{
  "id": "RL30609",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL30609",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 101951,
      "date": "2000-07-18",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:34:59.485941",
      "title": "Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986: Proposals for Reforming the Joint Officer Personnel Management Program",
      "summary": "The Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act (GNA) of 1986, commonly\ncalled\nthe Goldwater-Nichols Act, is considered landmark legislation as it reorganized the Department of\nDefense (DoD) to a more unified military structure. Joint personnel officer management (organizing,\ndirecting, educating and evaluating military members of two or more military departments to\naccomplish an assigned mission) was established as a major aspect of GNA's design to improve war-\nfighting capabilities. The objective was to improve the quality of officers assigned to joint\norganizations, increase educational and experience levels of these officers, and expand the interaction\namong the military services' officers corps by addressing inter-service issues. \n  While many experts believe the GNA has been a success, the passage of time, the constraining\nprovisions of the law, and some implementation issues have led some to believe the GNA joint officer\npersonnel management program could benefit from reexamination and possible revision. Indeed, the\noriginal framers of the GNA predicted that change would be necessary as the DoD evolved into a\nmore joint-oriented military force. Reinforcing this view, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff\nhas indicated a need for joint officer personnel management change. \n  A major problem is that the current provisions of the law for joint officer personnel management\nare so specific that the DoD predicts it can not continue to meet the requirements. This is in part\nbecause the DoD has drawn down its military personnel strength by nearly 40% while operational\nrequirements have increased. Further, the law does not allow all officers to be credited with all their\njoint experience. And, technological advances in distributive and distance learning can not be utilized\nto fulfill joint education requirements for the officers assigned to these positions. \n  This report covers the background and intent of the GNA, as well as the present joint officer\npersonnel management program. The DoD has proposed options for its revision, to Congress; they\ninclude replacing the joint specialty officer designation with a special duty identifier, decoupling\npromotion comparisons, and employing distributive and distance learning for joint professional\nmilitary education. The Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year\n2001,  S. 2549 , introduced language concerning joint officer personnel management\nwhich is consistent with the DoD proposal, with two exceptions. The first difference is noted in the\narea of promotion comparisons and the second is in Joint Professional Military Education. Other\npotential options include forming a commission or special committee, conducting hearings, or\nmandating a study to further assess the program. Changes to joint officer personnel management\nwould require legislative changes to the GNA.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}