Defense Officer Personnel Management Act
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| Acronyms (colloquial) | DOPMA |
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| Enacted by | the 96th United States Congress |
| Effective | December 12, 1980 |
| Citations | |
| Public law | Pub.L. 96–513 |
| Legislative history | |
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The Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA) (Pub.L. 96–513) is a United States federal law passed in 1980 that for the first time standardized officer personnel management across the United States Armed Forces. DOPMA established ceilings on the number of field grade officers authorized to each service, created uniform regulations governing promotions, and codified rules regarding separation and retirement of officers.
DOPMA created stable and predictable career paths, institutionalized relatively short careers compared to private industry, and mandated the military adopt an "up or out" personnel management strategy (requiring officers who failed selection for promotion to be removed from the service). Although DOPMA accomplished many of its intended goals, many provisions and consequences of the legislation remain controversial.
Prior to World War II, the US Army and US Navy had different philosophies governing the promotion and retention of officers. The army maintained a seniority system based on tenure; promotions only occurred if there were vacancies at the next higher grade. Due to Congressionally imposed limits on the size of the army officer corps and extremely low turnover (resignations, retirements, and dismissals), a significant logjam in promotions developed during the interwar period. In 1940, army Chief of Staff General George Marshall (with the permission of President Roosevelt) purged the senior officer ranks to create vacancies for junior officers. Congress granted further authority to cull the ranks in July 1941 with the passage of the Army Vitalization Act.
During World War II, Army promotions up to lieutenant colonel were de-centralized and delegated to commanders in the field. This was in contrast to the Navy, which first introduced an "up or out" system in 1916. The Navy also instituted a centralized selection system, which it maintained even during World War II.
In the aftermath of World War II Congress drafted legislation that attempted to address three (sometimes competing) objectives: create "uniform" rules for officer management between Army and Navy (and later Air Force), promote a "young and vigorous" officer corps, and retain the capacity to rapidly remobilize if needed. In 1947 Congress consolidated Army and Navy officer management legislation into the Officer Personnel Act (OPA). With the encouragement of the Army (notably by General Dwight Eisenhower) OPA extended the "up or out" system across the military, requiring officers to go before promotion boards at set times based on cohorts (normally based on year of commissioning). OPA also ended the practice of appointing Army officers into specific "branches", giving the Army greater authority to move personnel to different functions and change organizational designs. OPA also authorized the services to grant voluntary retirement at 20 years of commissioned service.
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