The Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986

In 1986, Congress enacted the Department of Defense Reorganization Act, directing how Services manage joint officers, in an effort to improve the quality of joint officers and operations. This research paper analyzes AF legislative compliance in: promotions, assignments, education and joint specialty officer (JSO) designations for field grade officers. The research analyzes the initial law and subsequent amendments to establish a compliance baseline and examines AF, Joint Staff and Secretary of Defense records to assess conformity. After the compliance review, the research examines programs, policies and laws affecting compliance, followed by a study of the integration of Title IV concepts in the OPD Program. There were two non-compliance areas--promotions and JSO guidelines. First, despite a multitude of initiatives involving promotion board processes and assignments, AF failed 41 of 46 promotion categories, although significant improvement was noted. Second, there were no established JSO career guidelines and there were negative perceptions regarding joint duty in OPD. To improve compliance, this paper recommends better integration of joint concepts in OPD; the establishment of JSO guidelines; and an aggressive media effort to enhance perceptions of joint. Further, it advocates the inclusion of OPD counseling during mandatory performance feedback and the implementation of existing legislation affecting JPME outplacement.