The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (formerly called the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940 ) (codified at 50 U.S.C. §§ 3901—4043 ) is a United States federal law that protects soldiers , sailors , airmen , marines , coast guardsmen , and commissioned officers in the Public Health Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from being sued while in active military service of their country and for up to a year after active duty, as well as U.S. citizens serving with allied military forces for the duration of a military conflict involving the United States.
18-412: SMCRA may refer to: Service Members Civil Relief Act , a United States federal law Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 , a United States federal law Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title SMCRA . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
36-440: A reenactment of the 1918 law, was passed in 1940 to protect the rights of the millions of service members activated for World War II . The major difference between it and the 1918 version, other than minor modifications, was there was no provision for the act to expire, as it did after World War I. Thus, since 1940, service members have received uninterrupted coverage under the act. And indeed, congressional commitment and support for
54-596: Is important to note that the benefits conferred upon servicemembers extend after active duty. Verification of active military duty may be achieved on-line via the Defense Manpower Data Center . The act also specifically states that servicemembers and their spouses do not gain or lose a domicile based on their presence or lack thereof in any U.S. jurisdiction solely on the basis of military orders. Section 571 outlines this concept for purposes of taxation, and Section 595 for voting purposes. Under
72-560: The Civil War when the United States Congress passed a total moratorium on civil actions brought against Union soldiers and sailors. In basic terms, this meant that any legal action involving a civil matter was put on hold until after the soldier or sailor returned from the war. Examples of civil matters included breach of contract , bankruptcy , foreclosure , or divorce proceedings. Congress' intent in passing
90-623: The Office of the Secretary of Defense to collate personnel, manpower, training, financial, and other data for the 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 . DMDC was established in 1974 as
108-745: 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
126-547: 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
144-494: 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 . In November 2017, different government entities, including the DMDC, gave different numbers regarding
162-773: 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
180-496: The SCRA, service members are entitled to a cap of 6% on interest rates for pre-existing debts incurred before active duty. The law also restricts the use of military allotments, protecting servicemembers from unauthorized automatic deductions from their military pay. Additionally, efforts are made to safeguard servicemembers from identity theft. Defense Manpower Data Center The Defense Manpower Data Center ( DMDC ) serves under
198-614: 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. In January 2017,
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#1732790662652216-690: The US Census Bureau to apply this new statistics policy. The mission of DMDC can be summarized as follows: 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. 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
234-528: The act has remained so strong, the act has been amended more than 12 times since 1940 to keep pace with a changing military and a changing world, with the last amendments added, in 2003, through the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Courts will generally require litigants to provide proof that an individual is not on active duty before adverse action is taken, i.e. foreclosures, garnishments, attachments, evictions, and judgments. It
252-471: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SMCRA&oldid=933133271 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Service Members Civil Relief Act Despite the act's official title dating it to 1940, its origins can be traced as far back as
270-502: The moratorium was to protect both national interests and those of servicemembers. First, Congress wanted servicemembers to be able to fight the war without having to worry about problems that might arise at home. Secondly, because most soldiers and sailors during the Civil War were not well paid, it was difficult for them to honor their pre-service debts, such as mortgage payments or other credit. Congressional concern about protecting
288-749: The rights of servicemembers was raised again during World War I when the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1918 was passed. Like the Civil War-era moratorium, the 1918 legislation was designed to protect the rights of service members while they were serving in the war. Although the 1918 Act did not include a total moratorium on civil actions, it did protect service members from such things as repossession of property, bankruptcy, foreclosure or other such actions while they were in harm's way. The 1918 Act stayed in effect until shortly after World War I, when it expired. The present-day statute, essentially
306-615: 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. The next month, the Pentagon declared there were more than 44,000 US troops around the globe that the DMDC could not track precisely. Following up on this issue,
324-603: 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,
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