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115TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION

S. ll

To provide for the improvement of the capacity of the Navy to conduct
surface warfare operations and activities, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
llllllllll
Mr. WICKER (for himself and Mr. MCCAIN) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
llllllllll

A BILL
To provide for the improvement of the capacity of the Navy
to conduct surface warfare operations and activities, and
for other purposes.
1

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-

2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3
4

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Surface Warfare En-

5 hancement Act of 2018’’.
6
7

SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. Congressional defense committees defined.

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TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF NAVY ADMINISTRATION
Subtitle A—General Administration Matters
Sec. 101. Comprehensive review of operational and administrative chains-ofcommand and functions of the Department of the Navy.
Sec. 102. Expansion of principal duties of Assistant Secretary of the Navy for
Research, Development, and Acquisition.
Sec. 103. Availability of certain operation and maintenance funds for the Navy.
Sec. 104. Training and readiness matrix for Navy surface ships.
Sec. 105. Annual reports on examination of Navy vessels.
Sec. 106. Limitation on duration of homeporting of certain vessels in foreign
locations.
Subtitle B—Personnel Matters
Sec. 111. Assessment of Navy standard workweek and related adjustments.
Sec. 112. Watchstander records.
Sec. 113. Qualification experience requirements for certain Navy officer positions.
Sec. 114. Use of Navy Yard Patrol craft in Surface Warfare Officer School
Basic Division Officer Courses.
Sec. 115. Manning of Forward Deployed Naval Forces.
Sec. 116. Limitation on transition to Ready Relevant Learning training approaches.
TITLE II—DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ADMINISTRATION
Subtitle A—General Administration Matters
Sec. 201. Authority to treat military units as unavailable for deployment due
to a significant readiness deficiency.
Sec. 202. Annual report on Requests For Forces.
Subtitle B—Personnel Matters
Sec. 211. Annual defense manpower requirements report matters.
Sec. 212. Repeal of statutory specification of authorized strengths of certain
commissioned officers on active duty.
Sec. 213. Reports on joint qualification requirements for senior officers.

1

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL DEFENSE COMMITTEES DEFINED.

2

In this Act, the term ‘‘congressional defense commit-

3 tees’’ has the meaning given that term in section
4 101(a)(16) of title 10, United States Code.

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4

TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF NAVY
ADMINISTRATION
Subtitle A—General
Administration Matters

5

SEC. 101. COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF OPERATIONAL AND

6

ADMINISTRATIVE CHAINS-OF-COMMAND AND

7

FUNCTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE

8

NAVY.

1
2
3

9

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Navy shall

10 conduct a comprehensive review of the operational and ad11 ministrative chains-of-command and functions of the De12 partment of the Navy.
13

(b) ELEMENTS.—In conducting the review required

14 by subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider options to
15 do each of the following:
16
17
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20
21
22
23
24
25

(1) Increase visibility of unit-level readiness at
senior levels.
(2) Reduce so-called ‘‘double-hatting’’ and ‘‘triple-hatting’’ commanders.
(3) Rationalize organizations responsible for
training and certification.
(4) Simplify reporting requirements applicable
to commanding officers.
(5) Modify or eliminate unnecessary relationships or requirements.

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2

(c) REPORT.—
(1) IN

GENERAL.—Not

later than September

3

30, 2018, the Secretary shall submit to the congres-

4

sional defense committees a report on the results of

5

the review required by subsection (a). The report

6

shall include the following:

7

(A) The results of the review, including

8

any findings of the Secretary as a result of the

9

review.

10

(B) Any organizational changes in oper-

11

ational or administrative chains-of-command or

12

functions of the Department undertaken or to

13

be undertaken by the Secretary in light of the

14

review.

15

(C) Any recommendations for legislative or

16

administration action with respect to the oper-

17

ational or administrative chains-of-command or

18

functions of the Department as the Secretary

19

considers appropriate in light of the review.

20

(2) FORM.—The report under this subsection

21

shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may in-

22

clude a classified annex.

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1

SEC. 102. EXPANSION OF PRINCIPAL DUTIES OF ASSISTANT

2

SECRETARY OF THE NAVY FOR RESEARCH,

3

DEVELOPMENT, AND ACQUISITION.

