DoDM 1315.21 Volume 1 - Military Personnel Assignments: Procedures and Requirements

Scope

DoDM 1315.21 Volume 1 sets Department procedures for assigning and reassigning Service members to a new permanent duty station. The manual has two volumes. Volume 2 covers OCONUS duty and dependent travel. This volume covers the rest of the assignment process.

The issuance carries the DOWM designation following the 2026 Department of War renaming. References in the DoDM form resolve to this entry when they name Volume 1. The bare number resolves to Volume 2.

Sections

• Section 3, assignment procedures.
  • 3.1. Assignment selection.
  • 3.2 through 3.4. CONUS time-on-station requirements, exceptions, and waivers.
  • 3.5. Retainability requirements.
  • 3.6. The limit on the number of first-term Service member moves.
  • 3.7. Critical acquisition position requirements.
  • 3.8. The limit on assignments for former Peace Corps members.
  • 3.9. Assignment of family members to the same ship or unit.
  • 3.10. Assignment of dual military couples and single parents.
• Section 4, the dislocation allowance and housing flexibility during PCS.
• Section 5, assignments to the Office of the Secretary of War, the Joint Staff, the Combatant Commands, and the Defense Agencies and DoW Field Activities.

Relationship to Marine Corps policy

MCO 1300.8, Personnel Assignment Policy, carries the Marine Corps implementation of assignment procedures. Read this volume for the Department floor and MCO 1300.8 for the Marine Corps rules.

Status

Approved 10 April 2026 by Timothy D. Dill, Assistant Secretary of War for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. Effective 21 May 2026. Issued under DoDD 5124.10 and implements the policy in DoWI 1315.18. Cleared for public release.