II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1839 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the retention of 

members of the reserve components on active duty for a period of 

45 days following an extended deployment in contingency operations 

or homeland defense missions to support their reintegration into civilian 

life, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 10, 2011 

Mr. WYDEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the 

retention of members of the reserve components on active 

duty for a period of 45 days following an extended deployment in contingency operations or homeland defense 

missions to support their reintegration into civilian life, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Guard and 

5 Reserve Soft Landing Reintegration Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. TEMPORARY RETENTION ON ACTIVE DUTY AFTER 

2 DEMOBILIZATION OF RESERVES FOLLOWING 

3 EXTENDED DEPLOYMENTS IN CONTINGENCY 

4 OPERATIONS OR HOMELAND DEFENSE MIS5 SIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1209 of title 10, United 

7 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing new section: 

9 ‘‘§ 12323. Reserves: temporary retention on active 

10 duty after demobilization following ex11 tended deployments in contingency oper12 ations or homeland defense missions 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (d), a 

14 member of a reserve component of the armed forces de15 scribed in subsection (b) shall be retained on active duty 

16 in the armed forces for a period of 45 days following the 

17 conclusion of the member’s demobilization from a deploy18 ment as described in that subsection, and shall be author19 ized the use of any accrued leave. 

20 ‘‘(b) COVERED MEMBERS.—A member of a reserve 

21 component of the armed forces described in this subsection 

22 is any member of a reserve component of the armed forces 

23 who was deployed for more than 269 days under the fol24 lowing: 

25 ‘‘(1) A contingency operation. 


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1 ‘‘(2) A homeland defense mission (as specified 

2 by the Secretary of Defense for purposes of this sec3 tion). 

4 ‘‘(c) PAY AND ALLOWANCES.—Notwithstanding any 

5 other provision of law, while a member is retained on ac6 tive duty under subsection (a), the member shall receive— 

7 ‘‘(1) the basic pay payable to a member of the 

8 armed forces under section 204 of title 37 in the 

9 same pay grade as the member; 

10 ‘‘(2) the basic allowance for subsistence payable 

11 under section 402 of title 37; and 

12 ‘‘(3) the basic allowance for housing payable 

13 under section 403 of title 37 for a member in the 

14 same pay grade, geographic location, and number of 

15 dependents as the member. 

16 ‘‘(d) EARLY RELEASE FROM ACTIVE DUTY.—(1) 

17 Subject to paragraph (2), at the written request of a mem18 ber retained on active duty under subsection (a), the mem19 ber shall be released from active duty not later than the 

20 end of the 14-day period commencing on the date the re21 quest was received. If such 14-day period would end after 

22 the end of the 45-day period specified in subsection (a), 

23 the member shall be released from active duty not later 

24 than the end of such 45-day period. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The request of a member for early release from 

2 active duty under paragraph (1) may be denied only for 

3 medical or personal safety reasons. The denial of the re4 quest shall require the affirmative action of an officer in 

5 a grade above O–5 who is in the chain of command of 

6 the member. If the request is not denied before the end 

7 of the 14-day period applicable under paragraph (1), the 

8 request shall be deemed to be approved, and the member 

9 shall be released from active duty as requested. 

10 ‘‘(e) TREATMENT OF ACTIVE DUTY UNDER POLICY

11 ON LIMITATION OF PERIOD OF MOBILIZATION.—The ac12 tive duty of a member under this section shall not be in13 cluded in the period of mobilization of units or individuals 

14 under section 12302 of this title under any policy of the 

15 Department of Defense limiting the period of mobilization 

16 of units or individuals to a specified period, including the 

17 policy to limit such period of mobilization to 12 months 

18 as described in the memorandum of the Under Secretary 

19 of Defense for Personnel and Readiness entitled ‘Revised 

20 Mobilization/Demobilization Personnel and Pay Policy for 

21 Reserve Component Members Ordered to Active Duty in 

22 Response to the World Trade Center and Pentagon At23 tacks–Section 1,’ effective January 19, 2007. 

24 ‘‘(f) REINTEGRATION COUNSELING AND SERVICES.— 

25 (1) The Secretary of the military department concerned 


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1 may provide each member retained on active duty under 

2 subsection (a), while the member is so retained on active 

3 duty, counseling and services to assist the member in re4 integrating into civilian life. 

5 ‘‘(2) The counseling and services provided members 

6 under this subsection may include the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) Physical and mental health evaluations. 

8 ‘‘(B) Employment counseling and assistance. 

9 ‘‘(C) Marriage and family counseling and as10 sistance. 

11 ‘‘(D) Financial management counseling. 

12 ‘‘(E) Education counseling. 

13 ‘‘(F) Counseling and assistance on benefits 

14 available to the member through the Department of 

15 Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

16 ‘‘(3) The Secretary of the military department con17 cerned shall provide, to the extent practicable, for the par18 ticipation of appropriate family members of members re19 tained on active duty under subsection (a) in the coun20 seling and services provided such members under this sub21 section. 

22 ‘‘(4) The counseling and services provided to mem23 bers under this subsection shall, to the extent practicable, 

24 be provided at National Guard armories and similar facili25 ties close the residences of such members. 


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1 ‘‘(5) Counseling and services provided a member 

2 under this subsection shall, to the extent practicable, be 

3 provided in coordination with the Yellow Ribbon Re4 integration Program of the State concerned under section 

5 582 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

6 Year 2008 (10 U.S.C. 10101 note).’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

8 at the beginning of chapter 1209 of such title is amended 

9 by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘12323. Reserves: temporary retention on active duty after demobilization following extended deployments in contingency operations or 

homeland defense missions.’’. 

Æ 


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