Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY:

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Department of Defense (DoD).

ACTION:

Information collection notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness announces a proposed public information collection and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. Comments are invited on: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

DATES:

Consideration will be given to all comments received by September 7, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by docket number and title, by any of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

Mail: DoD cannot receive written comments at this time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Comments should be sent electronically to the docket listed above.

Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name, docket number and title for this Federal Register document. The general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request more information on this proposed information collection or to obtain a copy of the proposal and associated collection instruments, please write to Ms. Angela Duncan at the Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services, ATTN: Executive Services Directorate, Directives Division, 4800 Mark Center Drive, Suite 03F09-09, Alexandria, VA 22350-3100 or call 571-372-7574.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: Service Academy Gender Relations Survey; OMB Control Number 0704-SAGR.

Needs and Uses: The legal requirements for the Service Academy Gender Relations (SAGR) surveys can be found in the following:

• 10 U.S.C. 4361, as amended by John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, Sec. 532.
• 10 U.S.C. 481.
• Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI) 6495.02 and 6495.03.

These legal requirements mandate that the SAGR solicit information relating to sexual assault, sexual harassment, and gender discrimination in the MSAs, as well as the climate at the MSAs and social perspectives. MSAs include the U.S. Military Academy (USMA), the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA), and U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA). The requirements state that the assessment cycle consists of surveys and focus groups during alternate years. They also give the Department authority to conduct such surveys under the guidance of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD(P&R)). The U.S. Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), the only Federal Military Academy within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is not required to participate in the assessments codified by U.S.C. Section 10. However, USCGA officials requested the Coast Guard be included, beginning in 2008, in order to evaluate and improve their programs addressing sexual assault and sexual harassment. Similarly, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), under the Department of Transportation (DOT), requested their inclusion beginning in 2012. USCGA and USMMA will continue to participate in the assessments. Surveys of USCGA and USMMA are not covered under this DoD licensure and will not be mentioned further. The Office of People Analytics (OPA) administers both web-based and paper-and-pen surveys to support the personnel information needs of the USD(P&R). The SAGR survey expands a series of surveys that began in 2004 with the DoD Inspector General's first survey, subsequently transferred to OPA. OPA conducted the SAGR survey at the MSAs in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018. The 2020 administration of the survey was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 survey would be the ninth iteration of the SAGR survey. The first focus group assessment was conducted in 2007, with subsequent focus groups in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021. Information from the SAGR surveys will be used by 4 DoD policy offices, the Military Departments, the MSAS, and Congress for program evaluation and, specifically, to assess and improve policies, programs, practices, and training related to gender relations at the MSAs. OPA will provide reports to DoD policy offices, each Military Department, the MSAs, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and Congress.

Affected Public: Individuals or households.

Annual Burden Hours: 5,000 hours.

Number of Respondents: 10,000.

Responses per Respondent: 1.

Annual Responses: 10,000.

Average Burden per Response: 30 minutes.

Frequency: Biennially.

The target population of the 2022 SAGR will consist of all students at the Military Service Academies (MSAs): U.S. Military Academy (USMA), U.S. Naval Academy (USNA), and U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA), including the Preparatory Schools. Excluded are Service Academy Students who are (1) non-citizens and (2) are visiting from another MSA. Students under 18 years of age are also excluded. Working with the MSAs, we estimate the approximate numbers of cadets and midshipmen to be 14,200. The survey will be administered to all cadets/midshipmen (i.e., a census). Based on the 2018 SAGR survey that had a 73% response rate, we estimate a 70% response rate. To achieve sufficient statistical analytical power, we will include a census of the population of interest in the study to achieve sufficient coverage. Each Academy notifies students about the survey with an electronic message explaining the overall survey process and providing them instructions on how to select a session for administration of the survey. OPA staff is on location during the survey week to brief students and administer the survey in person using a paper survey. Sessions are typically scheduled from 0700 through 1500 and follow the Academy's class periods. Attendance is checked when a student arrives for their session (attendance is only for purposes of following up and not for identifying survey responses by individuals). Academy officials follow up with students who do not appear at their designated session and reschedule accordingly. OPA staff provides an overview briefing on the purpose for the survey. Students are advised they may leave at any time after the briefing if they choose not to complete the survey. Data will be weighted, using an industry standard process, to reflect each Academy's population as of the time of the survey. Weighting produces survey estimates of population totals, proportions, and means (as well as other statistics) that are representative of their respective populations. OPA creates variance strata so precision measures can be associated with each estimate. We produce precision measures for reporting categories using 95% confidence intervals with the goal of achieving a precision of 5% or less (e.g. 80% (+/−5%) of cadets/midshipmen are satisfied with their training).