((a)) ** .—** Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department may in accordance with this section authorize units or individual members of the armed forces under that Secretary’s jurisdiction to provide support and services to non-Department of Defense organizations and activities specified in subsection (e), but only if—
((1)) such assistance is authorized by a provision of law (other than this section); or
((2)) the provision of such assistance is incidental to military training.
((b)) ** .—** This section does not—
((1)) apply to the provision by the Secretary concerned, under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, of customary community relations and public affairs activities conducted in accordance with Department of Defense policy; or
((2)) prohibit the Secretary concerned from encouraging members of the armed forces under the Secretary’s jurisdiction to provide volunteer support for community relations activities under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense.
((c)) ** .—** Assistance under subsection (a) may only be provided if—
((1)) the assistance is requested by a responsible official of the organization to which the assistance is to be provided; and
((2)) the assistance is not reasonably available from a commercial entity or (if so available) the official submitting the request for assistance certifies that the commercial entity that would otherwise provide such services has agreed to the provision of such services by the armed forces.
((d)) ** .—**
((1)) Assistance under subsection (a) may only be provided if the following requirements are met:
((A)) The provision of such assistance—
((i)) in the case of assistance by a unit, will accomplish valid unit training requirements; and
((ii)) in the case of assistance by an individual member, will involve tasks directly related to the specific military occupational specialty of the member.
((B)) The provision of such assistance will not adversely affect the quality of training or otherwise interfere with the ability of a member or unit of the armed forces to perform the military functions of the member or unit.
((C)) The provision of such assistance will not result in a significant increase in the cost of the training.
((2)) Subparagraph (A)(i) of paragraph (1) does not apply in a case in which the assistance to be provided consists primarily of military manpower and the total amount of such assistance in the case of a particular project does not exceed 100 man-hours.
((e)) ** .—** The following organizations and activities are eligible for assistance under this section:
((1)) Any Federal, regional, State, or local governmental entity.
((2)) Youth and charitable organizations specified in .
((3)) Owners and operators of critical infrastructure (as such term is defined in ()).
((4)) Any other entity as may be approved by the Secretary of Defense on a case-by-case basis.
((f)) ** .—** The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations governing the provision of assistance under this section. The regulations shall include the following:
((1)) Rules governing the types of assistance that may be provided.
((2)) Procedures governing the delivery of assistance that ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that such assistance is provided in conjunction with, rather than separate from, civilian efforts.
((3)) Procedures for appropriate coordination with civilian officials to ensure that the assistance—
((A)) meets a valid need; and
((B)) does not duplicate other available public services.
((4)) Procedures to ensure that Department of Defense resources are not applied exclusively to the program receiving the assistance.
((5)) Procedures to ensure that assistance provided to an entity specified in subsection (e)(3) is provided in a manner that is consistent with similar assistance provided under authorities applicable to other Federal departments and agencies, including the authorities of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the Department of Homeland Security pursuant to title XXII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( et seq.).
((g)) ** .—**
((1)) The Secretary of a military department may not require or request a member of the armed forces to submit for consideration by a selection board (including a promotion board, command selection board, or any other kind of selection board) evidence of the member’s participation in the provision of support and services to non-Department of Defense organizations and activities under this section or the member’s involvement in, or support of, other community relations and public affairs activities of the armed forces.
((2)) Paragraph (1) does not prevent a selection board from considering material submitted voluntarily by a member of the armed forces which provides evidence of the participation of that member or another member in activities described in that paragraph.
((h)) ** .—**
((1)) The Secretary of Defense shall encourage the establishment of advisory councils at regional, State, and local levels, as appropriate, in order to obtain recommendations and guidance concerning assistance under this section from persons who are knowledgeable about regional, State, and local conditions and needs.
((2)) The advisory councils should include officials from relevant military organizations, representatives of appropriate local, State, and Federal agencies, representatives of civic and social service organizations, business representatives, and labor representatives.
((3)) Chapter 10 of title 5 shall not apply to such councils.
((i)) ** .—**
((1)) Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing—
((A)) the use of the armed forces for civilian law enforcement purposes or, except as provided in paragraph (2), for response to natural or manmade disasters; or
((B)) the use of Department of Defense personnel or resources for any program, project, or activity that is prohibited by law.
((2)) Funds available to the Secretary of a military department for operation and maintenance for the Innovative Readiness Training program (as established pursuant to this section) may be expended under this section, upon approval by the Secretary concerned, to assist in demolition, clearing of roads, infrastructure improvements, and military construction to restore an area after a natural disaster.
((j)) ** .—** The Secretary of Defense shall establish a program to improve the oversight and cost accounting of training projects conducted in accordance with this section. The program shall include measures to accomplish the following:
((1)) Ensure that each project that is proposed to be conducted in accordance with this section (regardless of whether additional funding from the Secretary of Defense is sought) is requested in writing, reviewed for full compliance with this section, and approved in advance of initiation by the Secretary of the military department concerned and, in the case of a project that seeks additional funding from the Secretary of Defense, by the Secretary of Defense.
((2)) Ensure that each project that is conducted in accordance with this section is required to provide, within a specified period following completion of the project, an after-action report to the Secretary of Defense.
((3)) Require that each application for a project to be conducted in accordance with this section include an analysis and certification that the proposed project would not result in a significant increase in the cost of training (as determined in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Secretary of Defense).
((4)) Determine the total program cost for each project, including both those costs that are borne by the military departments from their own accounts and those costs that are borne by defense-wide accounts.
((5)) Provide for oversight of project execution to ensure that a training project under this section is carried out in accordance with the proposal for that project as approved.