|
This file is available on a Cryptome DVD offered by Cryptome. Donate $25 for a DVD of the Cryptome 10-year archives of 35,000 files from June 1996 to June 2006 (~3.5 GB). Click Paypal or mail check/MO made out to John Young, 251 West 89th Street, New York, NY 10024. Archives include all files of cryptome.org, cryptome2.org, jya.com, cartome.org, eyeball-series.org and iraq-kill-maim.org. Cryptome offers with the Cryptome DVD an INSCOM DVD of about 18,000 pages of counter-intelligence dossiers declassified by the US Army Information and Security Command, dating from 1945 to 1985. No additional contribution required -- $25 for both. The DVDs will be sent anywhere worldwide without extra cost. | |||
12 October 2006
This appears to be the first public account of Defense Advisory Board (DAB) membership and meeting activities. A search of the Federal Register from 1994 to the present shows no other report like it. The DAB is not the Defense Policy Board which always meets in secret.
[Federal Register: October 12, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 197)]
[Notices]
[Page 60116-60120]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12oc06-37]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Office of the Secretary
Defense Advisory Board
AGENCY: Department of Defense.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Defense Advisory Board meeting convened at 8 a.m., Friday,
September 22, 2006, but did not have a quorum. The meeting was allowed
and conducted in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act
(FACA) exception that no deliberation or voting can take place absent a
quorum. These conditions were adhered to. Additionally, hard copies of
all briefings from the meeting will be forwarded to the absent members
and a confirmation printout of the transmitted briefings will be kept
on file as a matter of record.
Location: Pentagon, Room 2E219.
Attendees
Members
David A. Janes, Chairman, DAB; Chairman and CEO, Janes Capital
Partners.
Donald V. Esmond, Senior VP Automotive Operations, Toyota Motor Sales.
Walter P. Havenstein, Executive Vice President, BAE Systems North
America.
W. Thomas Musser, Chairman of the Board, Tri-M Group, LLC and Tri-M
Holdings, LLC.
Kathleen M. Naylor, Director, Worldwide Executive and Leadership
Development, UNISYS Corp.
Joyce Reed, Community Relations Manager, Tyson Foods, Inc.
Absent
William T. Powell, President, Institute for Defense and Business.
John T. Gremp, VP-Energy Production Systems, Energy Systems Group, FMC
Technologies, Inc.
Bradley T. MacDonald, Chairman and CEO, Medifast, Inc.
Jeffery C. Crowe, Chairman and CEO, Landstar System, Inc.
Michael J. Earley, President and CEO, Bankers Trust Company.
Christopher K. Komisarjevsky, President and CEO, Emeritus, Burson-
Marsteller Worldwide.
Kenneth L. Gile, President, Skybus Airlines.
Department of Defense
The Honorable Thomas F. Hall, Assistant Secretary of Defense, Reserve
Affairs.
Craig W. Duehring, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense,
Reserve Affairs.
Bob Hollingsworth, Executive Secretary, DAB.
Mr. Tom Bush, Principal Deputy Manpower & Personnel, Office of the
Secretary of Defense, Reserve Affairs.
Phil Pope, Designated Federal Officer, DAB.
Roxie Merritt, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, PA,
Internal Com/Public Liaison.
Ted Kehr, Director, Employer Support Division, National Guard Bureau.
Public
Mr. Nick Dawson, Department of Labor, Veterans Employment and Training
Services.
Mr. Marcus Bradshaw, Department of Labor, Veterans Employment and
Training Services.
Speakers
The Honorable Thomas F. Hall, Assistant Secretary of Defense, Reserve
Affairs. Topic: Welcome and Opening Remarks.
Kathleen Naylor, Director, Worldwide Executive and Leadership
Development, UNISYS Corp. and Roxie Merritt, Office of the Secretary of
Defense, PA for Internal Com/Public Liaison. Topic: Communications/
Outreach Update.
