View source for Defense Manpower Data Center

{{Infobox government agency
| name            = Defense Manpower Data Center
| type            = 
| seal            = Seal_of_the_Defense_Manpower_Data_Center.jpg
| seal_width      = 
| seal_caption    = 
| logo            = 
| image           = 
| image_size      = 
| image_caption   = 
| formed          = 1974
| preceding1      = 
| dissolved       = 
| superseding1    = 
| jurisdiction    = United States
| headquarters    = 
| coordinates     = <!-- {{coord|LATITUDE|LONGITUDE|type:landmark_region:US|display=inline,title}} -->
| motto           = 
| employees       = 
| budget          = 
| chief1_name     = Sam Yousef
| chief1_position = Director
| chief2_name     = Jeremy Lam
| chief2_position = Deputy Director
| parent_department = [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]]
| website         = {{URL|https://dwp.dmdc.osd.mil/}}
}}
The '''Defense Manpower Data Center''' ('''DMDC''') serves under the [[Office of the Secretary of Defense]] to collate personnel, manpower, training, financial, and other data for the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]]. This data catalogues the history of personnel in the military and their family for purposes of healthcare, retirement funding and other administrative needs. It has offices in [[Seaside, California]] and [[Alexandria, Virginia]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dhra.mil/website/index.shtml |title=DHRA Locations |access-date=2015-10-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005144247/http://dhra.mil/website/index.shtml |archive-date=2015-10-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== History ==

DMDC was established in 1974 as the Manpower Research and Data Analysis Center (MARDAC) and made a DoD tenant activity within the [[U.S. Navy]]. In 1976, it was made a Field Activity of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower & Reserve Affairs (OASD (M&RA)) and renamed the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC). One year later, DMDC was transferred to the [[Defense Logistics Agency]] (DLA) for administrative support and in 1991 was designated a Defense Support Activity supported by DLA. While the name and the supporting activity have varied over the years, DMDC's primary function has always been to support the information management needs of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel & Readiness (OUSD (P&R)) and its predecessors.

DMDC was established at a time of great turbulence in the Department of Defense. The [[Vietnam War]] had just ended, active military forces and military personnel strengths were being reduced significantly, the Total Force Policy was being initiated, and the All-Volunteer Force era had just begun. To manage through this period, OASD (M&RA) established DMDC to collect and maintain accurate, readily available manpower and personnel data.

In October 2016, the Department of Defense launched an anonymous survey conducted by the DMDC to collect testimonies of sexual assault among the US military personnel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/News/Article/Article/979438/dod-releases-2016-military-investigation-and-justice-experience-survey/|title=DoD Releases 2016 Military Investigation and Justice Experience Survey|website=Defense.org|date=19 October 2016}}</ref>

In January 2017, the Department of Defense allowed 16 million discharged veterans to shop online for discounted military exchange products (effective November 2017). The DMDC was put in charge of creating an application to verify veteran's identities online with the database of the [[United States Department of Veterans Affairs]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stripes.com/millions-more-vets-to-be-able-to-shop-at-exchanges-online-1.448664|title=Millions more vets to be able to shop at exchanges online|website=Stripes.com|date=12 January 2017|author=Tom Philpott}}</ref>

In November 2017, different government entities, including the DMDC, gave different numbers regarding the troops in Syria (from 503 to more than 2,000). As a result, in its April 2018 quarterly report, the Pentagon removed the troops numbers in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. The DMDC was supposedly «updating their policy for these reports» and committed to provide these numbers retroactively.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/27/james-mattis-wasnt-ready-to-serve-in-a-democracy/|title=James Mattis Wasn't Ready to Serve in a Democracy|website=Foreignpolicy.com|date=27 December 2018|author=Micah Kenzo}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/04/09/dod-strips-iraq-afghanistan-syria-troop-numbers-from-web/|title=Pentagon strips Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria troop numbers from web|website=Militarytimes.com|date=9 April 2018|author=Tara Copp}}</ref> The next month, the Pentagon declared there were more than 44,000 US troops around the globe that the DMDC could not track precisely.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stripes.com/report-44-000-unknown-military-personnel-stationed-around-the-world-1.501292|title=Report: 44,000 'unknown' military personnel stationed around the world|website=Stripes.com|date=7 December 2017|author=Stephen Carlson}}</ref> Following up on this issue, the [[United States Census Bureau]] declared that the accuracy of the 2020 census was at risk because deployed troops will be counted as residents of the stateside military installations where they're usually stationed (which will give a serious boost of residents in North Carolina, Kentucky, and other states with major military infrastructure). However, since the November 2017 data glitch, the DMDC cannot release anymore data on temporarily deployed service members, making it impossible for the US Census Bureau to apply this new statistics policy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/02/25/697315761/restrictions-on-deployed-u-s-troop-data-could-put-2020-census-at-risk|title=Restrictions On Deployed U.S. Troop Data Could Put 2020 Census 'At Risk'|website=Npr.org|date=25 February 2019|author=Hansi Lo Wang}}</ref>

== Description ==

The mission of DMDC can be summarized as follows:

*Collect and maintain an archive of automated manpower, personnel, training, and other databases for the Department of Defense,
*Support the information requirements of the OUSD (P&R) and other members of the DoD manpower, personnel, and training communities with accurate, timely, and consistent data,
*Operate DoD-wide personnel programs and conduct research and analysis as directed by the OUSD (P&R).

==Incidents==

A [[workplace shooting]] took place at the DoD Center Monterey Bay, located on the former [[Fort Ord]] in June 1997, resulting in the death of a DMDC employee and the wounding of another.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19970610&id=GboyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_-cFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2856,5374141|title=Defense employee ambushes workers|website=Lawrence Journal World|date=10 June 1997}}</ref>

==DS Logon==
DS Logon (DoD Self-service Logon or DSL) is a secure, self-service logon ID created by the Defense Manpower Data Center as an enterprise identity credential that allows individuals affiliated with the Department of Defense (DoD) or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) access to several websites using a single username and password. A DS Logon supports the Personnel Identity Protection (PIP) Directive and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) e-Authentication guidance providing a high level of authentication assurance in situations where Common Access Card (CAC) authentication is not available.{{cn|date=July 2022}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/ Defense Manpower Data Center]

{{DOD agencies}}
{{US Statistical Agencies}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:United States military support organizations]]
[[Category:Military life]]
[[Category:United States Department of Defense agencies]]