{ "id": "RL32151", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL32151", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 101765, "date": "2003-11-12", "retrieved": "2016-04-08T14:34:25.504544", "title": "DOD Transformation Initiatives and the Military Personnel System: Proceedings of a CRS Seminar", "summary": "On April 9, 2003, the Congressional Research Service sponsored a seminar for the purpose of\nexamining the Department of Defense's transformation plans, assessing the impacts these plans\nmight have on the military personnel system, and discussing what issues these impacts might raise\nfor Congress. This report summarizes that seminar and provides a transcript of it. \n The impetus for this seminar was the Department of Defense's ongoing efforts to \"transform\"\nthe U.S. military. There are a number of competing definitions of precisely what \"transformation\"\nis, but the term generally refers to a dramatic change, a \"quantum leap\" ahead, in military power due\nto technological advances, new operational concepts, and organizational changes.\n Much of the discussion about transformation has revolved around the advanced technologies\n-- especially information technologies -- that allow the U.S. military to detect, track, and destroy\nenemy targets more rapidly and with greater precision. Significant attention is also being directed\ntowards developing new warfighting concepts in order to employ advanced technologies for\nmaximum effect. Yet often overlooked in the public debate has been the organizational aspect,\nwhich some believe to be the most important and challenging component of transformation; and\ncentral to any discussion of organizational change is the military personnel system.\n The panelists for this seminar were Dr. David Chu, the current Under Secretary of Defense for\nPersonnel and Readiness and Dr. Bernard Rostker, Senior RAND Fellow and Under Secretary of\nDefense for Personnel and Readiness during the Clinton Administration. Robert Goldich, a\nspecialist in national defense policy with the Congressional Research Service, served as a respondent\non the panel.\n In their presentations, the participants generally agreed that the personnel system needed to be\nmade more flexible, efficient, and productive, although they did not always agree on the best way\nto do this. Among other things, Dr. Chu advocated increasing the length of time that military\npersonnel -- especially senior officers -- serve in a given assignment, raising the maximum age for\nactive service, and modifying reserve obligations to provide for a \"continuum of service.\" He also\nfavored major revisions in the current DOD civilian personnel system. Dr. Rostker also favored\nincreasing the length of assignments, but he emphasized instituting greater selectivity in bringing\npeople into the \"career force,\" increasing the typical length of service for those who are part of the\ncareer force, eliminating \"cliff vesting\" for retirement to compensate those not selected for the career\nforce, and accepting a higher ratio of senior officer and enlisted personnel. Mr. Goldich added a\ncautionary note by arguing that recruiting a sufficient number individuals to serve in the military\nshould not be taken for granted, and that a great challenge for the military in the future will be\nsustaining a training system which can effectively convert citizens into military personnel. None of\nthe opinions, positions and policy recommendations expressed by the panelists reflect the views of\nCRS, which does not take positions on public policy issues.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL32151", "sha1": "df249f24f965df60d110349099543af047f6c879", "filename": "files/20031112_RL32151_df249f24f965df60d110349099543af047f6c879.pdf", "images": null }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20031112_RL32151_df249f24f965df60d110349099543af047f6c879.html" } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "Foreign Affairs", "National Defense" ] }