DoD Accounting to Support DoD Personnel During Times of Civil Emergency

Abstract

DoD financial managers and personnel responsible for the accounting and reporting of reimbursement to support DoD military and civilian personnel during a civil emergency should read this report. This report addresses the adequacy of controls in place to ensure the accuracy of payments to DoD personnel. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast causing major damage and loss of life in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The President declared the affected locations disaster areas and several Federal agencies, including DoD and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), responded to the call for support. DoD evacuated DoD personnel (military and civilian employees and their dependents) to alternate safe haven locations. DoD made advance travel payments to personnel to expedite evacuation efforts. DoD assisted personnel with expenses such as meals, transportation, lodging, and incidental expenses. FEMA also provided assistance to DoD personnel for expenses such as rent, housing, personal property losses, and other expenses as authorized by law. DoD did not have adequate controls to ensure the accuracy of payments to DoD personnel for Hurricane Katrina entitlements. Specifically, DoD did not have adequate controls to prevent or detect duplicate payments from the Services and FEMA for similar entitlements. This occurred because neither DoD nor Federal regulations prohibited DoD personnel from filing claims with multiple Federal agencies, and DoD did not require disclosure of payments from other Federal agencies. In addition, the Services did not coordinate with each other or FEMA to determine the types of assistance provided or amounts paid to DoD personnel. DoD also did not require disclosure of payments from the Services or FEMA, and personnel did not always comply with DoD travel regulations. Therefore, personnel were able to file claims and receive payments from more than one Service and FEMA, resulting in DoD making duplicate

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 25, 2008
Accession Number
ADA499292

Entities

People

  • Deloris G. Luddington
  • Erin S. Hart
  • Gabriel Negron-pumares
  • James Hartman
  • Lorin T. Pfeil
  • Lusk F. Penn
  • Marcus A. Jaramillo
  • Patricia A. Marsh
  • Pauletta P. Battle
  • Shanika Legare
  • Suellen Foth
  • Timothy D. Peoples

Organizations

  • Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accounting
  • Air Force
  • Business Administration
  • Civilian Personnel
  • Data Centers
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Disasters
  • Emergencies
  • Emergency Response
  • Finance
  • Financial Management
  • Governments
  • Homeland Security
  • Marine Corps
  • Military Personnel
  • Sampling

Readers

  • Defense Financial Management and Audit.
  • Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
  • Personnel Management and Statistics in the Military and Department of Defense