18-MONTH ENLISTMENT PILOT PROGRAM.

SEC. 541. 18-MONTH ENLISTMENT PILOT PROGRAM. (a) In General.—(1) Chapter 333 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section: “§ 3264. 18-month enlistment pilot program “(a) During the pilot program period, the Secretary of the Army shall carry out a pilot program with the objective of increasing participation of prior service persons in the Selected Reserve and providing assistance in building the pool of participants in the Individual Ready Reserve. “(b) Under the program, the Secretary may, notwithstanding section 505(c) of this title, accept persons for original enlistment 115 STAT. 1110in the Army for a term of enlistment consisting of 18 months service on active duty, to be followed by three years of service in the Selected Reserve and then service in the Individual Ready Reserve to complete the military service obligation. “(c) Under regulations and conditions established by the Secretary of the Army, a member enlisting under this section may, at the end of the 18-month period of service on active duty under that enlistment, be permitted to reenlist for continued service on active duty in lieu of the service in the Selected Reserve and the Individual Ready Reserve otherwise required under the terms of the member’s enlistment. “(d) No more than 10,000 persons may be accepted for enlistment in the Army through the program under this section. “(e) A person enlisting in the Army through the program under this section is eligible for an enlistment bonus under section 309 of title 37, notwithstanding the enlistment time period specified in subsection (a) of that section. “(f) For purposes of this section, the pilot program period is the period beginning on the date selected by the Secretary of the Army for the commencement of the pilot program, which date shall be not later than October 1, 2003, and ending on December 31, 2007. “(g) Not later than December 31, 2007, and December 31, 2012, the Secretary of the Army shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives a report on the program under this section. In each such report, the Secretary shall set forth the views of the Secretary on the success of the program in meeting the objectives stated in subsection (a) and whether the program should be continued and, if so, whether it should be modified or expanded.”. (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item: “3264. 18-month enlistment pilot program.”. (b) Implementation Report.—The Secretary of the Army shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives a report on the Secretary’s plan for implementation of section 3264 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a). Such report shall be submitted not later than March 1, 2002.