United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2008-05-27 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:GAO-08-790R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-790R P0b002ee18038613e f:d08790r DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-790R machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-790R GAO-08-790R Armed forces reserves Civilian employees Data collection Data integrity Defense operations Employee training Employment Licenses Military forces Military personnel Military reserve personnel National Guard On-the-job training Policy evaluation Professional certification Professional licenses Program evaluation Program management Training utilization Global War on Terrorism Correspondence A82193 Since 2001, the Department of Defense (DOD) has relied on more than 600,000 members of the National Guard and Reserve components to support various operations abroad and at home. In particular, from September 2001 to July 2007, the department deployed more than 434,000 reservists to support operations in DOD's Central Command area of responsibility that includes Afghanistan and Iraq. Furthermore, DOD has modified its mobilization policy, which had previously limited the cumulative amount of time that reservists could be involuntarily called to active duty for the Global War on Terrorism. Under DOD's new policy, which went into effect in January 2007, involuntary mobilizations for reserve component service members are generally limited to no more than 12 months, and there are no cumulative limits on these involuntary mobilizations. While on active duty, reservists may be unable to take the required professional development courses or periodic tests needed to retain their professional currency in fields such as accounting or software engineering. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) protects rights of qualifying National Guard members, reservists, and certain other members of the uniformed services returning to their civilian employment after being absent due to military service. The act, however, does not explicitly address issues related to licenses and certifications. In the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, Congress mandated that we examine the number and type of professional or other licensure or certification requirements that may be adversely affected by extended periods of active duty, and identify options that would help provide relief. Specifically for this report, our objectives were to examine (1) DOD's efforts to identify the extent to which active duty service has had an impact on the ability of reservists to maintain professional licenses or certifications in their civilian careers, and (2) current relief options for addressing these issues if needed. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-790R/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-790R.htm GAO-08-790R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-790R Correspondence GAO-08-790R; Military Personnel: DOD Needs Data to Determine if Active Duty Service Has an Impact on the Ability of Guard and Reservists to Maintain Their Civilian Professional Licenses or Certificates; Armed forces reserves Civilian employees Data collection Data integrity Defense operations Employee training Employment Licenses Military forces Military personnel Military reserve personnel National Guard On-the-job training Policy evaluation Professional certification Professional licenses Program evaluation Program management Training utilization Global War on Terrorism Public Law 103-353 Public Law 109-163 Public Law 110-181