A. General Nonappropriated Fund (NAF) Employment Policies. 1. The Stars and Stripes (S&S) shall have a personnel system that is business oriented in terms of personnel management concepts. The system shall provide maximum authority and accountability to the S&S managers at all levels and shall endeavor to improve productivity through a system of awards and bonuses for high-performing employees. The S&S NAF employees shall be governed in accordance with the U.S. Army NAF regulations, except where exceptions to general policy have been granted by the Unified Commands, the American Forces Information Service (AFIS), and the U.S. Army to the S&S.

2. As DoD employees, the S&S civilian personnel shall abide by 32 CFR part 40, the Department of Defense, the Unified Command, and the U.S. Army regulations, U.S. laws governing Government employees, the applicable host-nation laws, and the applicable status of forces agreements (SOFA) requirements. The S&S commander/publisher shall ensure that the S&S employees are made aware of those provisions before being hired and that employees receive adequate personnel training.

3. The S&S shall endeavor to recruit civilian personnel with solid experience, education, and performance credentials in the required business, publishing, or editorial disciplines. The S&S, as part of its hiring practices, shall specify terms of Government employment and include responsibilities, such as those in 32 CFR part 40, so that the S&S civilian employees are fully aware of their obligations as DoD employees.

B. Appropriated Fund (APF) Personnel Assignment Authority. Appropriated-funded manpower staffing to operate, manage, or support the S&S is authorized under DoD Directive 1015.4. 1

C. Military Officer Personnel Procedures. 1. Candidates for the S&S military officer positions shall be nominated by the Military Services, through the Director of the AFIS, to the Unified Command Commander-in-Chief (CINC), who shall make the final selection. The S&S military officer positions considered for nomination shall be the S&S commander/publisher and deputy commander(s).

a. The S&S commander/publisher should have military public affairs and joint-Service experience, and a journalism degree.

b. The S&S officers supervising business operations should have experience in DoD Comptroller functions and be familiar with laws and regulations applicable to DoD and NAFI business operations. A master's degree in business administration is desirable, but not mandatory.

c. Instead of an advanced degree or military public affairs experience, nominees may be authorized, by the Unified Command CINC and the AFIS, to substitute a DoD-funded “training-with-industry” program with comparable newspaper operations in the United States.

d. The Unified Commands shall forecast military vacancies in the S&S to allow time for the Military Services' nomination processes to be completed and provide for education before the S&S assignment.

e. The Military Services shall provide highly qualified officers for all S&S assignments at the required grade levels.

2. Military officers selected for duty as S&S commander/publisher shall undergo a “training-with-industry” program to provide real-world training with a commercial newspaper. That program shall be administered by the Director of the AFIS, in coordination with the Military Services and the Unified Commands.

D. Enlisted Members of the Stars and Stripes Editorial Staff. 1. Enlisted military personnel shall be assigned to the Stars and Stripes editorial staff, as reflected in the designated Unified Command Joint Manpower Program (JMP) documents, on a nominative basis. The Military Services shall nominate the most mature and professional personnel for assignment to the Stars and Stripes editorial staff at the required JMP grade- and experience-level, coordinating with the Unified Commands and the Director of the AFIS. Nominations shall be considered on a competitive basis by the S&S commander/publisher and the Stars and Stripes editor. The S&S shall request nominations 18 months before projected billet vacancies. The Military Services shall forward nominations 6-10 months in advance to the S&S, (ATTN: S&S Commander/Publisher). The Military Services shall provide the S&S with reasonable overlap of military enlisted members serving on the Stars and Stripes editorial staff.

2. The S&S commander/publisher shall coordinate with the Unified Commands to ensure that there is an appropriate mixture of Military Service billets and/or assignments represented in the S&S to preserve the tradition of the Stars and Stripes as joint-Service newspapers.