1. Official Designation: The committee shall be known as the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (hereafter referred to as “the Committee”).
2. Authority: The Secretary of Defense, under the provision of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) of 1972 (5 U.S.C., Appendix, as amended) and 41 CFR § 102-3.50(d) (agency authority), established the Committee.
3. Objectives and Scope of Activities: The Committee shall examine and advise on matters relating to women in the Armed Forces of the United States, as set out in (4) below.
4. Description of Duties:The Committee shall provide the Secretary of Defense, through the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (hereafter referred to as the “Under Secretary”), independent advice and recommendations on matters and policies relating to women in the Armed Forces of the United States.
5. Agency or Official to Whom the Committee Reports:The Committee shall report to the Secretary of Defense through the Under Secretary. The Under Secretary, in accordance with governing Department of Defense (DoD) policies and procedures may act upon the Committee's advice and recommendations.
6. Support:The DoD, through the Office of the Under Secretary, shall provide support as deemed necessary for the Committee's performance and functions, and shall ensure compliance with the requirements of the FACA, the Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976 (5 U.S.C. § 552b), governing Federal statutes and regulations, and governing DoD policies/procedures.
7. Estimated Annual Operating Costs and Staff Years:The estimated annual operating costs to include travel, meeting and contract support, is approximately $745,000.00 and 4.0 full-time equivalents.
8. Designated Federal Officer:The Designated Federal Officer, pursuant to DoD policy, shall be a full-time or permanent part-time DoD employee, and shall be appointed in accordance with governing DoD policies/procedures.
   
   In addition, the Designated Federal Officer is required to be in attendance at all Committee and subcommittee meetings for the entire duration of each and every meeting; however, in the absence of the Designated Federal Officer, a properly approved Alternate Designated Federal Officer shall attend the entire duration of the Committee or subcommittee meeting.
   
   The Designated Federal Officer, or the Alternate Designated Federal Officer, shall call all of the Committee's and subcommittees' meetings; prepare and approve all meeting agendas; adjourn any meeting when the Designated Federal Officer, or the Alternate Designated Federal Officer, determines adjournment to be in the public interest or required by governing regulations or DoD policies/procedures; and chair meetings when directed to do so by the official to whom the Committee reports.
9. Estimated Number and Frequency of Meetings:The Committee shall meet at the call of the Committee's Designated Federal Officer, in consultation with the Committee's Chairperson. The estimated number of Committee meetings is four per year.
10. Duration: The need for this advisory function is on a continuing basis; however, this charter is subject to renewal every two years.
11. Termination:The Committee shall terminate upon completion of its mission or two years from the date this charter is filed, whichever is sooner, unless the Secretary of Defense extends it.
12. Membership and Designation:The Committee shall be comprised of no more than 20 members appointed by the Secretary of Defense who have experience with the military or with women's workforce issues. The Secretary of Defense shall select and appoint the Board's chairperson from the total membership. All Committee member appointments must be renewed by the Secretary of Defense on an annual basis.
    
    The Secretary of Defense may appoint the Director of the Center for Women Veterans for the Department of Veterans Affairs to serve as a non-voting ex-officio member, who participates in the Committee's deliberations. If appointed, he or she will not count toward the Committee's total membership, or to determine whether a quorum exists.
    
    

    The Under Secretary may request the appointment of additional experts and consultants to advise the Committee as subject matter experts. If approved by the Secretary of Defense, these experts and consultants, appointed under the authority of 5 U.S.C. § 3109, shall have no voting rights on the Committee or its subcommittees, shall not count toward the Committee's total membership, and shall not engage in Committee deliberations.

    Committee members, who are not full-time or permanent part-time Federal officers or employees, shall be appointed to serve as experts and consultants under the authority of 5 U.S.C. § 3109 and shall serve as special government employee members. With the exception of travel and per diem for official Committee related travel, Committee members shall serve without compensation.
    
    

    The Secretary of Defense may approve the appointment of Committee members for one to four year terms of service; however, no member, unless authorized by the Secretary of Defense, may serve more than two consecutive terms of service. This same term of service limitation also applies to any DoD authorized subcommittees. To the extent possible, approximately one-third of the membership should rotate on an annual basis.

    Each Committee member is appointed to provide advice on behalf of the government on the basis of his or her best judgment without representing any particular point of view and in a manner that is free from conflict of interest.
13. Subcommittees: The Department, when necessary, and consistent with the Committee's mission and DoD policies and procedures, may establish subcommittees deemed necessary to support the Committee. Establishment of subcommittees will be based upon a written determination, to include terms of reference, by the Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Secretary of Defense or the advisory committee's sponsor..
    
    Such subcommittees shall not work independently of the chartered Committee, and shall report all their recommendations and advice to the Committee for full deliberation and discussion. Subcommittees have no authority to make decisions on behalf of the chartered Committee; nor can any subcommittee or its members update or report directly to the DoD or any Federal officers or employees. Subcommittees shall comply with FACA.
    
    All subcommittee members shall be appointed in the same manner as the Committee members; that is, the Secretary of Defense shall appoint subcommittee members even if the member in question is already a Committee member. Subcommittee members, with the approval of the Secretary of Defense, may serve a term of service on the subcommittee of one to four years; however, no member shall serve more than two consecutive terms of service on the subcommittee.
    
    Subcommittee members, if not full-time or part-time government employees, shall be appointed to serve as experts and consultants under the authority of 5 U.S.C. § 3109, and shall serve as special government employees, whose appointments must be renewed by the Secretary of Defense on an annual basis. With the exception of travel and per diem for official Committee related travel, subcommittee members shall serve without compensation.
    
    All subcommittees operate under the provisions of FACA, the Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976 (5 U.S.C. § 552b), governing Federal statutes and regulations, and governing DoD policies/procedures.
14. Recordkeeping: The records of the Committee and its subcommittees shall be handled according to section 2, General Record Schedule 26 and appropriate Department of Defense policies and procedures. These records shall be available for public inspection and copying, subject to the Freedom of Information Act of 1966 (5 U.S.C. § 552).
15. Filing Date: 17 April 2012

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