I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1052 
To mandate minimum periods of rest and recuperation for units and members 
of the regular and reserve components of the Armed Forces between 
deployments for Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Free-
dom. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 12, 2009 
Mrs. TAUSCHER (for herself, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. 
LOEBSACK, Mr. WALZ, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. SMITH of 
Washington, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. CARNAHAN, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, 
Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. HALL of New York, Ms. BORDALLO, Ms. SHEA-POR-
TER, Ms. GIFFORDS, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. BRADY of Pennsyl-
vania, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. HONDA, 
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. HOLT, Mr. MASSA, Mr. BLUMENAUER, and Mr. 
JONES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To mandate minimum periods of rest and recuperation for 
units and members of the regular and reserve compo-
nents of the Armed Forces between deployments for Op-
eration Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ensuring Military 
Readiness Through Stability and Predictability Deploy-
ment Policy Act’’. 
SEC. 2. MINIMUM PERIODS OF REST AND RECUPERATION 
FOR UNITS OF THE ARMED FORCES BE-
TWEEN DEPLOYMENTS. 
(a) REGULAR COMPONENTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—No unit of the Armed 
Forces specified in paragraph (3) may be deployed 
in support of a covered military operation unless the 
period between the most recent previous deployment 
of the unit and a subsequent deployment of the unit 
is equal to or longer than the period of such most 
recent previous deployment. 
(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON OPTIMAL MINIMUM 
PERIOD BETWEEN DEPLOYMENTS.—It is the sense 
of Congress that the optimal minimum period be-
tween the most recent previous deployment of a unit 
of the Armed Forces specified in paragraph (3) and 
a subsequent deployment of the unit in support of 
a covered military operation should be equal to or 
longer than twice the period of such most recent 
previous deployment. 
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(3) COVERED
UNITS.—Subject to subsection 
(c), the units of the Armed Forces specified in this 
paragraph are as follows: 
(A) Units of the regular Army and mem-
bers assigned to those units. 
(B) Units of the regular Marine Corps and 
members assigned to those units. 
(C) Units of the regular Navy and mem-
bers assigned to those units. 
(D) Units of the regular Air Force and 
members assigned to those units. 
(b) RESERVE COMPONENTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—No unit of the Armed 
Forces specified in paragraph (3) may be deployed 
in support of a covered military operation unless the 
period between the most recent previous deployment 
of the unit and a subsequent deployment of the unit 
is at least three times longer than the period of such 
most recent previous deployment. 
(2) SENSE
OF
CONGRESS
ON
MOBILIZATION 
AND OPTIMAL MINIMUM PERIOD BETWEEN DEPLOY-
MENTS.—It is the sense of Congress that the units 
of the reserve components of the Armed Forces 
should not be mobilized continuously for more than 
one year, and the optimal minimum period between 
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the previous deployment of a unit of the Armed 
Forces specified in paragraph (3) and a subsequent 
deployment of the unit in support of a covered mili-
tary operation should be five years. 
(3) COVERED UNITS.—The units of the Armed 
Forces specified in this paragraph are as follows: 
(A) Units of the Army Reserve and mem-
bers assigned to those units. 
(B) Units of the Army National Guard and 
members assigned to those units. 
(C) Units of the Marine Corps Reserve and 
members assigned to those units. 
(D) Units of the Navy Reserve and mem-
bers assigned to those units. 
(E) Units of the Air Force Reserve and 
members assigned to those units. 
(F) Units of the Air National Guard and 
members assigned to those units. 
(c) EXEMPTIONS.—The limitations in subsections (a) 
and (b) do not apply— 
(1) to special operations forces as identified 
pursuant to section 167(i) of title 10, United States 
Code; and 
(2) to units of the Armed Forces needed, as de-
termined by the Secretary of Defense, to assist in 
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the redeployment of members of the Armed Forces 
from a covered military operation to another oper-
ational requirement or back to their home stations. 
(d) WAIVER BY THE PRESIDENT.—The President 
may waive the limitation in subsection (a) or (b) with re-
spect to the deployment of a unit of the Armed Forces 
to meet a threat to the national security interests of the 
United States if the President certifies to Congress within 
30 days that the deployment of the unit is necessary for 
such purposes. 
(e) WAIVER BY MILITARY CHIEF OF STAFF OR COM-
MANDANT FOR VOLUNTARY MOBILIZATIONS.— 
(1) ARMY.—With respect to the deployment of 
a member of the Army who has voluntarily re-
quested mobilization, the limitation in subsection (a) 
or (b) may be waived by the Chief of Staff of the 
Army. 
(2) NAVY.—With respect to the deployment of 
a member of the Navy who has voluntarily requested 
mobilization, the limitation in subsection (a) or (b) 
may be waived by the Chief of Naval Operations. 
(3) MARINE CORPS.—With respect to the de-
ployment of a member of the Marine Corps who has 
voluntarily requested mobilization, the limitation in 
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subsection (a) or (b) may be waived by the Com-
mandant of the Marine Corps. 
(4) AIR FORCE.—With respect to the deploy-
ment of a member of the Air Force who has volun-
tarily requested mobilization, the limitation in sub-
section (a) or (b) may be waived by the Chief of 
Staff of the Air Force. 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
(1) COVERED MILITARY OPERATION.—The term 
‘‘covered military operation’’ means— 
(A) Operation Iraqi Freedom; and 
(B) Operation Enduring Freedom, includ-
ing participation in the NATO International 
Security Assistance Force (Afghanistan). 
(2) DEPLOYMENT.—The term ‘‘deployment’’ or 
‘‘deployed’’ means the relocation of forces and mate-
riel to desired areas of operations and encompasses 
all activities from origin or home station through 
destination, including staging, holding, and move-
ment in and through the United States and all thea-
ters of operation. 
(3) UNIT.—The term ‘‘unit’’ means a unit that 
is deployable and is commanded by a commissioned 
officer of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine 
Corps serving in the grade of major or, in the case 
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of the Navy, lieutenant commander, or a higher 
grade. 
(g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall take effect on 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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