Canadian Armed Forces Military Personnel Instruction 03/93 – Policy and Staffing Procedures for the Attachment, Secondment or Loan of Canadian Armed Forces Personnel

1. Identification

Date of Issue: 1993-03-23 

Date of Modification: 2025-01-31

Application: This instruction applies to Regular (Reg F) and Reserve (Res F) Force officers and non-commissioned members (NCMs) of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).

Supersession: NDHQ Instruction ADM(Per) 9/9, 18 December 1991

Approval Authority: Chief of Military Personnel (CMP)

Enquiries: Administrative Response Centre (ARC)

Note 1 – CAFMPI 03/93 is the current document in effect on procedures for staffing secondments, attachments and loans. The procedures haven't substantially changed in concept, however, it refers to old organizations and functions. 

Note 2 – For guidance or assistance in the secondment process, sponsors should first contact Director General Military Careers (DGMC). Not all arrangements referred to as "secondments" necessarily require a Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) or Director Military Career (D Mil C) action; however, assistance will be provided in determining the requirements and staffing process.

2. Terminology

2.1 The following terminology is applicable to this Instruction:

3. General

3.1 This instruction becomes effective upon receipt and supersedes NDHQ Instruction ADM(Per) 9/91 which is hereby cancelled.

3.2 QR&O articles 10.16 to 10.19 (inclusive) authorize the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) to attach or second an officer or NCM to another component of the CAF or to any department or agency of government, any public or private institution, private industry or other body subject to the following conditions:

1. an officer or NCM, who is a member of the Reserve component and not on active service, may not be attached or seconded without his/her consent; 
2. the CDS is satisfied that the attached or seconded member will be acceptable for duty in the CAF following termination of the secondment; and 
3. it appears probable that the period of secondment or attachment will be greater than six months, but less than four years. 

3.3 Pursuant to QR&O Article 1.16, Exercise of Powers Conferred on the Chief of the Defence Staff by the Minister, and as stated at paragraph 12 of CFAO 59-5, Memorandum of Understanding, CMP has been delegated the authority to approve attachments and secondments and to sign the applicable MOU on behalf of the CDS.

3.4 Pursuant to QR&O article 10.21, Loan, an officer or NCM may be loaned under an agreement between the Minister of National Defence (MND) and the appropriate authority of another country or government, an agency or civilian body. The preconditions for approval of such a loan are as outlined at paragraph 3.2 (above).

4. Aim

4.1 The aim of this instruction is to promulgate policy and the appropriate administrative procedures for staffing attachment, secondment and loan requests.

5. Exceptions

5.1 The following types of attachments, secondments and loans are outside the purview of this instruction:

1. personnel attached, seconded or loaned within Department of National Defence (DND), such as to the office of the MND; 
2. personnel serving with the United Nations (UN) or other multinational organizations on peacekeeping or observation missions; 
3. personnel filling positions authorized for inclusion in the Exchange and Liaison Programs; 
4. personnel posted to CAF Logistics Liaison Units, Technical Services Agencies and Detachments, and to individual defence contractors to discharge project management responsibilities; and 
5. personnel posted to positions on the Secondment List established pursuant to interdepartmental and intergovernmental agreements, such as those affecting Military Security Guard Units (MSGUs), Canadian Forces bases (CFBs) Shilo, Suffield, etc. 

6. Programme Objectives

6.1 The principal objective of an attachment, secondment or loan is to acquire and extend knowledge and skills essential and desirable to the CAF but which cannot readily be acquired through existing training and educational programmes. The secondary objective is the creation of an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual respect between the CAF and participating organizations.

6.2 The relative ranking of the two objectives and the value received by the CAF is used to determine if the request should be satisfied, and if so, whether through an attachment, secondment or loan. For an attachment or loan, the services of the CAF member are provided without charge in full recompense for the tangible value received by the CAF. When the value to be received is limited largely to the secondary objective, cost recovery from the receiving organization is affected via a secondment agreement. The type of cost recovery is governed by DNDP 55. For example, only incremental costs are recovered from other Federal Government departments while total costs are recovered from commercial organizations. In other areas, incremental or total costs will be recovered depending upon the secondment’s circumstances. From the CAF viewpoint, secondments are preferred over attachments or loans, as monies recovered are credited to DND's Defence Services Program (DSP).

6.3 Personnel nominated for attachment, secondment or loan must be screened carefully to ensure that they possess the background, knowledge and skills to extract maximum benefit for the CAF from the experience. They must be capable of performing the duties to be assigned by the receiving organization efficiently and effectively so as to reflect credit upon the CAF. The selection process also must consider that upon tour completion, the member will normally be returned to a position where maximum benefit may be gained from the experience. Selection and employment criteria are outlined at Annex A.

