The Pentagon’s personnel chief, David Chu, told attendees at a Washington area conference that DOD wants to be able to deploy more civilians.Federal Times reports that Chu said Pentagon officials are reviewing current legislation that restricts the department’s ability to deploy individuals in certain jobs, such as a stenographer who may speak Arabic. He maintained that even if DOD is able to relax the rules, all civilian deployments would be on a volunteer basis. Chu also noted that DOD is continuing with its shift of military personnel out of jobs that can be done by federal civilians or contractors. So far, DOD has traded 20,000 jobs and expects to double that number in another year.
Trainees in Basic Military Training and technical school no longer have the option to try alternate PT drills if they fail an initial assessment, according to a policy change the Air Force made in April. The move is part of a larger shift out of the classroom and into hands-on,…