The military’s officer promotion system is considering some major changes. President Trump signed the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act into law earlier this week. The new budget increases military spending to $716 billion and comes with some new policy changes.
One of the ones getting the most attention is the officer promotion system. The Department of Defense will be making the first changes in almost 40 years. The exact details are still under development but will be aimed at providing increased flexibility to compete with higher-paying, more flexible civilian jobs.
“We believe our warfighters deserve the tools, the equipment, and resources that they have earned with their blood, sweat, and tears. . . In honor of that sacred obligation, I will put my signature on the National Defense Authorization Act.” — President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/I6FBK2aLxf
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 13, 2018
What is Changing?
The current promotion system limits promotions to a narrow window based on time served as well as merit. Officers are not eligible for promotion until they have served at their current rank for a set amount of time. While there is an early-promote option, allowing high-performing officers to be promoted a year early, it is rarely used in practice.
Officers are also required to promote or face separation from the military. It is the old “go up or get out” system and not everyone thinks that it is effective in today’s working environment.
“It is important to retain the up-or-out concept for officer management, but there must be some exceptions when the needs of the military will be best served by retaining an officer,” said lawmakers when explaining the policy changes included in the bill. This will be particularly useful for individuals with specialized or technical skills that would be hard to replace.
The new policy is also looking at permitting officers to remain in a lower rank beyond the time currently allowed. It is also exploring fast-track promotion options for those performing at a high level and ready for increased responsibility.
These two changes are a significant shift in the way that the military looks at officer promotion. While officers are promoted based on merit, they are not even considered for promotion until they reach a certain timeline, regardless of performance. They are considered for three cycles before possibly facing action for not promoting. This also does not take into account in-demand skills or time spent away from a traditional career path to pursue additional specialized training.
The recent changes made to the military retirement system to allow for partial benefits with fewer than 20 years of service may play a role in this new promotion policy. The military is looking for ways to make a career of military service attractive for young leaders.
“Now that the 20-year retention carrot is becoming a thing of the past, they will need other ways to keep people if they are to retain both officers and enlisted beyond the 12-year mark,” Bill Hatch, a retired Navy officer and professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, told Military Times.
Why Make Changes?
Military culture is strongly rooted in tradition but officials believe that the current system needs an overhaul to be modernized. Recruitment and retention of high-quality officers is a top priority when looking at making these changes.
An article published by Military Times said that the policy changes “have been hailed by outside advocates as necessary flexibility to attract and retain individuals with valuable technical skills.” The military often can’t compete with the financial compensation offered in the civilian sector, but needs to offer attractive career paths to get top talent. This is particularly important in fields such as cyber and space that are growing within the military and civilian workforces, although it is not limited to just those specialties.
The changes will not be mandatory and will be at the discretion of the leadership of each individual service. Each branch of the military may implement the policy changes differently or even not at all.
Building more flexibility into career paths allow for other opportunities as well. Officers will be able to pursue fellowships or advanced degrees without having to make them meet strict promotion timelines. It also allows for more balance between work and home life, an important consideration among Millenials, the age group looking at joining the military today.
Millenials also value careers that allow them to rise based on talent and performance. Providing a path for rockstar officers to promote ahead of an arbitrary timeline will attract today’s young leaders to the military. It may, however, cause friction with established leadership who were promoted under a different system.
Pentagon braces for massive change to officer promotions https://t.co/QSto2DXkNX pic.twitter.com/tugcJ4Vjb7
— Military Times (@MilitaryTimes) August 2, 2018
“Because of our egalitarian nature, in the military, we’re always looking to make sure things are fair. But it’s hard to be talent-management oriented and yet, treat everyone the same,” said Leonard Wong of the Army War College in an interview. “It might be better for the force and better for the nation to treat certain people differently, and this is a step in that direction.”
The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) highlighted the “progress on modernizing the 38-year-old Defense Officer Personnel Management Act to provide more flexible options to the services” in its overview of the newly-signed National Defense Authorization Act.
Bringing attention to the amount of time that has passed since the system had significant changes made highlights the need for modernization to keep up with workplace options in other sectors. The reality is that today’s employee is looking for different things than an employee did in the 1980s, when the previous Defense Officer Personnel Management Act was implemented. To get top talent and remain the strongest military in the world, the Pentagon is looking at how leadership is promoted and considering appropriate changes to remain competitive with other industries.
