- § 991. Management of deployments of members and measurement and data collection of unit operating and personnel tempo
- § 992. Financial literacy training: financial services
- § 993. Notification of permanent reduction of sizable numbers of members of the armed forces
- § 994. Military working dogs: veterinary care for retired military working dogs
- § 995. Accountability for contractors using military working dogs
§ 991. Management of deployments of members and measurement and data collection of unit operating and personnel tempo
(a)Management Responsibilities.—
(1) The deployment (or potential deployment) of a member of the armed forces shall be managed to ensure that the member is not deployed, or continued in a deployment, on any day on which the total number of days on which the member has been deployed—
(A) out of the preceding 365 days would exceed the one-year high-deployment threshold; or
(B) out of the preceding 730 days would exceed the two-year high-deployment threshold.
(2) In this subsection:
(A) The term “one-year high-deployment threshold” means—
(i) 220 days; or
(ii) a lower number of days prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.
(B) The term “two-year high-deployment threshold” means—
(i) 400 days; or
(ii) a lower number of days prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.
(3) A member may be deployed, or continued in a deployment, without regard to paragraph (1) if the deployment, or continued deployment, is approved by the Secretary of Defense. The authority of the Secretary under the preceding sentence may only be delegated to a civilian officer of the Department of Defense appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(4) The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe a policy that addresses each of the following:
(A) The amount of dwell time a regular member of the armed forces or unit remains at the member’s or unit’s permanent duty station or home port, as the case may be, between deployments.
(B) The amount of dwell time a reserve member of the armed forces remains at the member’s permanent duty station after completing a deployment of 30 days or more in length.
(b)Deployment Defined.—
(1) For the purposes of this section, a member of the armed forces shall be considered to be deployed or in a deployment on 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, as the case may be.
(2) In the case of a member of a reserve component who is performing active service pursuant to orders that do not establish a permanent change of station, the housing referred to in paragraph (1) is any housing (which may include the member’s residence) that the member usually occupies for use during off-duty time when on garrison duty at the member’s permanent duty station or homeport, as the case may be.
(3) For the purposes of this section, a member is not deployed or in a deployment when the member is—
(A) performing service as a student or trainee at a school (including any Government school);
(B) performing administrative, guard, or detail duties in garrison at the member’s permanent duty station; or
(C) unavailable solely because of—
(i) a hospitalization of the member at the member’s permanent duty station or homeport or in the immediate vicinity of the member’s permanent residence; or
(ii) a disciplinary action taken against the member.
(4) The Secretary of Defense may prescribe a definition of deployment for the purposes of this section other than the definition specified in paragraphs (1) and (2). Any such definition may not take effect until 90 days after the date on which the Secretary notifies the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives of the revised standard definition of deployment.
(c)Recordkeeping.—
(1) The Secretary of Defense shall—
(A) establish a system for tracking and recording the number of days that each member of the armed forces is deployed;
(B) prescribe policies and procedures for measuring operating tempo and personnel tempo; and
(C) maintain a central data collection repository to provide information for research, actuarial analysis, interagency reporting, and evaluation of Department of Defense programs and policies.
(2) The data collection repository shall be able to identify—
(A) the active and reserve component units of the armed forces that are participating at the battalion, squadron, or an equivalent level (or a higher level) in contingency operations, major training events, and other exercises and contingencies of such a scale that the exercises and contingencies receive an official designation; and
(B) the duration of their participation.
(3) For each of the armed forces, the data collection repository shall be able to indicate, for a fiscal year—
(A) the number of members who received the high-deployment allowance under section 436 of title 37 (or who would have been eligible to receive the allowance if the duty assignment was not excluded by the Secretary of Defense);
(B) the number of members who received each rate of allowance paid (estimated in the case of members described in the parenthetical phrase in subparagraph (A));
(C) the number of months each member received the allowance (or would have received it in the case of members described in the parenthetical phrase in subparagraph (A)); and
(D) the total amount expended on the allowance.
