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1 [1] (December 6, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveroh0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congre &an I Research SerVc informing I iej~ live de mIs 'o IS 14 Updated December 6, 2024 Defense Primer: Personnel Tempo (PERSTEMPO) As a result of the nation's extended involvement in contingency operations around the globe, some U.S. 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 report (GAO/NSIAD-96-105) 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 the National Defense Authorization Act for 2000 (FY2000 NDAA, P.L. 106-65), Congress first added a statutory definitions for deployment and high-deployment thresholds, and authorized additional compensation for exceeding thresholds (10 U.S.C. §991 and 37 U.S.C. §436). This law also required the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to develop standardized terminology and policies for PERSTEMPO and operating tempo (OPTEMPO), and to track and report on these categories (10 U.S.C. §136(d)). 10 U.S.C. §991, as amended, includes a waiver authority for national security reasons. Shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks, a Deputy Secretary of Defense memorandum invoked this waiver authority to indefinitely suspend high-deployment thresholds. 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, servicemembers had between deployments. In 2007, DOD established deploy-to-dwell (D2D) and mobilization-to-dwell (M2D) planning objectives for the active and reserve components, respectively. In the FY2012 NDAA (P.L. 112-81), Congress established a statutory definition of dwell time and provided the authority for the SECDEF to modify this definition with congressional notification. DOD has periodically issued policy updates to change this definition and to provide separate definitions for the active and reserve components (see Table 2 for a timeline of selected events). 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 the permanent duty station. Table I. Statutory Definitions and Thresholds Term PERSTEMPO OPTEMPO Deployed or in a deployment* High deployment threshold Dwell time* Definition 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. The rate at which units are involved in all military activities, including contingency operations, exercises, and training deployments. Any day on which, pursuant to orders, 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. One-year: 220 days deployed out of the previous 365 days. Two-year: 400 days deployed out of the previous 730. The time a regular member of the armed forces or unit spends at the permanent duty station or home port after returning from deployment. Sources: 10 U.S.C. §991 and 10 U.S.C. §136(d). Notes: Contingency operations are as defined in 10 U.S.C. §10 I (a)(1 3)(B). *DOD policy (DODI 1336.07, Table 1) further defines PERSTEMPO events. DOD has also defined dwell time differently in policy documents for certain time periods or purposes.

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