The report on the management of recruit and initial skill training identifies delays in training cycles, their causes, and resultant costs. In visits to four recruit training centers, eight initial skill training schools, and various headquarters offices, the General Accounting Office (GAO) identified 1,979,000 man-days per year that new members of the Armed Forces and Reserve components spent unnecessarily in training status at a cost of about $48.1 million. Described are: delays in Army and Marine Corps recruit training systems due to inflexible starting times; the immediate start of training in the Navy and Air Force; management of initial skill training and resulting delays in all the armed services; and delays due to orientation of new members and use of them in work crews. Costs of these delays are reported for each of the services in terms of dollars and man-days. Five recommendations are presented for the Secretary of Defense and each service Secretary to use in reviewing and improving training operations. Appended is a chart showing annual economic costs for E-1 military personnel and a list of Department of Defense officials responsible for administering activities discussed in the report. (Author/MS)