(4) For each of the armed forces, the data collection repository shall be able to indicate, for a fiscal year, the number of days that high demand, low density units (as defined by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) were deployed, and whether these units met the force goals for limiting deployments, as described in the personnel tempo policies applicable to that armed force.
(d)National Security Waiver Authority.—
(1) The Secretary of the military department concerned may suspend the applicability of this section to a member or any group of members under the Secretary’s jurisdiction when the Secretary determines that such a waiver is necessary in the national security interests of the United States.
(2)
(A) Whenever a waiver is in effect under paragraph (1), the member or group of members covered by the waiver shall be subject to specific and measurable deployment thresholds established and maintained for purposes of this subsection.
(B) Thresholds under this paragraph may be applicable—
(i) uniformly, Department of Defense-wide; or
(ii) separately, with respect to each armed force or the United States Special Operations Command.
(C) If thresholds under this paragraph are applicable Department-wide, such thresholds shall be established and maintained by the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. If such thresholds are applicable only to one armed force or the Under States Special Operations Command, such thresholds shall be established and maintained respectively by the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy (other than with respect to the Marine Corps), the Secretary of the Air Force, the Commandant of the Marine Corps (with respect to the Marine Corps), and the Commander of the United States Special Operations Command, as applicable.
(D) In undertaking recordkeeping for purposes of subsection (c), the Under Secretary shall, in conjunction with the officials and officers referred to in subparagraph (C), collect complete and reliable personnel tempo data of members described in subparagraph (A) in order to ensure that the Department, the armed forces, and the United States Special Operations Command fully and completely monitor personnel tempo under any waiver authorized under paragraph (1) and the effect of such waiver on the armed forces.
(e)Inapplicability to Coast Guard.—This section does not apply to a member of the Coast Guard when the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the Navy.
(f)Other Definitions.—In this section:
(1)
(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the term “dwell time” means the time a member of the armed forces or a unit spends at the permanent duty station or home port after returning from a deployment.
(B) The Secretary of Defense may modify the definition of dwell time specified in subparagraph (A). If the Secretary establishes a different definition of such term, the Secretary shall transmit the new definition to Congress.
(2) The term “operating tempo” means the rate at which units of the armed forces are involved in all military activities, including contingency operations, exercises, and training deployments.
(3) The term “personnel tempo” means the amount of time members of the armed forces 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.
(Added Pub. L. 106–65, div. A, title V, § 586(a), Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 637; amended Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title V, § 574(a), (b)], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–136, 1654A–137; Pub. L. 107–107, div. A, title V, § 515(a), Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1093; Pub. L. 108–136, div. A, title V, § 541(a), Nov. 24, 2003, 117 Stat. 1475; Pub. L. 112–81, div. A, title V, § 522(a)–(d)(1), Dec. 31, 2011, 125 Stat. 1399–1401; Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title V, §§ 506, 507(a), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1345; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title X, § 1081(a)(21), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3871.)
§ 992. Financial literacy training: financial services
(a)Requirement for Financial Literacy Training Program for Members.—
(1) The Secretary concerned shall carry out a program to provide comprehensive financial literacy training to members of the armed forces under the jurisdiction of the Secretary on—
(A) financial services that are available under law to members;
(B) financial services that are routinely offered by private sector sources to members;
(C) practices relating to the marketing of private sector financial services to members;
(D) such other matters relating to financial services available to members, and the marketing of financial services to members, as the Secretary considers appropriate; and
(E) such other financial practices as the Secretary considers appropriate.
