Independent study on military personnel tempo, workload, and compensation in comparison to civilians with similar duties

(a) Independent study Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall seek to enter into an agreement with a federally funded research and development center with expertise in matters relating to military and civilian personnel responsibilities and compensation to conduct a study on military personnel tempo, workload demands, and compensation in comparison to civilian counterparts in comparable professions. (b) Elements The study required under subsection (a) shall include the following: (1) An assessment of average weekly and annual work hours performed by members of the Armed Forces, and civilians if available, in all military career fields, including those with operational, administrative, training, and deployment-related duties. (2) A comparative analysis of work hours, personnel tempo, and workload demands, if available, between military personnel and civilians in comparable professions, including professions relating to aviation, explosive ordnance disposal, medical, diving, cyber, nuclear, law enforcement, special operations forces communities, and technical specialties. (3) An assessment of the effects of deployment cycles, training rotations, field exercises, shipboard operations, alert requirements, shift work, and other operational demands on total military workload. (4) An assessment of the cumulative time burden associated with military accession training, professional military education, qualification requirements, readiness training, and advanced specialty training pipelines. (5) An assessment of workload and personnel tempo within specialized military communities, including aviation, explosive ordnance disposal, medical, diving, cyber, nuclear, law enforcement, special operations forces communities, and technical specialties. (6) An assessment of the impact of military-specific obligations on members of the Armed Forces and military families, including permanent change of station requirements, family separation, deployment frequency, irregular work schedules, and fitness and training requirements. (7) A comparative analysis of military compensation relative to civilian compensation when accounting for cumulative workload demands and military-specific service obligations. (8) Identification of any limitations associated with direct comparisons between military and civilian professions, including recommendations for appropriate methodologies, assumptions, and future data collection efforts. (9) Recommendations, if any, for improving the measurement and tracking of personnel tempo, workload, and workforce use by the Department of Defense. (c) Reports (1) Submission to Secretary of Defense The agreement entered into in accordance with subsection (a) shall include a requirement that— (A) not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the federally funded research and development center that is party to the agreement shall submit to the Secretary of Defense a report containing the results study conducted under subsection (a); and (B) not less than every 180 days until the final report required by subparagraph (A) is submitted, such federally funded research and development center shall provide to the Secretary of Defense and the congressional defense committees an interim report on the progress and results of such study. (2) Submission of final report to Congress Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary of Defense receives the report required under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense committees a copy of the report and any comments of the Secretary with respect to the report. (d) Form The reports required under subsection (c) shall be submitted in unclassified form. (e) Personnel tempo defined In this Act, the term personnel tempo means the amount of time a member of the Armed Forces is engaged in official duties at a location or under circumstances that make it infeasible for such member to spend off-duty time in the housing in which the member resides.