LENGTH OF JOINT DUTY ASSIGNMENTS.

SEC. 524. LENGTH OF JOINT DUTY ASSIGNMENTS.(a) Service Excluded From Tour Length.—Subsection (d) of section 664 of title 10, United States Code, is amended—(1) in paragraph (1), by striking subparagraph (D) and inserting the following new subparagraph (D):“(D) a qualifying reassignment from a joint duty assignment—122 STAT. 4447“(i) for unusual personal reasons, including extreme hardship and medical conditions, beyond the control of the officer or the armed forces; or“(ii) to another joint duty assignment immediately after—“(I) the officer was promoted to a higher grade, if the reassignment was made because no joint duty assignment was available within the same organization that was commensurate with the officer’s new grade; or“(II) the officer’s position was eliminated in a reorganization.”; and(2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following new paragraph (3):“(3) Service in a joint duty assignment in a case in which the officer’s tour of duty in that assignment brings the officer’s accrued service for purposes of subsection (f)(3) to the applicable standard prescribed in subsection (a).”.(b) Computing Average Length of Joint Duty Assignments.—Subsection (e) of such section is amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following new paragraph (2):“(2) In computing the average length of joint duty assignments for purposes of paragraph (1), the Secretary may exclude the following service:“(A) Service described in subsection (c).“(B) Service described in subsection (d).“(C) Service described in subsection (f)(6).”.(c) Completion of Tour of Duty.—Subsection (f) of such section is amended—(1) in paragraph (3), by striking “Cumulative service” and inserting “Accrued joint experience”;(2) in paragraph (4), by striking “(except” and all that follows through “any time)”; and(3) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the following new paragraph (6):“(6) A second and subsequent joint duty assignment that is less than the period required under subsection (a), but not less than two years.”.(d) Accrued Joint Experience as Full Tour of Duty.—Subsection (g) of such section is amended to read as follows:“(g) Accrued Joint Experience.—For the purposes of subsection (f)(3), the Secretary of Defense may prescribe, by regulation, certain joint experience, such as temporary duty in joint assignments, joint individual training, and participation in joint exercises, that may be aggregated to equal a full tour of duty. The Secretary shall prescribe the regulations with the advice of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”.(e) Constructive Credit.—Subsection (h) of such section is amended—(1) in paragraph (1), by striking “subsection (f)(1), (f)(2), (f)(4), or (g)(2)” and inserting “paragraphs (1), (2), and (4) of subsection (f)”; and(2) by striking paragraph (3).(f) Repeal of Joint Duty Credit for Certain Joint Task Force Assignments.—Such section is further amended by striking subsection (i).122 STAT. 4448