(2) Training under this subsection shall be provided to a member of the armed forces—
(A) as a component of the initial entry training of the member;
(B) upon arrival at the first duty station of the member;
(C) upon arrival at each subsequent duty station, in the case of a member in pay grade E–4 or below or in pay grade O–3 or below;
(D) on the date of promotion of the member, in the case of a member in pay grade E–5 or below or in pay grade O–4 or below;
(E) when the member vests in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) under section 8432(g)(2)(C) of title 5;
(F) when the member becomes entitled to receive continuation pay under section 356 of title 37, at which time the training shall include, at a minimum, information on options available to the member regarding the use of continuation pay;
(G) at each major life event during the service of the member, such as—
(i) marriage;
(ii) divorce;
(iii) birth of first child; or
(iv) disabling sickness or condition;
(H) during leadership training;
(I) during pre-deployment training and during post-deployment training;
(J) at transition points in the service of the member, such as—
(i) transition from a regular component to a reserve component;
(ii) separation from service; or
(iii) retirement; and
(K) as a component of periodically recurring required training that is provided to the member at a military installation.
(3) The training provided at a military installation under paragraph (2)(J) shall include information on any financial services marketing practices that are particularly prevalent at that military installation and in the vicinity.
(4) The Secretary concerned shall prescribe regulations setting forth any other events and circumstances (in addition to the events and circumstances described in paragraph (2)) upon which the training required by this subsection shall be provided.
(b)Counseling for Members and Spouses.—
(1) The Secretary concerned shall, upon request, provide counseling on financial services to each member of the armed forces, and such member’s spouse, under the jurisdiction of the Secretary.
(2)
(A) In the case of a military installation at which at least 2,000 members of the armed forces on active duty are assigned, the Secretary concerned—
(i) shall provide counseling on financial services under this subsection through a full-time financial services counselor at such installation;
(ii) shall provide such counseling at such installation—(I) through members of the armed forces in pay grade E–7 or above, or civilians, who provide such counseling as part of their other duties for the armed forces or the Department of Defense;(II) by contract, including contract for services by telephone and by the Internet; or(III) through qualified representatives of nonprofit organizations and agencies under formal agreements with the Department of Defense to provide such counseling; and
(iii) may not provide financial services through any individual unless such individual agrees to submit financial disclosures annually to the Secretary.
(B) In the case of any military installation not described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary concerned shall provide counseling on financial services under this subsection at such installation in accordance with the requirements established under subparagraph (A)(ii) and (iii).
(3) Each financial services counselor under paragraph (2)(A)(i), and any other individual providing counseling on financial services under paragraph (2), shall be an individual who, by reason of education, training, or experience, is qualified to provide helpful counseling to members of the armed forces and their spouses on financial services and marketing practices described in subsection (a)(1). Such individual may be a member of the armed forces or an employee of the Federal Government.
(4)
(A) The Secretary concerned shall take such action as is necessary to ensure that each financial services counselor under paragraph (2)(A)(i), and any other individual providing counseling on financial services under paragraphs (2), is free from conflicts of interest relevant to the performance of duty under this section and, in the performance of that duty, is dedicated to furnishing members of the armed forces and their spouses with helpful information and counseling on financial services and related marketing practices.
(B) In carrying out the requirements of subparagraph (A), the Secretary concerned shall establish a requirement that each financial services counselor under paragraph (2)(A)(i), and any other individual providing counseling on financial services under paragraph (2), submit financial disclosures annually to the Secretary.
(C) The Secretary concerned shall review all financial disclosures submitted pursuant to subparagraph (B) to ensure the counselor, or the individual providing counseling, is free from conflict as required under this paragraph.
(D) If the Secretary concerned determines that a financial services counselor under paragraph (2)(A)(i), or any other individual providing counseling on financial services under paragraph (2), is not free from conflict as required under this paragraph, the Secretary shall ensure that the counselor, or the individual providing counseling, does not provide such services until such time as the Secretary determines that such conflict is resolved.
(c)Life Insurance.—In counseling a member of the armed forces, or spouse of a member of the armed forces, under this section regarding life insurance offered by a private sector source, a financial services counselor under subsection (b)(2)(A)(i), or another individual providing counseling on financial services under subsection (b)(2), shall furnish the member or spouse, as the case may be, with information on the availability of Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance under subchapter III of chapter 19 of title 38, including information on the amounts of coverage available and the procedures for electing coverage and the amount of coverage.
