[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 188 (Friday, September 29, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67260-67261]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21542]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

[Docket ID: DOD-2023-OS-0092]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and 
Readiness (OUSD(P&R)), Department of Defense (DoD).

ACTION: 60-Day information collection notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness 
announces a proposed public information collection and seeks public 
comment on the provisions thereof. Comments are invited on: whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the 
information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the agency's 
estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the information 
collection on respondents, including through the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by November 
28, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and 
title, by any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Mail: Department of Defense, Office of the Director of 
Administration and Management, Directorate for Oversight and 
Compliance, 4800 Mark Center Drive, Mailbox #24, Suite 08D09, 
Alexandria, VA 22350-1700.

[[Page 67261]]

    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency 
name, docket number and title for this Federal Register document. The 
general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the 
public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the 
internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without 
change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on this 
proposed information collection or to obtain a copy of the proposal and 
associated collection instruments, please write to Defense Human 
Resources Activity, 4800 Mark Center Drive, Suite 08F05, Alexandria, VA 
22350, LaTarsha Yeargins, 571-372-2089.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 572 of the National Defense 
Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 required commanders 
of each military command to conduct a climate assessment of the command 
or unit for purposes of preventing and responding to sexual assaults. A 
subsequent November 2015 memo from the Acting Under Secretary of 
Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD P&R) designated the DEOCS as 
the survey tool to support the NDAA requirement for a DoD command 
climate assessment program. As outlined in DoD Instruction (DoDI) 
6400.11, all active duty and Reserve component commanders and DoD 
civilian organization leaders are required to administer a DEOCS to 
their unit or organization annually. Also included in the DEOCS 
population are active duty and Reserve component members of the Coast 
Guard, students at the U.S. Military Service Academies, U.S. Coast 
Guard Academy, and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and foreign nationals 
working for the DoD. The survey is web-based and is a census of the 
commander's unit. The core survey questions are organized into three 
main categories that include (1) unit experience, (2) leadership, and 
(3) behaviors and personal experience. To fulfill the requirement 
outlined in DoDI 1350.02 of fielding a survey to assess racial and 
ethnic relations in the military, a sample of active duty and Reserve 
component members who take the DEOCS in 2024 will be provided 
additional questions on racial and ethnic issues.
    Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: Defense Organizational 
Climate Survey (DEOCS)--Version 5.1; OMB Control Number 0704-0659.
    Needs and Uses: The DEOCS is fielded in response to Section 572 of 
the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 
2013. A May 2019 memo from the Acting Secretary of Defense directed 
that the goals of the DEOCS include developing and providing leaders 
with assessment tools ``that help them with developing an appropriate 
course of action from a suite of interventions and provide them with 
feedback on their impact of their efforts.'' The information gathered 
from the DEOCS will be used by commanders, prevention workforce 
personnel, equal opportunity officers (EOAs), survey administrators, 
and other leaders to assess the unit's command climate and measure the 
risk and protective factors associated with the six strategic target 
outcomes (sexual assault, sexual harassment, racial/ethnic 
discrimination, suicide, readiness, and retention). Based on the DEOCS 
results, commanders/leaders, their command climate administrator, and 
their Integrated Primary Prevention Workforce (IPPW) personnel will 
develop a Comprehensive Integrated Primary Prevention (CIPP) plan to 
positively impact their organization's leadership climate. The survey 
results are provided to the commander/leader, their command climate 
administrator, and their IPPW personnel. Survey responses could also be 
used in future analyses.
    The statutory and policy requirements for the DEOCS can be found in 
the following:

 FY13 NDAA, Section 572
 FY14 NDAA, Section 1721
 DoD Instruction (DoDI) 6400.11, ``DoD Integrated Primary 
Prevention Policy for Prevention Workforce and Leaders''
 DoD Instruction (DoDI) 1350.02, ``DoD Military Equal 
Opportunity Program'' Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for 
Personnel and Readiness. (2018).

    Realignment of force resiliency elements of the Office of the Under 
Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness [Memorandum]. The 
DEOCS fielded in 2024 will also include items that meet the requirement 
to collect information on racial and ethnic issues among active duty 
and Reserve component members. To reduce survey burden, the Department 
identified the DEOCS as the most appropriate existing survey vehicle to 
collect this information. The statutory and policy requirements for 
collecting information on racial and ethnic issues among active duty 
and Reserve component members can be found in the following:

 Immediate Actions to Improve Diversity & Inclusion (Esper, 
2020)

    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Annual Burden Hours: 926,973.
    Number of Respondents: 1,589,098.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Annual Responses: 1,589,098.
    Average Burden per Response: 35 minutes.
    Frequency: As required.
    Unit commanders and organizational leaders must administer a DEOCS 
during the Annual Force-wide administration. There is not a 
standardized method for defining at which level in the hierarchy units 
are required to take the DEOCS, how to define a unit, or how to define 
unit membership. As a result, there may be overlap between DEOCS units 
resulting in individuals taking more than one DEOCS. The additional 
survey items included on the DEOCS to meet the requirement to gather 
information on racial and ethnic issues among active duty and Reserve 
component members is collected biennially (i.e. every other year).

    Dated: September 26, 2023.
Natalie M. Ragland,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2023-21542 Filed 9-28-23; 8:45 am]
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