Nick Dawson and Marcus Bradshaw, Veteran's Administration Department of
Labor. Topic: Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
(USERRA).
Bob Hollingsworth, National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard
(NCESGR) and Reserve Executive Director and DAB Executive Secretary.
Topic: ESGR Outreach Status Brief.
Tom Bush, Principal Deputy Manpower and Personnel, Office of the
Secretary of Defense, Reserve Affairs. Topic: ``Transitioning To An
Operational Reserve''.
DAB Meeting Summary
Meeting discussions focused on four primary areas:
(1) Leveraging and implementation of long-range strategic
communications plan that uses public affairs tactics designed to assist
branding NCESGR, while targeting key messages to employers.
(2) An information brief of USERRA rights and responsibilities as
they affect Reserve Component members/employers.
(3) Employer data and impact on employers as Guard and Reserve
transition from a Strategic Reserve to an Operational Reserve.
(4) OSD-RA Manpower and Personnel prospective of transition to an
Operational Reserve.
Invited speakers discussed more aggressive public affairs efforts
to enhance communications with employers; the ongoing process to
educate and inform employers and Defense Advisory Board (DAB) members
regarding legal rights and responsibilities under the Uniformed
Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA); the purpose
and function of NCESGR and transitioning from a Strategic Reserve to an
Operational Reserve.
Opening Remarks
Secretary Thomas F. Hall, Assistant Secretary of Defense, Reserve
Affairs
Secretary Hall thanked Mr. Hollingsworth and his team for a great
Leadership Conference, and the culmination of a superb Freedom Award
Dinner, which also resulted in late night news coverage emphasizing the
significant support provided to the nation's Guard and Reserve by
America's exceptional employers. General Cody did a great job with his
[[Page 60117]]
speech, as well as WLS-Channel 7 News broadcast reporter Mr. Leon
Harris, the event Master of Ceremonies. Later today, 15 distinguished
employer recipients of the Secretary of Defense Employer Support
Freedom Award will meet with President Bush at the Oval Office.
David Janes, DAB Chairman
On Thursday, September 21, 2006, NCESGR held its annual Leadership
Conference in which all State and Territory Field Committee Chairs were
in attendance. This is the first time that only the Chairs were invited
to the conference without any other Field Committee Executive members.
Everyone came with lots of positive energy. We have fielded the best
group of volunteer leaders in the past three years, very professional
and energetic. Furthermore, a lot of positive changes have taken place
in the past three years that has led us to this remarkable team of
Field Committee Chairs. This is attributed in large part to the
tremendous support received from both NCESGR and the Office of the
Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs (OSD-RA) staff, which
continues to reinforce why ESGR is important. Everyone's hard work has
made a difference and that has contributed to making this the strongest
Field Committee Chair Team ever.
A number of DAB members have expressed that it would be beneficial
for them to visit a training mobilization site while Guardsmen are
mobilizing. Fort Dix in New Jersey, Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, and 29
Palms in California are among the potential venues that could be
researched. Our next meeting scheduled in February of 2007 could be
held at a National Guard Bureau mobility site during an actual training
mobilization in order for DAB members to experience what type of
preparation guard reserve members go through during mobilization. Mr.
Hollingsworth has agreed to investigate possible training sites.
Minutes from the June 2006 meeting have been approved and have been
posted in the Federal Register, as a matter of public record.
A draft of the September 22, 2006 meeting minutes will be sent to
DAB members for review prior to publication and hard copies of all
slide presentations will be mailed to the members absent to ensure DAB
Committee meeting compliance with FACA guidance absent a quorum.
Meeting Presenters
Kathleen Naylor, Director, Worldwide Executive & Leadership
Development, UNISYS Corp.
