Audit of the Military Division of the Commonwealth Overview of Audited Entity

This section describes the makeup and responsibilities of the Military Division of the Commonwealth.

Overview

The Military Division of the Commonwealth (MIL) was established under Section 11 of Chapter 33 of the Massachusetts General Laws and is one of 13 state agencies under the general oversight of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.

According to its website,

The Massachusetts [National] Guard has a unique dual mission, with both federal and state responsibilities. During peacetime, Guard forces are commanded by the Governor through the State Adjutant General (TAG). The Governor can call the Guard into action during local or state-wide emergencies, such as storms, floods, blizzards and civil disturbances. In addition, the President of the United States can activate the Massachusetts National Guard to participate in federal missions.

The Massachusetts Army National Guard and the Massachusetts Air National Guard together make up the Massachusetts National Guard. The Massachusetts National Guard is the militia of the state, and it is organized for national and state defense and other emergencies. MIL administers and oversees all Massachusetts National Guard military units, programs, benefits, and records. MIL is supported by state appropriations with a combined team of army, air force, and civilian federal and state employees.

The adjutant general (who is appointed by the Governor) is the head of MIL and works under the supervision of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. The adjutant general is responsible for the strategic direction, administration, and operation of MIL’s workforce and oversight of all funding. This funding is either appropriated by the Legislature or received through federal grants or federal trusts that support Massachusetts National Guard operations and programs. In addition, the adjutant general administers the Massachusetts Army and Air Force National Guard Tuition and Fee Reimbursement Program.

MIL had a budget of $78,394,712 in fiscal year 2020; $85,056,501 in fiscal year 2021; and $89,555,045 in fiscal year 2022. During the audit period, MIL had approximately 312 state employees and 8,200 uniformed personnel serving in air force and army units in combat and support roles. MIL, through the Massachusetts National Guard, maintains 44 facilities in 38 communities across the Commonwealth. MIL is headquartered at Hanscom Air Force Base, which is mainly in Bedford, with parts in Concord, Lexington, and Lincoln.

Massachusetts Army and Air Force National Guard Tuition and Fee Reimbursement Program

The Massachusetts Army and Air Force National Guard Tuition and Fee Reimbursement Program was established by Section 19 of Chapter 15A of the General Laws and is regulated by guidelines established by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education. The program allows Massachusetts National Guard members to receive full tuition and fees, paid for by the Commonwealth, at state colleges or universities. The lifetime total maximum benefit for each Guard member is 130 college credits. MIL reimburses the state colleges or universities for the waived tuition and fees.

MIL receives funding for the Massachusetts Army and Air Force National Guard Tuition and Fee Reimbursement Program through a state budget appropriation. During the audit period, MIL received the following funding for this program.

Fiscal Year	Budget Appropriation
2020	$  7,680,745
2021	$ 10,430,745
2022	$ 10,430,745

MIL uses the web-based Massachusetts National Guard Tuition System to manage the Massachusetts Army and Air Force National Guard Tuition and Fee Reimbursement Program. Guard members use this tuition system to apply for certificates of eligibility, which MIL issues after it verifies that the Guard member is in good standing with MIL. The Guard member submits this certificate to the state college or university as proof that they are in good standing in the National Guard and are entitled to fully waived tuition and fees for that semester. During the audit period, MIL approved approximately 7,100 certificate applications in the tuition system.

A Guard member participating in the Massachusetts Army and Air Force National Guard Tuition and Fee Reimbursement Program first needs to create an account in the Massachusetts National Guard Tuition System. Each semester, the Guard member applies for the certificate of eligibility by entering the following information in the system: the name of the state college or university at which they wish to enroll, the academic year and semester in which they wish to enroll, the number of credits required for their desired courses, and the name of their commanding officer.

The National Guard’s Education Office reviews the member’s certificate application by verifying in the Massachusetts National Guard Tuition System that the state college or university is eligible and that the member has not reached the 130-credit limit. The Education Office also verifies that the member is in good standing by reviewing their status in the Integrated Personnel and Pay System, which commanding officers use to record any unacceptable behavior from Guard members under their command. Members are considered in good standing if they have no issues recorded in the Integrated Personnel and Pay System. If the member fulfills these requirements, the Education Office approves the certificate application.

