Pentagon to Ponder Error That Affected Benefits

Pentagon officials say they will discuss this week what to do about a computer error that caused thousands of servicemen to lose training and benefits.

The error, which knocked two points off the aptitude test scores of military recruits, first occurred in 1984 and was not corrected until this month, according to military officials. The test errors apparently occurred on about 2 million aptitude tests.

It’s not known for certain how many recruits actually lost benefits because of the lower scores, but it may be less than 2%, or several thousand recruits, officials said.

Ron Van Dyck, public affairs spokesman for the regional Army Recruiting Battalion, based in Laguna Niguel, confirmed Saturday that the computer error had occurred. Test scores can affect a recruit’s assignment--whether the recruit receives a college-level training assignment for example. The scores also can affect what he or she is entitled to in college tuition benefits. Those who scored below 50 on the test, for example, were ineligible for later benefits from the Army College Fund.

It appears--as far as can be determined now--that 11 Army recruits from the five-county area which includes Orange County, lost college benefits worth from $17,000 to $22,500, Van Dyke said. The other counties in the recruiting battalion’s region are Imperial, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego.

“We had no idea this was happening,” Van Dyck said. “We negotiated the contracts (with recruits) in good faith.”

Saturday, Pentagon public affairs spokesman William Caldwell said, “We expect to have some answers on this Monday.” By then, he said, Pentagon officials can better assess the seriousness of the problem and perhaps have ideas on how to resolve it.

Recruits sign a contract to enter the military and must honor that contract, whatever their assignment. The contract includes a training, education and benefits package.

Van Dyck, who is a civilian employee, said he thought that packages affected by errors in test scores might be alterable.

“I feel confident this can be worked out,” he said. “But whether it will take congressional action, or some kind of lawsuit, I don’t know.”

A spokesman for Rep. Robert E. Badham (R-Newport Beach) said that the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel is investigating the testing problem and its effect.

The test is called the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, a 10-section examination used to gauge mathematical and verbal skills. About 1.2 million tests are given each year.