SUPPORTING STATEMENT - PART A
Non-combatant Tracking System (NTS) & Evacuation Tracking and Accountability System (ETAS) – 0704-0629
Summary of Changes from Previously Approved Collection
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Need for the Information Collection
Section 502 of Executive Order 12656 (Assignment of Emergency Preparedness Responsibilities); DoD Directive 3025.14, Evacuation of U.S. Citizens and Designated Aliens from Threatened Areas Abroad; Joint Publication 3-68 Noncombatant Evacuation Operations; E.O. 9397 (SSN), assigns DoD supporting responsibilities “to advise and assist the Secretary of State and heads of other Federal departments and agencies, as appropriate, in the planning for the protection, evacuation and repatriation of U.S. citizens in threatened areas overseas.” Section 801 of the Order assigns the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) responsibility “to develop plans and procedures to assist the state and local governments in the provision of emergency human services, including lodging, feeding, clothing, registration and inquiry, social services, family reunification and mortuary services and interment.” This information collection is needed to collect the required evacuee information necessary to document the movement of an evacuee from a foreign country to an announced safe haven and to assist the evacuee in meeting their needs. In addition, this information collection is needed to ensure that Federal and State agencies receive proper reimbursement for costs incurred during these very expensive operations.
Use of the Information
The respondents are evacuees who may be Federal civilian employees, and/or their family members, Military personnel and/or their family members, private American citizens and foreign nationals. The primary purpose of this information collection is personnel accountability of evacuees who have been repatriated through designated processing sites. By identifying what services have been provided to respective evacuees during initial processing and where they have gone, federal agencies may ensure that their personnel receive safe haven entitlements and notification of change in status. The respondent’s data is provided to an NTS operator through verbal interviews and the scanning of ID cards or passports. Once their information has been recorded, the evacuee is given a tracking number that is used to identify them through the evacuation process. The information is captured directly in the NTS application and the data is stored on the Central Server. Once the evacuation is completed, the data is required to be archived in a database that is maintained and protected by Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) onsite in Seaside. Reports can be requested by DoD Government Agencies.
Use of Information Technology
NTS is a software application; therefore 100% of the data is collected electronically.
Non-duplication
The information obtained through this collection is unique and is not already available for use or adaptation from another cleared source.
5. Burden on Small Businesses
This information collection does not impose a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses or entities.
6. Less Frequent Collection
Information is captured for one event. The information is stored in an NTS database. We are required to archive all NTS data. If data were not collected, Federal agencies, State and Local governments would not be able to comply with the Executive Order.
7. Paperwork Reduction Act Guidelines
This collection of information does not require collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with the guidelines delineated in 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).
8. Consultation and Public Comments
Part A: PUBLIC NOTICE
A 60-Day Federal Register Notice (FRN) for the collection published on Tuesday, December 10, 2024. The 60-Day FRN citation is 89 FRN 99235.
No comments were received during the 60-Day Comment Period.
A 30-Day Federal Register Notice for the collection published on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. The 30-Day FRN citation is 90 FRN 26038.
Part B: CONSULTATION
No additional consultation apart from soliciting public comments through the Federal Register was conducted for this submission.
9. Gifts or Payment
No payments or gifts are being offered to respondents as an incentive to participate in the
collection.
10. Confidentiality
Privacy Act Statements are provided to individuals on-site at evacuation points. It is the responsibility of the personnel managing evacuation points to provide the required Privacy Act Statements to evacuees.
A copy of the SORN, DMDC 04, Non-combatant Tracking System (NTS) & Evacuation Tracking and Accountability System (ETAS) (April 15, 2016, 81 FR 22242), has been provided with this package for OMB review.
A draft copy of the PIA, Non-combatant Tracking System (NTS) & Evacuation Tracking and Accountability System (ETAS), has been provided with this package for OMB’s review.
Permanent: Cut off at the end of the fiscal year and transfer to the National Archives and Records Administration in accordance with 36 CFR 1228.270 and 36 CFR 1234.