Roxie Merritt, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, PA
(Internal Com/Public Liaison)
Topic: Communications/Outreach Update
The DAB determined that there is an ongoing need to build stronger
partnerships with employers of guard and reserve members. The
development of an integrated communications plan has been drafted to
address the lack of reliable methods by which the DoD can convey
information routinely to employers of guard and reserve members. The
premise for this initiative is to establish an ongoing mechanism to
communicate information about the Department of Defense, and associated
agencies VA, and DoL regarding related plans, policies, mobilizations
and training issues for Reserve component members and employers. The
following topics were discussed:
Integrated Plan
Utilize broadcast, Web, print and outreach tools (events)
and key individuals to highlight NCESGR and model employers of
Guardsmen and Reservists.
Leverage Freedom Awards Ceremony, America Supports You,
Employer Boss Lifts and other contract resources.
Web/News Media Approaches
Use American Forces Press Service reporters to cover and
generate wire stories on events.
Wire stories can be distributed to more than 1,000
military publications and newspapers world-wide.
Deploy on-line survey to employers to gain additional
insights on their view, perspectives and support they wish.
Post key communications/messages to http://www.Defenselink.mil
which receives more than 65,000 unique hits per
day.
Broadcast
Use Pentagon Channel television crew to cover NCESGR
events.
Pentagon Channel can be viewed world-wide and is carried
on a number of commercial cable and satellite providers.
The broadcast piece will be available on http://www.pentagonchannel.mil
the day the piece airs on Pentagon Channel.
Event will be promoted on the Pentagon Channel crawler.
Determine other media possibilities outside government to
leverage NCESGR events.
Print/Outreach
NCESGR events will be included in regular outreach
products DoD updates for distribution and releases on the day of the
event.
Events will be posted to OSD-PA event calendar.
Story to be carried in the National Guard Family Readiness
Newsletter.
Leverage ``Hometown News'' local newspapers and work with
America Supports You, and grass roots organizations.
Use Legislative body to promote/support outreach
(Senators/Internal Legislative Affairs, DoD Legislative Affairs, and
White House Legislative Affairs staff).
Online Survey
Utilize/leverage all vehicles available to include DoL, recruiting
commands, if feasible, and others to launch survey to employers (sample
survey to be developed and will be short/succinct and will leverage
work of Freedom Awards recipients).
Outreach by Legislative Body/Media
Leverage internal resources--share NCESGR/DAB strategy,
ask for their input and reach out to those who have stepped forward to
bridge gaps and build relationships.
Feature stories in key publications and at key events
(with photos)--Start with leveraging recurring events such as, NCESGR's
annual Freedom Awards.
Charting a Way Ahead
Identify quick ways to deploy an online survey to
employers.
Obtain NCESGR resources to work with OSD-PA, DoD and DAB.
Identify concise survey topics to address with employers.
Define how success of media initiatives will be measured.
Work to engage support and involvement of House and Senate
members to promote NCESGR.
Dedicate internal NCESGR staff to support communications
if this initiative is a priority.
Define actions/dates to leverage existing DoD initiatives
i.e., America Supports You.
Routinely interface with DoL point person to leverage key
messages, outreach and DoD/DoL use of the Civilian Employer Information
database.
Commit aggressive support from DAB to move initiative
forward.
[[Page 60118]]
Mr. Nick Dawson and Mr. Marcus Bradshaw, Department of Labor (DoL),
Veterans Employment and Training Services (VETS)
Topic: Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
(USERRA)
A big compliance problem employers' face is a limited knowledge and
understanding about USERRA. NCESGR and DoL (VETS) are simultaneously
engaged in an ongoing concerted effort to help educate employers,
Guardsmen and Reservists about their rights and responsibilities. The
following information was discussed:
Who USERRA Covers
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights
Act (USERRA) was enacted in 1994 under Title 38, U.S. Code, 4301-4334.
USERRA applies to virtually all employers (foreign and
domestic) in the United States and its Territories.
USERRA generally protects persons who perform, have
performed or apply to perform service in the uniformed services.
