Audit of Entitlements for Activated Army National Guard and Air National Guard Members Supporting the Coronavirus Disease–2019 Mission

Submitting OIG:

Department of Defense OIG

Date Issued:

Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Agency Reviewed / Investigated:

Department of Defense

Submitting OIG-Specific Report Number:

DODIG-2022-074

Component, if applicable:

National Guard

United States Air Force (USAF)

United States Army (USA)

United States Marine Corps (USMC)

United States Navy (USN)

Location(s):

Agency-Wide

Type of Report:

Audit

Special Projects:

Pandemic

Questioned Costs:

Funds for Better Use:

Number of Recommendations:

View Document:

Attachment	Size
DODIG-2022-074.pdf	8.33 MB

Recommendation Number	Recommendation Status	Significant Recommendation
D-2022-0074-D000RG-0001-0002.a	Open	No
Rec. 2.a: The DoD OIG recommended that the Chief, National Guard Bureau, in coordination with the Director of the Army National Guard and the Director of the Air National Guard, develop and implement policies and procedures to require the Army National Guard and Air National Guard to complete a review of proof of residency documentation when the member's primary residency is established or changed for the Basic Allowance for Housing entitlement to ensure consistency throughout all Army National Guard and Air National Guard units and organizations within every state, territory, and the District. The policies and procedures should also include requirements that: * document a member's primary residence address; * require members to provide proof of their primary residence address; * certify the primary address of members and review supporting documentation; and * provide oversight to ensure primary residence address information is complete and accurate.
D-2022-0074-D000RG-0001-0002.b	Open	No
Rec. 2.b: The DoD OIG recommended that the Chief, National Guard Bureau, in coordination with the Director of the Army National Guard and the Director of the Air National Guard, develop and implement policies and procedures to outline the process and frequency of recertification for Basic Allowance for Housing entitlement that Army National Guard and Air National Guard officials will use to verify and fully document the dependency status of members to provide clarification to the DoD Financial Management Regulation, volume 7A, chapter 26. These procedures should include: * how recertifications will be completed; * which members will complete a recertification; and * how Army National Guard and Air National Guard officials will provide oversight to ensure that information is complete and accurate.
D-2022-0074-D000RG-0001-0002.c	Open	No
Rec. 2.c: The DoD OIG recommended that the Chief, National Guard Bureau, in coordination with the Director of the Army National Guard and the Director of the Air National Guard, develop and implement policies and procedures to require Army National Guard and Air National Guard officials to review and document the status of a military member married to another military member regardless of which Military Service, Reserve or Active Component, or Army National Guard or Air National Guard unit the member's spouse belongs to, and identify which member will claim any applicable dependents.
D-2022-0074-D000RG-0001-0002.d	Open	No
Rec. 2.d: The DoD OIG recommended that the Chief, National Guard Bureau, in coordination with the Director of the Army National Guard and the Director of the Air National Guard, develop and implement policies and procedures to specify the methods for confirming eligibility and paying Family Separation Allowance for Army National Guard and Air National Guard members, in accordance with the DoD Financial Management Regulation, volume 7A, chapter 27, and include the: * timeliness of payments; * determination of Family Separation Allowance eligibility for back to back orders; * members assigned to their normal duty locations; and * requirement to track members to know when they return to their primary residence.
D-2022-0074-D000RG-0001-0002.e	Open	No
Rec. 2.e: The DoD OIG recommended that the Chief, National Guard Bureau, in coordination with the Director of the Army National Guard and the Director of the Air National Guard, develop and implement policies and procedures to establish formal dissemination and communication procedures for National Guard Bureau policies related to entitlements provided to the Army National Guard and Air National Guard, including the policies in the preceding recommendations. The procedures should require: * creation of a central location where policies and procedures will be kept for easy access by all states, territories, and the District; and * confirmation of receipt from all of the states, territories, and the District when procedures are communicated or obtained.
D-2022-0074-D000RG-0001-0003	Open	No
Rec. 3: The DoD OIG recommended that the Chief, National Guard Bureau, in coordination with the Director of the Army National Guard and the Director of the Air National Guard, develop and implement additional internal control procedures for the review of transactions manually submitted by the Army National Guard and Air National Guard to the payment system prior to payment to ensure the completeness and accuracy of transactions.

Recommendation Number

Recommendation Status

Significant Recommendation

Additional Details

D-2022-0074-D000RG-0001-0002.a

Open

Rec. 2.a: The DoD OIG recommended that the Chief, National Guard Bureau, in coordination with the Director of the Army National Guard and the Director of the Air National Guard, develop and implement policies and procedures to require the Army National Guard and Air National Guard to complete a review of proof of residency documentation when the member's primary residency is established or changed for the Basic Allowance for Housing entitlement to ensure consistency throughout all Army National Guard and Air National Guard units and organizations within every state, territory, and the District. The policies and procedures should also include requirements that: * document a member's primary residence address; * require members to provide proof of their primary residence address; * certify the primary address of members and review supporting documentation; and * provide oversight to ensure primary residence address information is complete and accurate.

D-2022-0074-D000RG-0001-0002.b

Open

Rec. 2.b: The DoD OIG recommended that the Chief, National Guard Bureau, in coordination with the Director of the Army National Guard and the Director of the Air National Guard, develop and implement policies and procedures to outline the process and frequency of recertification for Basic Allowance for Housing entitlement that Army National Guard and Air National Guard officials will use to verify and fully document the dependency status of members to provide clarification to the DoD Financial Management Regulation, volume 7A, chapter 26. These procedures should include: * how recertifications will be completed; * which members will complete a recertification; and * how Army National Guard and Air National Guard officials will provide oversight to ensure that information is complete and accurate.

D-2022-0074-D000RG-0001-0002.c

Open