11. Sensitive Questions
Social Security Number (SSN): NTS collects the social security number of three categories of individuals, the evacuee, the sponsor, and the accompanying evacuees. Based on the Office of Management (OMB) guidelines to eliminate the unnecessary collection and use of social security number, coordination of this requirement was previously obtained with both Department of State (DOS) and HHS. DOS advised that 22 USC § 2671(d)(1) and 26 USC § 6039E require the collection of SSNs in cases related to repatriation. HHS advised that the collection of SSN on repatriation loans is required to properly identify the proper individual(s) for repayment of the loan. SSN is used in the documentation of payments and loans provided in the process of evacuation and may be provided to the IRS if payment is not received. The SSN may also be used in the process of verifying an individual's identity and citizenship
Sensitive Questions: It is necessary to know the sex of evacuees. Based on all of the past evacuations, especially those where third country nationals have been evacuated, it is hard to decipher by the individual’s name if they are male or female. It is important for all agencies involved to know with whom they are working when making personal contact. It is also important to know the sex of unaccompanied minor children when they get separated from their parents.
12. Respondent Burden and its Labor Costs
Part A: ESTIMATION OF RESPONDENT BURDEN
Evacuations are very unique operations, based on crisis (political, military, or natural disaster) arising in a country that would require the National Command Authority to direct an authorized or ordered departure. Therefore, the number of respondents can vary markedly from one year to the next.
Collection Instrument(s)
[NTS Application]
Number of Responses Per Respondent: 1
Response Time: 5 minutes
Total Submission Burden
Total Number of Respondents: 85,000
Total Number of Annual Responses: 85,000
Total Respondent Burden Hours: 7083
Part B: LABOR COST OF RESPONDENT BURDEN
Collection Instrument(s)
[NTS Application]
Response Time: 5 minutes
Respondent Hourly Wage: $29.85
Labor Burden per Response: $2.49
The Respondent hourly wage was determined by the median weekly earnings of U.S. full-time workers, as reported by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, 16 April 2025 [https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf]
13. Respondent Costs Other Than Burden Hour Costs
There are no annualized costs to respondents other than the labor burden costs addressed in Section 12 of this document to complete this collection.
14. Cost to the Federal Government
Part A: LABOR COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Collection Instrument(s)
[NTS Application]
Number of Total Annual Responses: 85,000
Processing Time per Response: 5 minutes
Hourly Wage of Worker(s) Processing Responses: 20.52
Cost to Process Each Response: 1.71
Total Cost to Process Responses: $145,350
Overall Labor Burden to the Federal Government
Total Number of Annual Responses: 85,000
Total Labor Burden: $145,350
The federal worker hourly wage was determined by U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s 2025 General Schedule Salary Table, GS 7, Step 1, assuming 2,080 labor hours per year for a full-time equivalent (FTE) employee. [https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/25Tables/html/GS.aspx] GS 7 is in the middle of the federal pay scale.
Part B: OPERATIONAL AND MAINTENANCE COSTS
Cost Categories
Equipment: $885,416.
Printing: $0
Postage: $0
Software Purchases: $0
Licensing Costs: $87,748
Other: $2,326
Part C: TOTAL COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Total Operational and Maintenance Costs: $ 975,490
Total Cost to the Federal Government: $1,120,840
15. Reasons for Change in Burden
The burden has increased due to an increase in estimated respondents, as well as annual cost inflation for wage calculations. The estimated number of respondents for a given evacuation has been calibrated based on the official registration figures from the use of Non-Combatant Evacuation Tracking System (NTS) during Operation Allies Refuge in August 2021. During the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan, NTS served as the primary system for tracking evacuees, registering a total of 81,807 individuals. However, recognizing that NTS did not capture all evacuees, the new estimate of 85,000 accounts for individuals who were not tracked by the system. Furthermore, the program has improved in recent years through increased integration with the Combatant Commands (CCMDs), and it is expected that a larger percentage of sites will utilize NTS in the future. By aligning our estimates with NTS data from the last official evacuation, while also acknowledging the broader estimate of 85,000, we are able to capture a more complete and representative sample.
16. Publication of Results
The results of this information collection will not be published.
17. Non-Display of OMB Expiration Date
We are not seeking approval to omit the display of the expiration date of the OMB approval on the collection instrument.
18. Exceptions to “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Submissions”
We are not requesting any exemptions to the provisions stated in 5 CFR 1320.9.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Kaitlin Chiarelli |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2025-07-01 |