Service in the uniformed services includes voluntary and
involuntary service, both during wartime and in peacetime.
Since 2002, service by intermittent disaster response
personnel for FEMA and training to perform such service is considered
service in the uniformed services and is protected by USERRA.
Employment Rights
Employment rights consist of protections against
employment discrimination and employer retaliation.
Employers may not discriminate in employment,
reemployment, retention in employment, promotions or any benefit of
employment on the basis of a person's prior military service, current
military obligations, or an intent to join one of the uniformed
services.
Also, an employer may not take any adverse action to
retaliate against a person who has attempted to enforce his or her
rights under USERRA.
The law also prohibits retaliation against a person who
assists or testifies in an investigation or other enforcement action.
Such person is protected from retaliation even if he or she has no
military connection.
Reemployment Rights
If the returning employee meets the eligibility criteria,
he or she is entitled to prompt reemployment in accordance with what is
referred to as the ``escalator principle,'' which was first laid down
by the Supreme Court in the first reemployment rights case it decided,
in 1946.
The person is to be reemployed in the position he or she
would have attained if he or she had remained continuously employed
during the period of military service. If the period of military
service was for more than 90 days, the employer has the option to
reemploy the person in the ``escalator'' position or in another similar
position with like seniority, status and rate of pay. An employer is
required to make reasonable efforts to accommodate a disability
incurred or aggravated during the period of military service.
An employee who performs service of 31 or more days, must,
upon request of the employer, provide documentation (official orders or
DD-214) that shows the employee is eligible for reemployment. However,
if the documentation is not readily available or doesn't exist, the
employer must still reemploy the returning employee. The employer can
also contact the DoD (ESGR) or the employee's command to obtain
documentation.
The employer is excused from the obligation to reemploy if
the employer's circumstances have changed so as to make the
reemployment impossible or unreasonable. This would apply, for example,
if the employer has a bona fide layoff that would have included the
service member.
An employer is also excused from reemployment obligations
if the employee in question held a position that was to last for only a
brief non-recurrent period with no expectation that it would continue
indefinitely or for a significant period of time.
Benefits and Pensions
Upon reemployment, the employee is entitled to the
seniority and seniority-related benefits he or she had at the beginning
of the military plus whatever seniority and seniority benefits he or
she would have gained during the period of military service.
While absent to serve in the uniformed services, the
employee is considered on furlough or leave of absence and is entitled
to rights and benefits not based on seniority as are generally given to
similarly situated employees on other types leave of absence.
An employee and his or her dependents must be allowed
(upon request) to receive continued coverage under the employer's
health plan while performing military service. The period of coverage
is the lesser of 24 months from the beginning of the absence or the
actual period of the military leave of absence. If the period of
military service is 31 days or more, the employer may require the
employee to pay up to 102% of the full premium for continuation
coverage. The employee pays only the normal employee share, if any for
military service of 30 days or less. If the health plan is discontinued
during the period of service, it must be reinstated immediately upon
reemployment. There are no exclusions allowed, except for conditions
determined by VA to be service-connected.
Regarding pensions, an employee reemployed following
service must be given credit for the period of service for purposes of
benefits and vesting. If a plan is contributory, the employee must be
allowed to make up missed employee contributions, and the employer must
match those contributions in accordance with the plan's provisions.
Additional USERRA information can be found at http://www.esgr.org and http://www.dol.gov/vets.
Bob Hollingsworth, Executive Director, ESGR
Topic: ESGR Outreach Status Brief
NCESGR continues to use employer outreach initiatives as a
strategic tool to communicate and gain support from employers of Guard
and Reserve. Through its outreach efforts, NCESGR has been able to
identify and successfully partner with industry leaders, military
organizations and government agencies.
