlements, they explained that the individual mobilization orders that are prepared by the Adjutant General’s staff are very basic and include only the travel allowances and actions that are necessary to get the individual from the home station to the mobilization station. The Adjutant General office received no guidance on what should be stated in the orders with respect to soldiers eating free of charge at government installations or any other conditions that may entitle Army Guard soldiers to per diem to compensate them for their out- of-pocket meal costs.