A Brief History of Military-to-Civilian Conversions in the Department of Defense, 1965-2015
Abstract
This paper traces the history of the Defense Department (DoD)'s efforts to convert military personnel authorizations in non-military essential positions to government civilians, beginning in the 1960s, with a thematic focus on the challenges and obstacles that reappear with each new decade. The review found six recurring issues that undermine civilianization efforts: (1) the lack of a consistent methodology to determine military essentiality for specific positions and functions across the Services; (2) the lack of a unified, holistic approach to determine DoD military and civilian personnel requirements and, importantly, budget allocations; (3) military Service concerns, rooted in historical precedent, about losing converted positions due to decreased civilian personnel ceilings caused by pressure to reduce overhead and Pentagon civilian staff; (4) manpower gaps that emerge while executing conversions, where military billets have been civilianized but civilian replacements have not yet filled the converted positions; (5) human resource and management factors beyond cost that affect the decision to employ military versus civilian manpower to perform a specific function; and (6) the critical role of congressional legislation - from capping civilian authorizations to prohibiting conversions in certain career fields - in the outcomes of conversion efforts. Achieving an efficient mix of military and civilian manpower within the Defense establishment is influenced by the ever-changing tug of war between balancing requirements and reducing costs. Evidence suggests that pursuing this goal through civilianization remains as important today as it was in 1965.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2017
- Accession Number
- AD1123299
Entities
People
- David F. Eisler
Organizations
- Institute for Defense Analyses