ESGR State committees have also conducted proactive outreach to
known employers of Reserve component members through direct mail
marketing campaigns. Recently NCESGR Executive Director Bob
Hollingsworth presented a Civilian Employer Information (CEI) brief
presented to the Chairman's Reserve Conference, which was well
received. The following CEI information was discussed:
What We Know
Roughly \1/3\ of Select Reserve civilian employers are
employed in the public sector.
Just over \1/2\ of Select Reserve civilian employers
employ fewer than 100 total employees.
Eating and drinking establishments and medical offices are
the top two industries that employ Reserve component members.
Large firms such as, the U.S. Postal Service, Federal
Express, Sears Holdings Corp., Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Lockheed Martin
Corp., The Home Depot Inc., and Northrop Grumman Corp., employ hundreds
of Reservists each.
Police, truck drivers, correctional officers, technicians,
pilots, and flight engineers, bailiffs, nurses, automotive technicians
and retail sales persons comprise the top 10 occupations and
[[Page 60119]]
accounts for 26% of National Guardsmen and Reservists.
Even though NCESGR has pushed to insert the term
``employer'' into every topic, the leaders within the Pentagon are not
receptive and do not see the importance to include the employer in
topics as they do with ``family'' terminology.
Job placement, discrimination, harassment, and termination
protection are recurring concerns from year to year. This is noteworthy
because these areas are most likely to impact recruiting and retention.
Employer Feedback
Employers' lack of knowledge on USERRA is a barrier to
compliance.
Employers report that the greatest impact of mobilizations
on their company is operational.
Employers' biggest concerns are uncertainty over timing of
activations and the length of activations.
Future topics of discussion:
Does DoD consider the impact on the employers of Guardsmen
and Reservists and the impact to civilian employment of Guardsmen and
Reservists in the decisionmaking process?
Does DoD recognize employers as key partners in order to
field a viable Reserve component?
Do employers understand the significance of the change
from a Strategic Reserve to an Operational Reserve and how it will
impact them?
Do Guardsmen/Reservists understand the significance of the
change from a Strategic Reserve to an Operational Reserve and how it
will impact them?
What is the threshold of pain that employers are willing
to accept for Reserve component service?
What is the threshold of pain that Reservists/Guardsmen
are willing to tolerate to their civilian employment?
Tom Bush, Principal Deputy, Manpower and Personnel for the Office of
the Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs
Topic: ``Transitioning to an Operational Reserve''
More than 30 years have passed since the inception of the all
volunteer force in 1973. Historically, Reserve component members have
trained for mobilization and responded when called to duty to augment
the active forces during war or large scale conflicts--this is the
Strategic Reserve. But as forces were drawn down beginning in the mid
to late 1980s, the Reserve components were increasingly called upon to
support ongoing operational requirements. This began the transition to
an Operational Reserve. Today, the Guard and Reserve are more actively
engaged in operation than any time since the Korean War, supporting
both the Global War on Terror and daily operations.
As background, the Reserve structure has three major
categories: the Ready Reserve (which is comprised of the Selected
Reserve and Individual Ready Reserve), the Standby Reserve, and the
Retired Reserve. The category that is the most well known is the
Selected Reserve since this is the category that regularly performs
military duty (48 inactive duty periods or ``drills'' each year and two
weeks of annual training).
During the first Gulf War and since 9/11, the Operational
tempo of the Guard and Reserve has increased significantly. The annual
average of .09 million duty days served in 1987 to provide operational
support has been eclipsed 67 fold to 68.3 million duty days served in
2005 for operational support.
Volunteerism is a key attribute of the Operational
Reserve.
The long-standing rules governing the use of the Guard and
Reserve were designed for a Strategic Reserve--prepare for mobilization
(train) and mobilize. To support a continuum of service for an
Operational Reserve, the paradigm must shift:
--A ``Rheostat'' approach (each transition between duty statuses)
rather than a ``Circuit Breaker'' approach (performing only required
training, or being mobilized).
--Flexible system that supports any level of service.
--No more ``workarounds.''
--Easy to transition from civilian to military and back.
