About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (November 23, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govejna0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con gressionaI Research Sentk informing Ih legisatve dIebate sne 1914 S Updated November 23, 2022 Defense Primer: Personnel Tempo (PERSTEMPO) As a result of the nation's extended involvement in contingency operations around the globe over the past few decades, some servicemembers have experienced prolonged, recurrent, and stressful deployments. In addition, preparation for deployments (e.g., training, exercises, temporary duty assignments) can incur extended working hours or frequent travel away from home station. The pace of operations for individuals is commonly referred to as personnel tempo (PERSTEMPO) and can affect quality of life, work satisfaction, and overall morale for members and their families. Congress oversees the Department of Defense's (DOD's) PERSTEMPO management, policies and programs. In addition, congressional actions to authorize force size (i.e., end-strength) can affect the number of personnel available for deployment. Appropriated funds for military pay and benefits (including leave and morale programs) may compensate troops for time spent away. Background and Definitions During the mid-1990s, though the nation was not engaged in major conflict, a combination of force drawdowns and increased deployments in support of peacetime missions (e.g., peacekeeping and humanitarian operations) put stress on servicemembers, particularly those in high-deploying specialty units. A 1996 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that DOD did not have consistent goals or policies for managing personnel tempo (see Table 2). Recognizing a need to more accurately measure the pace of operations on military personnel, in 1999, Congress first added a statutory definition for deployment, established high-deployment thresholds (then defined as 182 days or more out of the preceding 365 days), and required Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) approval to exceed those thresholds as part of the FY2000 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA; P.L. 106-65), This law also required the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to develop standardized terminology and policies for operating tempo (OPTEMPO) and personnel (PERSTEMPO), and to track and report on these categories. Shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks, the SECDEF suspended statutory high-deployment thresholds under the waiver authority in law. However, under department policy (DOD Instruction 1336.5), the Services continued to track deployment days. As operations in Afghanistan and Iraq intensified, many raised concerns that individuals within certain military occupational specialties were experiencing both lengthy and frequent deployments. While the PERSTEMPO measures captured deployment duration, they did not adequately capture the down time, or dwell time, members had between deployments. In 2007, DOD established deploy-to-dwell planning objectives, and in the FY2012 (NDAA; P.L. 112-81), Congress established a statutory definition of dwell time (see Table 2 for a timeline of selected events). Current definitions take into account a broad range of activities that keep servicemembers away from home (Table 1). Activities not included as deployment events, include, for example, military duties extending beyond normal working hours but conducted at the member's home duty station, also known as permanent duty station. Table I. Statutory Definitions and Thresholds Term Definition PERSTEMPO The amount of time servicemembers are engaged in their official duties at a location or under circumstances that make it infeasible for a member to spend off-duty time in the housing in which the member resides. OPTEMPO The rate at which units are involved in all military activities, including contingency operations, exercises, and training deployments. Deployed or in a Any day on which, pursuant to orders, deployment the member is performing service in a training exercise or operation at a location or under circumstances that make it impossible or infeasible for the member to spend off-duty time in the housing in which the member resides when on garrison duty at the member's permanent duty station or homeport. Current high One-year: 220 days deployed out of the deployment previous 365 days. Two-year: 400 days thresholds* deployed out of the previous 730. Dwell time The time a regular member of the armed forces or unit spends at the permanent duty station or home port after returning from deployment, or the amount of time a reservist remains at the member's permanent duty station after completing a deployment of 30 days or more in length Sources: 10 U.S.C. §991 and 10 U.S.C. § 136(d). Notes: Contingency operations are as defined in 10 U.S.C. § 101 (a)(I 3)(B). *High-deployment thresholds have been waived since 2001 under the SECDEF authority in 10 U.S.C. §991(d). According to a November I, 2013, USD (P&R) policy memo, involuntary extension of a deployment beyond 365 days requires SECDEF approval.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most