4

Section 5016(b)(4)(A) of title 10, United States

5 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘and acquisition matters’’
6 and inserting ‘‘acquisition, and sustainment (including
7 maintenance) matters’’.
8
9
10

SEC. 103. AVAILABILITY OF CERTAIN OPERATION AND
MAINTENANCE FUNDS FOR THE NAVY.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, amounts

11 authorized to be appropriated for any fiscal year after fis12 cal year 2017 for Operation and Maintenance, Navy, and
13 available for Operating Forces shall be available through
14 September 30 of the fiscal year after the fiscal year in
15 which authorized.
16
17
18

SEC. 104. TRAINING AND READINESS MATRIX FOR NAVY
SURFACE SHIPS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 30,

19 2018, the Secretary for the Navy shall implement a train20 ing and readiness matrix for Navy surface ships.
21

(b) ELEMENTS.—The matrix required by subsection

22 (a) shall identify each of the following:
23
24
25
26

(1) The tasks each Navy surface ship shall accomplish in each phase of training.
(2) The number of times each such task shall
be demonstrated by each such ship.

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(3) The number of times each such task may be
simulated by each such ship.

3

(4) The external grading criteria to be used for

4

each such ship in meeting the requirements for each

5

level of certification in connection with training.

6

(5) Metrics of overall ship readiness to accu-

7

rately describe what each ship shall achieve and

8

maintain for certification in each warfare area.

9

SEC. 105. ANNUAL REPORTS ON EXAMINATION OF NAVY

10
11

VESSELS.

Section 7304 of title 10, United States Code, is

12 amended by adding at the end the following new sub13 section:
14
15

‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORT.—
‘‘(1) IN

GENERAL.—Not

later than January 1

16

each year, the board designated under subsection (a)

17

shall submit to the congressional defense committees

18

a report setting forth, for each of the six most re-

19

cently completed fiscal years, the following:

20
21
22
23
24
25

‘‘(A) Overall aggregate material inspection
score.
‘‘(B) Overall number and types of vessels
inspected.
‘‘(C) Surface ship aggregate material inspection score.

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‘‘(D) Number of surface ships inspected.

2

‘‘(E) Submarine aggregate material inspec-

3

tion score.

4

‘‘(F) Number of submarines inspected.

5

‘‘(G) Aircraft carrier aggregate material

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7
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10
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inspection score.
‘‘(H) Number of aircraft carriers inspected.
‘‘(I) Number and types of vessels which receiving a failing material inspection score.
‘‘(J) Class Maintenance Plan compliance,
by ship class.

13

‘‘(K) Number of starred deficiencies, by

14

ship class, resulting from acceptance trial, inte-

15

grated trail, contract trial, or similar sea trial.

16

‘‘(L) Number of vessels inspected, by ship

17

class, at an acceptance trial, integrated trail,

18

contract trial, or similar sea trial.

19

‘‘(2) FORM.—Each report under this subsection

20

shall be submitted in unclassified form and in a for-

21

mat which permits its ready release to the public.

22

‘‘(3) STARRED

DEFICIENCIES

DEFINED.—In

23

this subsection, the term ‘starred deficiencies’ means

24

the following, as identified by the board:

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‘‘(A) Deficiencies (commonly referred to as

2

‘single starred deficiencies’) for which the Navy

3

has assumed responsibility that—

4

‘‘(i) significantly degrade a ship’s abil-

5

ity to perform an assigned primary or sec-

6

ondary required operational capability; or

7

‘‘(ii) represent general safety, naviga-

8

tional safety, security, firefighting, habit-

9

ability, or maintainability deficiencies that

10

would prevent the crew of a ship from liv-

11

ing on board safely or operating and main-

12

taining ship systems.

13

‘‘(B) Similar deficiencies (commonly re-

14

ferred to as ‘double-starred deficiencies’) in

15

ships constructed, converted, or modernized

16

with a separate fitting-out period assigned away

17

from the building site.’’.

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19
20
21

SEC. 106. LIMITATION ON DURATION OF HOMEPORTING OF
CERTAIN VESSELS IN FOREIGN LOCATIONS.

(a) LIMITATION.—
(1) IN

GENERAL.—Chapter

633 of title 10,

22

United States Code, is amended by inserting after

23

section 7310 the following new section:

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1 ‘‘§ 7310a. Homeporting of certain vessels in overseas
2
3

locations: limitation on duration

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A vessel specified in subsection

4 (b) that is listed in the Naval Vessel Register may not
5 be homeported in a location other than in the United
6 States or Guam for a period of more than 10 consecutive
7 years.
8

‘‘(b) SPECIFIED VESSELS.—The vessels specified in

9 this subsection are the following:
10

‘‘(1) Aircraft carrier.