Once the Education Office approves the Guard member’s application for a certificate of eligibility, the member prints the certificate and submits it to the finance office of the state college or university to which they are applying. The member can then enroll in the courses for which they requested MIL to issue reimbursements during the semester listed on the certificate.

Before the semester ends, the state colleges and universities (at which any Guard members in this program are enrolled) submit a reimbursement form to MIL’s Accounts Payable Department. This reimbursement form details the name of each Guard member who enrolled in courses during the semester, the number of credits completed (cataloged both by individual Guard member and by the total for all Guard members), and the amount of tuition and fees waived (cataloged both by individual Guard member and by the total for all Guard members). The state colleges and universities also submit the certificates of eligibility that Guard members submitted during the enrollment period with the reimbursement forms. MIL’s chief financial officer and an Accounts Payable Department employee review the documentation submitted by the state colleges and universities and process the reimbursement payments through the Massachusetts Management Accounting and Reporting System, the state’s accounting system.

COVID-19 Funding

On March 10, 2020, the Governor declared a state of emergency because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Governor authorized the activation of 5,000 military members from the Massachusetts National Guard to support the Commonwealth’s COVID-19 response. Military members were tasked with providing necessary equipment and logistics (such as collecting donations of personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies) to state agencies.

To support MIL spending related to the COVID-19 response, the Executive Office for Administration and Finance (A&F) signed two interdepartmental service agreements (ISAs) with MIL, allowing A&F to reimburse MIL for a total of $33,228,861. According to the ISAs,

[The purpose of this ISA is to cover] costs incurred by or on behalf of the Massachusetts National Guard (MIL) to plan for, respond to, and recover from the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic under Massachusetts State of Emergency No. 591: Declaration of a State of Emergency to Respond to COVID-19, declared on March 10, 2020.

MIL also signed ISAs with the following agencies, which needed military members and technical support to address the COVID-19 pandemic:

• The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for $3,091,165 to supply Guard members to serve as bus drivers because of staffing shortages in several counties;
• The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security for $410,000 to upgrade the Integrated Emergency Operation Management System, which was intended to assist with tracking the high volume of Guard members being called to active duty; and
• The Executive Office of Health and Human Services for $60,431 to support the Veterans Home in Holyoke (formerly called the Holyoke Soldier’s Home) because of staffing shortages.

Each ISA included two attachments: Attachment A and Attachment B. Attachment A outlined the terms of performance to explain the purpose for the ISA and the responsibilities of the parties involved (see Appendix A). For example, Attachment A of the ISA between MIL and A&F states that MIL would do the following:

• Ensure safety, availability and preparedness of emergency services personnel in support of ongoing activities. . . .
• Support the operational needs of medical surge, morgue surge, and COVID-19 testing sites. . . .
• Track and mitigate any potential issues related to the COVID-19 outbreak that could impact critical infrastructure.

Attachment B detailed the budget of the ISA (see Appendix B).

Additionally, the ISAs required MIL to report the costs and activities to A&F on a biweekly basis.¹ The Terms and Conditions section of the ISA between MIL and A&F states, “MIL is required to provide the A&F (and to [the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth], the State Auditor and the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees upon request) with full cooperation and access to all ISA information.”

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth issued the “COVID-19 Pandemic Response Internal Controls Guidance” on September 30, 2020, which states the following:

Department internal control plans must be based on risk assessments and updated annually, or when significant changes occur. Because the COVID-19 Pandemic has affected all departments, the Comptroller, in consultation with the State Auditor’s Office, is providing two options for updating internal controls.

1. If the impact to your department is such that it can be reflected in your Internal Control Plan (ICP), then update the ICP as you would for any other mid-year changes.
2. Departments experiencing a significant impact, and requiring the accumulation of substantial documentation (e.g. changes to business processes, requirements of federal and state-specific laws or guidance, new funds or new programs), can draft a separate COVID-19 Pandemic Response Plan Appendix to the ICP as an organized set (hard or soft copies) of emails, documents, risk assessments, policies, and procedures.

1.    For the purposes of this report, a biweekly basis is every other week.

Date published:	January 10, 2024