Gates on NSPS

Dec. 14, 2006

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Lawmakers queried Robert Gates, now Defense Secretary designate, about his view of the National Security Personnel System, now in partial implementation due to ongoing litigation. In his set of advance policy questions, Gates replied: “Reforming civil service rules to make our civilian workforce more adaptable, flexible, and agile is critical to the future of the department.” He continued, saying NSPS is necessary to develop “the right mix of people and skills” and that he planned to review NSPS “to see if any further changes are required.”

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Trending Stories

Pentagon Sends More F-15s to Middle East as Trump Weighs Action Against Iran

Space Force Sets Mandatory Wear Date for PT Uniform, Service Dress Remains Optional

What to Watch as Lawmakers Race to Pass 2026 Defense Budget by Jan. 30

What to Watch as Pentagon Implements AI, Innovation Reforms 

Related

Trump’s Plane Diverts Over Atlantic, Forcing Switch to Backup Jet

Jan. 21, 2026
The Air Force One jet carrying President Donald Trump to a high-stakes summit in Switzerland diverted over the Atlantic late Jan. 20 and returned to Joint Base Andrews due to an issue with the Boeing VC-25 aircraft, temporarily delaying his trip to Europe and forcing the president to use a…

Congress Sets Guardrails for Pentagon Acquisition Reforms

Jan. 20, 2026
House and Senate lawmakers say they’re on board with the Pentagon’s latest plan to reform the way it buys new systems, but in a report accompanying the latest draft of fiscal 2026 defense spending bill, they urged more investment in the defense acquisition workforce and expressed skepticism about the Defense…

Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91 

Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.

What to Watch as Pentagon Implements AI, Innovation Reforms 

Jan. 17, 2026
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week released strategies meant to focus the Pentagon’s “alphabet soup” of innovation organizations and proliferate artificial intelligence—moves that experts say could provide the structure needed to make the military’s efforts to integrate and field new technology more effective.