Director of Administration and Management
ADMINISTRATIVE
INSTRUCTION
NUMBER 71
May 19, 2015
Incorporating Change 1, April 29, 2022
HRD, WHS
SUBJECT: Reduction in Force
References: See Enclosure 1
1. PURPOSE. This administrative instruction (AI) reissues AI 71 (Reference (a)) in accordance
with the authority in DoD Directive 5110.04 (Reference (b)) and DoD Instruction
(DoDI) 5025.01 (Reference (c)) to implement policy, assign responsibilities, and establish
procedures for effecting a reduction in force (RIF).
2. APPLICABILITY. This AI:
a. Applies to DoD civilian employees within all organizational entities of the OSD, Office of
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Staff, and the Defense Agencies and DoD
Field Activities that are serviced by Washington Headquarters Services (WHS) (referred to in
this AI as the WHS-serviced Components).
b. Does not apply to employees in the Senior Executive Service or those covered by the
Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System or the Acquisition Demonstration Project.
3. POLICY. In accordance with part 351 of Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations
(Reference (d)) and Volume 351 of DoDI 1400.25 (Reference (e)) it is DoD policy that:
a. The Director of WHS is authorized to approve RIF actions pursuant to part 351 of
Reference (c). The approval authority may only be re-delegated when RIF will result in the
involuntary separation of fewer than 50 employees or is necessitated by actions of a base
realignment and closure, and such a delegation must be in writing and may be moved to the
lowest practical level.
b. When conducting a RIF, appropriate actions to mitigate the size of reductions (e.g.,
Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) or Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment
(VSIP), hiring freezes, termination of temporary employees, reduction in work hours, retraining,
