The Department of Defense and the US Office of Personnel Management unveiled the final regulations for the proposed National Security Personnel System (NSPS), putting them into the Federal Register. At a Pentagon news conference on Oct. 26, Acting Undersecretary of Defense Gordon England said that NSPS will provide a modern, flexible system that will better support its workers. The labor relations part of the program will go into effect after a mandatory 30-day review by Congress. Public employee unions have criticized the Pentagon for not giving them adequate information on the program, noting changes to performance evaluation and firing regulations.
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,…