CIAO DATE: 02/2015
October 2014
Following Third Way's release of Star Creep: The Costs of a Top Heavy Military, Congress tasked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) with figuring out exactly how much money this bloat costs taxpayers. DoD's answer to GAO: we don't know. According to the GAO Report, "The full cost to DOD...is unknown because complete cost data were not available." Additionally, despite not knowing the full cost of their Generals and Admirals and not having conducted an analysis of the number of top-commanders the military needs to fulfill military missions, Pentagon officials told GAO they wanted more. In an era of constrained budgets it's simply unacceptable for the Pentagon to grow the back office while the front-lines shrink. Thus, Third Way now recommends that Congress require the Pentagon to: Conduct a comprehensive review of requirements for Generals and Admirals. Take the necessary steps to determine the full-cost to taxpayers of Generals and Admirals, as recommended by GAO.
Resource link: Next Steps to Combat Star Creep: The Costs of a Top Heavy Military [PDF] - 230K