The Army recently implemented new guidelines on joint duty assignment credit for officers as outlined in Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI) 1300.19, DoD Joint Officer Management Program.
As of April 3, 2018, Army Officers serving in a standard joint duty assignment are eligible for joint duty assignment credit after accumulating 24 month, points or a combination of both.
Joint Duty Assignment credit is given to Officers completing a tour of duty meeting all statutory requirements, the accumulation of joint experience credit points, or a combination of both. Joint experience can also be obtained through a self-nomination process if officers perform joint duties, but aren't assigned in a standard joint assignment. This credited experience, plus approved joint exercises, and/or joint course can be used to achieve 24 points.
Experience points are calculated by taking the number of days served and dividing it by 30.4. That number is then multiplied by the intensity factor, or the environment in which the experience is gained such as in combat, and rounded to the nearest tenth.
Another significant change to achieving joint qualification is a new recency requirement. Officers are required to spend 365 days, aggregated or consecutively, gaining their joint experience in the rank of Major or above. This does not include days spent participating in exercises or joint courses.
Lt. Col. Bryan Donohue, Army Human Resources Command joint policy branch chief, said the new DoDI does not change a 36 month joint tour to 24 months. The DoDI changes who can waive the officer's requirement to serve a full 36 month tour.
Before the new joint guidelines were issued, each service had to receive a waiver directly from the Office of the Secretary of Defense to remove Officers prior to their 36-month commitment. Now the Army has the authority to determine when an officer can leave a 36 month joint assignment after the 24 month mark.
"Speaking strictly from a service centric, career management perspective, rotating more Officers through joint billets improves professional development and career progression for the overall force," Donohue said.
The guidelines also included an update to award Army skill identifiers related to joint tour credit and qualifications, namely 3A (Joint Duty Assignment Qualified) and 3L (Joint Qualified Officer).
"Joint duty credit is managed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The Army recognizes two of the three qualification levels identified by the DoDI," Donohue said.
"In the Army if we see that you have all the necessary joint experience completed phase 1 of joint military professional education, you're awarded 3A. Once you meet all the experience and education requirements and the Office of the Secretary of Defense says you are fully joint qualified, we will award you the 3L skill identifier."
To be awarded 3A, in addition to completing J-PME phase 1, officers in the grade of O4 and above must complete a 24-month standard joint duty assignment, accrue 24 approved experience-joint duty assignment points, or a combination of both.
In order to be awarded the 3L skill identifier, officers must meet all the requirements of the 3A skill identifier above, plus the successful completion J-PME phase 2.
Of note, by law, officers in the rank of Major or above, designated as joint qualified officers (ASI 3L), are expected to be promoted, as a group, to the next higher rank at an equal or higher rate as commissioned officer in the same rank and competitive category for each service.
For more detailed information about joint tour credit see MILPER 18-404 at https://www.hrc.army.mil/Milper/18-404 or contact their HRC assignment officer.
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