(d)Financial Literacy and Preparedness Survey.—
(1) The Director of the Defense Manpower Data Center shall annually include in the status of forces survey a survey of the status of the financial literacy and preparedness of members of the armed forces.
(2) The results of the annual financial literacy and preparedness survey—
(A) shall be used by each of the Secretaries concerned as a benchmark to evaluate and update training provided under this section; and
(B) shall be submitted to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
(e)Financial Services Defined.—In this section, the term “financial services” includes the following:
(1) Life insurance, casualty insurance, and other insurance.
(2) Investments in securities or financial instruments.
(3) Banking, credit, loans, deferred payment plans, and mortgages.
(4) Health insurance, budget management, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), retirement lump sum payments (including rollover options and tax consequences), and Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP).
(Added Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title V, § 578(a)(1), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3274; amended Pub. L. 111–84, div. A, title X, § 1073(a)(8), Oct. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 2472; Pub. L. 114–92, div. A, title VI, § 661(b)–(e)(1), Nov. 25, 2015, 129 Stat. 857, 858; Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title V, § 524(a), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 253.)
§ 993. Notification of permanent reduction of sizable numbers of members of the armed forces
(a)Notification.—The Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of the military department concerned shall notify Congress under subsection (b) of a plan to reduce more than 1,000 members of the armed forces assigned at a military installation. In calculating the number of members to be reduced, the Secretary shall take into consideration both direct reductions and indirect reductions.
(b)Notice Requirements.—No irrevocable action may be taken to effect or implement a reduction described under subsection (a) until—
(1) the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of the military department concerned—
(A) submits to Congress a notice of the proposed reduction and the number of military and civilian personnel assignments affected, including reductions in base operations support services and personnel to occur because of the proposed reduction; and
(B) includes in the notice a justification for the reduction and an evaluation of the costs and benefits of the reduction and of the local economic, strategic, and operational consequences of the reduction; and
(2) a period of 90 days expires following the day on which the notice is submitted to Congress.
(c)Exceptions.—
(1)Base closure process.—Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply in the case of the realignment of a military installation pursuant to a base closure law.
(2)National security or emergency.—Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply if the President certifies to Congress that the reduction in military personnel at a military installation must be implemented for reasons of national security or a military emergency.
(d)Definitions.—In this section:
(1) The term “indirect reduction” means subsequent planned reductions or relocations in base operations support services and personnel able to occur due to the direct reductions.
(2) The term “military installation” means a base, camp, post, station, yard, center, homeport facility for any ship, or other activity under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense, including any leased facility, which is located within any of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or Guam. Such term does not include any facility used primarily for civil works, rivers and harbors projects, or flood control projects.
(Added Pub. L. 112–81, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2864(a), Dec. 31, 2011, 125 Stat. 1702; amended Pub. L. 112–239, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2851, Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 2159.)
§ 994. Military working dogs: veterinary care for retired military working dogs
(a)In General.—The Secretary of Defense may establish and maintain a system to provide for the veterinary care of retired military working dogs. No funds may be provided by the Federal Government for this purpose.
(b)Eligible Dogs.—A retired military working dog eligible for veterinary care under this section is any military working dog adopted under section 2583 of this title.
(c)Standards of Care.—The veterinary care provided under the system authorized by this section shall meet such standards as the Secretary shall establish and from time to time update.
(Added Pub. L. 112–239, div. A, title III, § 371(b)(1), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 1706.)
§ 995. Accountability for contractors using military working dogs
(a)Annual Reporting Requirement for Contractors.—Each covered contract shall specify that the contractor is required to submit to the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), on an annual basis for the duration of the covered contract, a report containing an identification of—
(1) the number of military working dogs that are in the possession of the covered contractor and located outside of the continental United States in support of a military operation, if any; and
(2) the primary location of any such military working dogs.
(b)Covered Contract Defined.—In this section the term “covered contract” means a contract that the Secretary of Defense determines involves military working dogs.
(Added Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title III, § 382(a), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2543.)