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Message to the Congress Transmitting Reports on Incentive Awards to Military Personnel.

October 28, 1969

To the Congress of the United States:

Forwarded herewith in accordance with the provisions of 10 U.S.C. 1124 are reports of the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Transportation on awards made during the first six months of 1969 to members of the Armed Forces for suggestions, inventions, and scientific achievements.

The last previous report on the military awards program covered the calendar year 1968. Following the present six-month report, future annual reports will be submitted on a fiscal year basis. This will increase efficiency by facilitating the compilation of the report in conjunction with the Incentive Awards Program report which departments and agencies submit annually to the Civil Service Commission.

Participation by military personnel in the cash awards program was authorized by the Congress in September 1965. The success of the program in motivating military personnel to seek and suggest ways of reducing costs and improving efficiency is shown by the steadily increasing participation and the notable growth in measurable first-year benefits from adopted suggestions.

Tangible benefits from suggestions submitted by Department of Defense and Coast Guard military personnel that were adopted during the period from January 1 through June 30, 1969 totalled over $57,000,000. This figure, if projected for the entire year, would substantially exceed the total for calendar year 1968. Tangible first-year benefits derived from the suggestions of military personnel in the relatively short period since the program went into effect have now reached a total of more than $272,000,000.

130,861 suggestions were submitted by military personnel during the reporting period, and 20,757 were adopted. Cash awards totalling $924,742 were paid for these adopted suggestions, based not only on the tangible benefits cited above but also on many additional benefits and improvements of an intangible nature.

A substantial majority of the cash awards paid went to enlisted personnel at Grade E-6 and below. The size of the cash awards varied from the minimum of $15 to several awards in excess of $1,000.

Brief descriptions of some of the more noteworthy contributions made by military personnel through the suggestion program during the first six months of 1969 are contained in the attached reports of the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Transportation.

RICHARD NIXON

The White House

October 28, 1969

Richard Nixon, Message to the Congress Transmitting Reports on Incentive Awards to Military Personnel. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/239926

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