--Common pay system that accommodates varying levels of service is
required.
--Variable Reserve component pool optimizing assets with flexibility to
serve from zero to 365 days.
What's Needed To Transition to an Operational Reserve:
--Define an ``Operational Reserve.''
--Develop proper expectations.
--Develop new availability and service paradigm.
--Determine the operational role of the National Guard.
What is the New Guard and Reserve?
--Today's new Guard and Reserve has both a strategic and operational
role.
--How will the New Guard and Reserve Support Operational Missions?
The new Guard and Reserve will be organized, equipped and trained
to support operational military mission requirements to the same
standard as the Regular component. Individuals and units will be tasked
to prepare for and participate in missions, across the full spectrum of
operations, in a cyclic or periodic manner that provides predictability
for service members, their families and employers.
Comments from individual members:
Mr. Havenstein--He had received an e-mail from his
operations officer who recently attended an ESGR state committee
Bosslift. The employers who were in attendance were awestruck on how
much they learned about their employees while they performed weekend
drills. The operations officer wanted this feedback to be told to
NCESGR senior leadership ``that Bosslifts are truly important and
should continue to be supported.''
Mr. Havenstein--The ESGR state committee New Hampshire
Chair was recently at a concert of more than 6,000 people; when the
concert stopped for an intermission, the Chair was able to recognize
one of his Guardsmen at the concert. All 6,000 people stood and
applauded the service member.
Ms. Reed--Are the local Chamber of Commerces involved or
invited to participate in Bosslifts? Mr. Hollingsworth and Mr. Janes
both replied that the local Chambers are notified of Bosslifts, as well
as other ESGR state committee events.
Mr. Musser--There is a big push to institutionalize the
term ``employer'' within the Pentagon and as a member of the DAB, I
offer to assist in writing a plan and letter to make this initiative
happen.
Mr. Havenstein--Requested the DAB receive a copy of the
last Reserve component Chief briefings. Mr. Janes and Mr. Hollingsworth
stated they would have a copy of the last Reserve Chief presentation
package to the team before the end of the day. A copy of all Reserve
Chief briefings was delivered and distributed to the DAB team prior to
their departure.
Mr. Janes and Mr. Hollingsworth--The Pinnacle Advance
initiative is a phased direct marketing campaign being mailed to all
Guardsmen and Reservists. The process requests support from the service
member to provide employer information that promotes USERRA and
solicits a statement of support to their employer. The U.S. Army
Reserve (USAR) and the Army National Guard (ARNG) were the first
recipients of this initiative by NCESGR. Leaders for both the USAR and
ARNG are in full support of the Pinnacle Advance initiative. The next
Reserve components scheduled to
[[Page 60120]]
receive the Pinnacle Advance initiative (pending funding availability)
are: USMC Reserve, NAVY Reserve, Coast Guard Reserve, Air National
Guard, and the Air Force Reserve Command.
Mr. Havenstein, Ms. Naylor--It is important that unit
commanders develop a partnership with employers. Relationship building
may help with the angst of the unpredictability of some deployments.
Perhaps this initiative should be considered for all of NCESGR
programs, so that we can figure out how to best support it. Although
the unit commander's primary responsibility is to ensure their units
are combat ready, there still needs to be a directive or mandatory
training requirement that includes employer support. We should solicit
support and participation from employers and unit commanders to help
move the initiative forward.
Closing Comments from Chairman Janes:
Today's meeting did not have a quorum due to the last minute
cancellations of three individuals. All items discussed today that had
possible taskers will be brought up at the next meeting with a quorum
and will then be assigned as official taskers. Additionally, the agenda
for the next meeting will be structured to enable those absent to
present their slide materials.
Next meeting for the DAB is scheduled for February 2007.
Dated: October 5, 2006.
L.M. Bynum,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, DoD.
[FR Doc. E6-16898 Filed 10-11-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001-06-P