Department of the Air Force Submits Information Collection Proposal for Junior ROTC Program Expansion to OMB

The Department of the Air Force acting under the Department of Defense published a notice in the Federal Register regarding a proposed information collection for the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program. The notice outlines a 30-day comment period ending on December 14, 2026 for a reinstatement with change request submitted to the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Background and Regulatory Context

The Paperwork Reduction Act requires federal agencies to obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget before collecting information from the public. Headquarters Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps administers programs for public and private secondary schools seeking to host an Air Force or Space Force Junior ROTC unit. Interested educational institutions initiate the process by contacting headquarters to gain access to the electronic application portal known as the Web Intensive New Gain System.

The application process requires schools to submit data regarding their geographic location, institutional type, accreditation status, student enrollment figures, and demographic distributions. Schools must also provide details on their academic schedules, capacity to grant academic credit for the curriculum, available facilities, and institutional backing for the proposed unit. Officials use these submissions to verify foundational eligibility and assess institutional capacity.

Operational Parameters and Burden Estimates

The Department of the Air Force projects a limited scope for this information collection activity based on historical application rates. The proposal estimates an annual total of 25 respondents with each respondent submitting a single response. The average time required to complete the application is calculated at 20 minutes per response resulting in a total annual burden of 8 hours.

Affected publics include state, local or tribal governments, businesses or other for-profit entities, and not-for-profit institutions. Participation in the application process remains entirely voluntary for all interested secondary schools.

Program Oversight and Strategic Utility

Headquarters personnel rely on the collected data to manage and evaluate applications for new units systematically. Program managers use the information to verify eligibility criteria, compare and rank eligible applicants, and determine which schools warrant further evaluation including physical site surveys.

Beyond initial application review, the data collection supports broader administrative functions. These include program oversight, expansion planning, resource allocation, and responding to inquiries from congressional leadership and agency executives.

Conclusion and Next Steps

Interested parties may submit written comments and recommendations regarding the proposed information collection directly to the Office of Management and Budget website under the designated review section. Consideration will be given to all feedback received by the December 14, 2026 deadline. The outcome of this review process will determine the operational framework for processing new Junior ROTC unit applications moving forward.