Characteristics and Duty Limitations of Service Members Transferring Between the Active and Reserve Components

📖 The Scoop

The Department of Defense (DoD) Inspector General (IG) published a report in 2014 with an observation about service members who transfer from the active component (AC) to the reserve component (RC). Specifically, DoD IG observed that medically limited or nondeployable service members were affiliating with the RC after being discharged from the AC, despite policies in place establishing the criteria for transferring, and therefore individual medical readiness (IMR) rates were reduced. DoD IG therefore recommended that the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness develop a plan to establish guidance that charges the services with establishing procedures and criteria that will ensure AC to RC transfers meet IMR requirements. In this report, the authors review DoD and service policies that define requirements for transfers from the AC to the RC and describe how those policies are implemented. They then analyze (1) the characteristics of service members who separated from the AC between FY 2010 and FY 2016 and later affiliated with the RC, and (2) duty limitations observed among AC to RC transfers. The researchers also include a retrospective look at what information was available during the service member's time in the AC that was related to the RC medical condition. Finally, they conclude with a set of recommendations that, if implemented, should reduce the number of service members who transfer from the AC to the RC with medical conditions that limit deployability.

Genre: Business & Economics / Human Resources & Personnel Management (fancy, right?)