11

‘‘(2) Amphibious ship.

12

‘‘(3) Cruiser.

13

‘‘(4) Destroyer.

14

‘‘(5) Frigate.’’.

15

(2) CLERICAL

AMENDMENT.—The

table of sec-

16

tions at the beginning of chapter 633 of such title

17

is amended by inserting after the item relating to

18

section 7310 the following new item:
‘‘7310a. Homeporting of certain vessels in overseas locations: limitation on duration.’’.

19

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

20 this section shall take effect on October 1, 2020, and shall
21 apply with respect to the homeporting of vessels after that
22 date, regardless of whether the continuous period of home23 porting concerned commenced before that date.

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Subtitle B—Personnel Matters

2

SEC. 111. ASSESSMENT OF NAVY STANDARD WORKWEEK

3
4

AND RELATED ADJUSTMENTS.

(a) ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary of the Navy shall

5 conduct a comprehensive assessment of the Navy standard
6 workweek.
7

(b) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall—

8

(1) update Office of the Chief of Naval Oper-

9
10
11

ations Instruction 1000.16L in order to—
(A) obtain an examination of current inport workloads; and

12

(B) identify the manpower necessary to

13

execute in-port workload for all surface ship

14

classes;

15

(2) update the criteria used in the Instruction

16

referred to in paragraph (1) that are used to reas-

17

sess the factors used to calculate manpower require-

18

ments periodically or when conditions change; and

19

(3) using the updates required by paragraphs

20

(1) and (2), identify personnel needs and costs asso-

21

ciated with the planned larger size of the Navy fleet.

22

(c) ADDED DEMANDS.—The Secretary shall identify

23 and quantify added demands on Navy ship crews, includ24 ing Ready Relevant Learning training periods and addi-

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1 tional work that affects readiness and technical qualifica2 tions for Navy ship crews.
3

(d) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall complete car-

4 rying out the requirements in this section by not later than
5 September 30, 2018.
6
7

SEC. 112. WATCHSTANDER RECORDS.

The Secretary of the Navy shall require that, com-

8 mencing

not

later

than

September

30,

2018,

9 watchstanders on Navy surface ships shall maintain a ca10 reer record of watchstanding hours and specific oper11 ational evolutions.
12

SEC. 113. QUALIFICATION EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

13
14

FOR CERTAIN NAVY OFFICER POSITIONS.

Not later than September 30, 2018, the Secretary of

15 the Navy shall establish minimum at-sea and simulator
16 time and evolution requirements to be satisfied to become
17 and remain a qualified Navy officer in each position as
18 follows:
19

(1) Officer of the Deck.

20

(2) Combat Information Center Watch Officer.

21

(3) Tactical Action Officer.

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SEC. 114. USE OF NAVY YARD PATROL CRAFT IN SURFACE

2

WARFARE OFFICER SCHOOL BASIC DIVISION

3

OFFICER COURSES.

4

(a) IN GENERAL.—Commencing not later than

5 March 1, 2020, the Secretary of the Navy shall provide
6 for the use of not fewer than six Navy Yard Patrol craft
7 in total at the Surface Warfare Officer School Basic Divi8 sion Officer Course in San Diego, California, and Norfolk,
9 Virginia.
10

(b) PRIMARY MISSION

OF

CRAFT.—The Navy Yard

11 Patrol craft provided for as described in subsection (a)
12 shall have the primary mission of providing Surface War13 fare Officer candidates in the Course referred to in that
14 subsection with foundational skills in an at-sea training
15 environment. Such skills shall include skills that satisfy
16 Navy personnel qualification standards associated with
17 each of the following:
18

(1) Shiphandling.

19

(2) Navigation.

20

(3) Radar operation.

21

(4) Bridge resource management.

22

(5) Seamanship.

23

(6) Maintenance.

24

(c) QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT

FOR

SURFACE

25 WARFARE OFFICERS CANDIDATES.—Commencing not
26 later than September 30, 2020, each Surface Warfare Of-

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1 ficer candidate shall qualify as an Underway Officer of
2 the Deck on a Navy Yard Patrol craft before completion
3 of the Surface Warfare Officer School Basic Division Offi4 cer Course.
5
6
7

SEC.

115.

