Thursday, November 19, 2015

SecDef pulls back on personnel reforms, leaves out big changes for now

SecDef pulls back on personnel reforms, leaves out big changes for now: Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Wednesday vowed to push forward on an array of changes to the military personnel system, but omitted many of the ambitious proposals that top-level Pentagon officials talked about earlier this year.

Carter announced plans to create a new high-tech personnel management system for matching individual troops with job assignments, an online network he compared to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Other changes he intends to set in motion include streamlining transitions between the active and reserve components and creating a new “chief recruiting officer,” a civilian to oversee forcewide efforts to attract top talent.

The secretary said other reforms -- including those that could impact military pay, benefits and the way officers are promoted -- may be on the horizon.