7. Administration

7.1 To receive consideration by DND, attachment, secondment or loan requests must be tendered formally in writing, addressed to the Deputy Minister of National Defence (DM), CDS or CMP, and must be signed by an equivalent status senior executive in the requesting organization (e.g. Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM))/senior vice-presidential level). Requests that are not signed by a senior executive within the requesting organization should be returned to the sender, advising them of the requirement to have the request signed by an appropriate executive authority.

7.2 On receipt of a request for secondment, attachment or loan of CAF personnel, DMMD will liaise with the appropriate career manager(s) (CM) and will determine the organization or agency to be designated as the sponsor. The request will then be forwarded to the appropriate CMP responsible directorate, as determined by the rank of the requested CAF member, as follows:

7.3 In all cases, the concurrence of Chief Personnel Careers and Development (CPCD), Director General Personnel Careers Officers (DGPCO) or Director General Personnel Careers Other Ranks (DGPCOR) as appropriate, or their delegated authorities, must be obtained prior to submission of the formal reply through the chain of command for departmental approval and sign-off. If the reply signifies approval of the request for a loan, secondment or attachment, the finalized copy of the MOU must form part of the submission.

7.4 In some cases, the requesting organization will have provided the name of a particular CAF member (or members) whom they wish to have seconded, attached or loaned. The responsible directorate must ensure the requesting organization is aware that selection of a candidate is the prerogative of DND. To facilitate this process, the requesting organization must provide detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the proposed position. The TOR must contain adequate information to enable the processing officer to determine whether departmental response should be positive or negative; and if the former, whether the request should be satisfied with an attachment, loan or secondment. The information, also required by CMs to enable selection of an appropriate candidate, must include as a minimum:

1. a detailed description of the duties and responsibilities assigned to the position; 
2. specific professional skills and qualifications, the type and level of post-secondary education, and any professional license(s) required; 
3. the supervisory responsibilities assigned to the position; 
4. the skill level(s) required in either or both of Canada's official languages; 
5. security clearance required; 
6. personal attributes of the individual, such as proven interpersonal skills; and 
7. any additional desirable qualifications, skills and attributes. 

7.5 The MOU governing the attachment, secondment or loan must set out the terms clearly and unequivocally so as to minimize the possibility of subsequent misunderstandings, particularly in the area of which party to the agreement is responsible for covering specific costs. DND charges a fee for the service of its personnel equivalent to the pay for the rank and military occupation (MOC) concerned, plus a surcharge of up to 25% to cover administrative support costs as authorized by Treasury Board Minute 697232 (21 Dec 70). The precise charges to be levied are to be obtained from D Fin S.

7.6 A "master" MOU is provided at Annex B and while adequate to cover most situations, it is not considered exhaustive. Processing officers must ensure that each situation is evaluated in conjunction with the master MOU, and where necessary, additional information is added thereto. It should seldom be necessary to make deletions from the core terms of the MOU.

7.7 When all negotiations have been completed and agreement has been reached on the terms of the MOU, the reply to the requesting organization and the MOU must be prepared for signature by the DM, CDS or CMP. Authority to approve attachments or secondments and to sign the MOU on behalf of DND and the CAF has not been delegated below CMP. Ministerial approval is required for loans.

7.8 After both parties have signed the MOU, the responsible directorate - DSA, DPC Col or DMMD as appropriate - is to provide copies of pertinent correspondence to:

1. DEMR to ensure that a position is created on the Secondment List (EIC 725, UIC 1400); 
2. DSA, DPC Col, DPCO or DPCOR as appropriate for generation of the posting message; 
3. D Fin S to ensure that cost-recovery action is initiated; 
4. DMMD for the Secondment Control File; 
5. NDMOUC for records; and 
6. National Defence Records and Library Services (NDRLS) to register and file. 

8. Validation

8.1 All attachment, secondment or loan agreements within the purview of this Instruction must be reviewed not less frequently than annually. The OPI, in conjunction with the sponsor, is to complete an evaluation of the military benefit of continuing the employment. This evaluation must be completed three months prior to the termination date of the MOU or three months prior to each anniversary of the original signing date. In the event this evaluation indicates the agreement should be terminated or not renewed, the OPI will subsequently forward a recommendation to that effect, supported by appropriate substantiation, to the departmental approval authority.

9. Review

9.1 DMMD is responsible for a review of this instruction in September of each year.

10. References

Acts, Regulations, Central Agency Policies and Associated DAOD

• QR&O article 1.16, Exercise of Powers Conferred on the Chief of the Defence Staff by the Minister
• QR&O chapter 10, Transfer, Attachment, Secondment and Loan

Other References

• CFAO 59-5, Memoranda of Understanding (this document can only be accessed on the DWAN)

11. Annexes

1. Annex A – Selection and Employment Criteria
2. Annex B – Generic Memorandum of Understanding
   1. Appendix 1 – Generic Memorandum of Understanding