MANNING

OF

FORWARD

DEPLOYED

NAVAL

FORCES.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Commencing not later than Octo-

8 ber 1, 2019, the Secretary of the Navy shall maintain
9 manning fit and manning fill for ships assigned to the
10 Forward Deployed Naval Forces at levels not less than
11 the levels established for each ship class or type of unit
12 deploying from the United States.
13
14

(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(1) MANNING

FIT.—The

term ‘‘manning fit’’, in

15

the case of a ship, means the skills (rating), spe-

16

cialty skills (Navy Enlisted Classifications), and ex-

17

perience (paygrade) for the ship when compared

18

with the billets authorized for such skills and experi-

19

ence. For purposes of the term, a sailor in a more

20

senior paygrade may fill the billet of a more junior

21

paygrade, but a sailor in a more junior paygrade

22

may not fill the billet of a more senior paygrade.

23

(2) MANNING

FILL.—The

term ‘‘manning fill’’,

24

in the case of a ship, means the total number of

25

military personnel assigned to the ship by rating

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when compared with the billets authorized for the

2

ship by rating.

3
4
5

SEC. 116. LIMITATION ON TRANSITION TO READY RELEVANT LEARNING TRAINING APPROACHES.

The Secretary of the Navy may not transition any

6 enlisted training to Ready Relevant Learning block learn7 ing, modernized delivery, or other similar approaches un8 less the first certification submitted to Congress pursuant
9 to section 545 of the National Defense Authorization Act
10 for Fiscal Year 2018 (Public Law 115–91) after the date
11 of the enactment of this Act specifies, as required by such
12 section, each of the following:
13

(1) That the transition will meet or exceed the

14

existing training delivery approach for all associated

15

training requirements.

16

(2) That the content re-engineering necessary

17

to meet all training objectives will be complete before

18

the transition, including full functionality of all re-

19

quired course software and hardware.

20

(3) That the contracting actions agreed upon to

21

carry out the transition contain sufficient specifica-

22

tion detail to enable a low-risk approach to receiving

23

the deliverable end item or items on-budget, on-

24

schedule, and with satisfactory performance.

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TITLE II—DEPARTMENT OF
DEFENSE ADMINISTRATION
Subtitle A—General
Administration Matters

5

SEC. 201. AUTHORITY TO TREAT MILITARY UNITS AS UN-

6

AVAILABLE FOR DEPLOYMENT DUE TO A SIG-

7

NIFICANT READINESS DEFICIENCY.

1
2
3

8
9

(a) REQUEST TO TREAT.—
(1) IN

GENERAL.—A

member of the Joint

10

Chiefs of Staff, other than the Chairman or Vice

11

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, may request

12

the Secretary of Defense to treat a military unit of

13

an Armed Force or Armed Forces of which such

14

member is a chief of staff as unavailable for a sched-

15

uled deployment due to a significant readiness defi-

16

ciency or deficiencies.

17

(2) UNITS

OF THE NATIONAL GUARD.—For

18

purposes of this section, a unit of the National

19

Guard has the following as a chief of staff:

20

(A) The Chief of Staff of the Army and

21

the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, in the

22

case of the Army National Guard of the United

23

States.

24

(B) The Chief of Staff of the Air Force

25

and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, in

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the case of the Air National Guard of the

2

United States.

3

(b) FINAL DECISION

4

GABLE.—The

ON

REQUEST NONDELE-

Secretary of Defense may not delegate the

5 final decision on any request under subsection (a).
6
7
8

(c) NOTICE

TO

CONGRESS

ON

ACTION UPON RE-

QUEST.—

(1) NOTICE

REQUIRED.—Not

later than 30

9

days after the Secretary of Defense acts on a re-

10

quest under subsection (a), the Secretary shall sub-

11

mit to the congressional defense committees a writ-

12

ten notice on such action.

13

(2) ELEMENTS.—The notice on any requested

14

action under subsection (a) shall include the fol-

15

lowing:

16
17

(A) The military unit covered by the requested action.

18

(B) A description of the significant readi-

19

ness deficiency or deficiencies providing the

20

basis for the requested action.

21

(C) The action of the Secretary.

22

(D) If the military unit is treated by the

23

Secretary as unavailable for a scheduled deploy-

24

ment—

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(i) a description of the scheduled de-

2

ployment dates, missions, and locations for

3

which the unit is unavailable;

4

(ii) a description of the actions, if

5

any, taken to mitigate the unavailability of

6

the unit; and

7

(iii) a description of the risks, if any,

8

resulting from treating the unit as unavail-

9

able.

