This bill revises provisions concerning military technicians (dual status), including by: (1) transferring authority to issue regulations regarding the employment, use, and status of such technicians from the Departments of the Army and the Air Force to the Department of Defense (DOD); and (2) requiring that such individuals be outside the competitive service and be appointed and administered by an adjutant general.
An individual who becomes employed as such a technician while already a member of a reserve component of the armed forces shall not have to repay any enlistment, reenlistment, or affiliation bonus provided before such employment.
The bill: (1) makes such technicians eligible for TRICARE, and (2) sets forth FY2018 end strengths for the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 is amended to reduce from 20% to 4.8% the percentage of technician positions filled in administration, clerical, finance, and office service occupations as of October 1, 2017, that DOD must convert to civilian positions.
A governor or the commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard may order a member of the National Guard to perform active Guard and Reserve duty in support of state missions.
The bill modifies personnel management authorities of the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, including by requiring adjutants general to exercise the Chief's authority to employ, administer, and assign certain persons within their jurisdictions.