Defense Secretary Ash Carter has directed the military to overhaul its personnel system, which the Pentagon’s top personnel manager said Tuesday is “antiquated” and “almost Soviet in its intensity.” Change “is long past due” to adjust to the changing needs for critical skills in the military and to the different attitudes of the “millennials” who are becoming the majority of service personnel, said Brad Carson, the acting undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, during a forum held Tuesday by Defense One. Military leaders and outside experts agree there is a “desperate” need for greater flexibility in a system that is locked into “mindless adherence” to historic rules, Carson said. Some of the changes being proposed are relaxing the “up-or-out” policy that would prevent an expert in cyber from staying as a major for 20 years and the rapid rotation of officers through different jobs to earn promotion; bringing in civilian specialists at mid-career, rather than starting from the bottom, and promoting on talent, rather than time in grade, he said. Carson said he has promised Carter a report on proposed changes by mid-August.
Hypersonic ARRW Readied for Booster Flight
March 8, 2021
An AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon hypersonic missile is being readied for its first booster flight at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., the Air Force announced March 5. The missile that flies within the next month will not be an all-up round. Instead, the test will run the missile through…