10
11

SEC. 202. ANNUAL REPORT ON REQUESTS FOR FORCES.

(a) ANNUAL REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than

12 January 1, 2019, and each year thereafter, the Secretary
13 of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense com14 mittees a report on all Requests For Forces (RFFs) in15 volving military units (other than military units of the
16 Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the
17 Navy) during the preceding fiscal year.
18

(b) ELEMENTS.—Each report under subsection (a)

19 shall set forth, for the fiscal year covered by such report,
20 the following:
21

(1) A description of each Request for Forces

22

described by that subsection, including the force

23

package sought and associated dates and locations.

24

(2) The extent to which each such Request for

25

Forces was sourced by the Department of Defense,

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including the force package provided and associated

2

dates and locations.

3

(3) If any such Request For Forces was par-

4

tially sourced or not sourced—

5

(A) the rationale for such partial sourcing

6

or non-souring; and

7

(B) a description of any mitigation meas-

8

ures taken in response to such partial sourcing

9

or non-sourcing.

10

Subtitle B—Personnel Matters

11

SEC. 211. ANNUAL DEFENSE MANPOWER REQUIREMENTS

12

REPORT MATTERS.

13

(a) DATE

OF

SUBMITTAL.—Subsection (a) of section

14 115a of title 10, United States Code, is amended in the
15 matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘not later
16 than 45 days after the date on which’’ and inserting ‘‘on
17 the date on which’’.
18
19

(b) ENUMERATION
TAIN

OF

REQUIRED NUMBERS

OF

CER-

COMMISSIONS OFFICERS.—Such section is further

20 amended by adding at the end the following new sub21 section:
22

‘‘(i) In each such report, the Secretary shall also in-

23 clude a separate statement of the number of officers re24 quired for the next fiscal year in each grade as follows:

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‘‘(1) Major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel of

2

each of the Army, the Air Force, and the Marine

3

Corps.

4
5

‘‘(2) Lieutenant commander, commander, and
captain of the Navy.’’.

6

SEC. 212. REPEAL OF STATUTORY SPECIFICATION OF AU-

7

THORIZED STRENGTHS OF CERTAIN COMMIS-

8

SIONED OFFICERS ON ACTIVE DUTY.

9

Effective as of October 1, 2018, the text of section

10 523 of title 10, United States Code, is amended to read
11 as follows:
12

‘‘The total number of commissioned officers serving

13 on active duty in the Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps
14 in each of the grades of major, lieutenant colonel, or colo15 nel, or in the Navy in each of the grades of lieutenant
16 commander, commander, or captain, at the end of any fis17 cal year shall be as specifically authorized by statute for
18 such fiscal year.’’.
19
20
21

SEC. 213. REPORTS ON JOINT QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR SENIOR OFFICERS.

(a) REPORTS REQUIRED.—Not later than six months

22 after the date of the enactment of this Act, each Secretary
23 of a military department shall submit to the Committees
24 on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Rep25 resentatives a report setting forth the results of a review,

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1 undertaken by the Secretary of the military department
2 concerned for purposes of such report, of the requirements
3 and policies of the Department of Defense related to the
4 management of joint qualifications for officers before pro5 motion to general or flag officer grade.
6

(b) ELEMENTS.—Each report required by subsection

7 (a) shall include an analysis of the following:
8

(1) The effect of joint qualification require-

9

ments on the ability of the military department con-

10

cerned to train and develop critical military depart-

11

ment-specific operational skills.

12

(2) The effect of joint qualification require-

13

ments on the growth of joint headquarters organiza-

14

tions within the military department concerned.

15

(3) The number of waivers granted by the Sec-

16

retary of Defense under section 619a(b) of title 10,

17

United States Code, during the period beginning on

18

October 1, 2001, and ending on the date of such re-

19

port, for the Armed Force or Armed Forces under

20

the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the military de-

21

partment concerned.

22

(4) The effect of joint qualification require-

23

ments on the average length of assignments pre-

24

dating promotions to general or flag officer grade

25

within the military department concerned during the

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1

period beginning on January 1, 1987, and ending on

2

the date of such report.

3

(5) Any other matters the Secretary of the mili-

4

tary department concerned considers appropriate to

5

facilitate an understanding of the effects of joint

6

qualification requirements on the training and man-

7

agement of officers within such military department.