Doc Jargon - Opstempo

Photo By Collen McGee | Doc Jargon, cutting through the jargon that is the U.S. Army.  

FORT RILEY, KS, UNITED STATES

09.29.2023

Story by Collen McGee 

Fort Riley Public Affairs Office

OPSTEMPO, PERSTEMPO am I even keeping the beat?
Dear Doc Jargon,
I’m having a hard time keeping up with the whole tempo discussion. What are the differences and similarities between OPSTEMPO and PERSTEMPO and how can I keep up with that? I know they have an impact on each other and I know they all matter when it comes to mission readiness, but how do I factor them and understand how they fit into the equation for mission capability?
Sincerely,
Off-Tempo

Dear Off-Tempo,
You are asking a pretty big question and, you are right, the answers matter when it comes to readiness. First, OPSTEMPO refers to operational tempo – — or level of military activity. Second, PERSTEMPO stands for personnel tempo and has its meaning in the number of available people to perform the operations. I also did some digging and found a Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service Report to Congress that helps a bit. It defines the terms as units of measurement and helps in understanding how they fit together in a bigger picture.
“The measures are OPTEMPO for the rate of unit activity, and PERSTEMPO for the sum of all individual absences and activity. Tempos are too high or /low if they are causing forces to lose their capacity to sustain operations and meet crises. Tempos affect the dynamic relationship of budget, readiness, and force structure decisions and bear attention in these areas: readiness, quality of life, modernization, personnel and retention.”
So, though they are considered units of measure, exact numbers can’t really be assigned to either and readiness levels will change based on the level of each. For example, your unit might have enough people to do the mission today, but if the mission grows, you won’t be able to do it without more people.
That’s sort of a simplistic look, but maybe it will help you get in tempo.

Sincerely,

Doc Jargon

• Date Taken: 09.29.2023
• Date Posted: 09.29.2023 10:13
• Story ID: 454662
• Location: FORT RILEY, KS, US