By Scott Maucione
RAND study commissioned past times the Pentagon finds at that topographic point are only most that many full general in addition to flag officers that are unneeded.
The study revealed that later on looking at the requirements for full general in addition to flag officeholder positions, most 132 of the 615 positions didn’t encounter the demand for such a high ranking official.
“We tried to aspect in addition to see to brand certain each of the positions that were on the books were adequately justified,” Lisa Harrington, associate managing director of the Forces in addition to Resources Policy Center at the RAND Corporation told Federal News Network. “Our method tries to aspect at these positions from a unlike perspective, either organizationally, the characteristics of the private position, what opportunities are at that topographic point for reductions in addition to and then what are inconsistencies across the services?”
RAND concluded that most 10 per centum of those positions tin live on downgraded to leadership below a flag officeholder or live on eliminated altogether.
Congress in addition to other critics of flag officeholder inflation experience the number has gotten out of hand.
We “expect that the Department of Defense in addition to the military machine departments volition amend efficiency past times eliminating bloated headquarters in addition to staffs piece preserving the necessary number in addition to grades of positions for full general in addition to flag officers who are responsible to prepare in addition to Pb our nation’s forces inwards battle in addition to to convey them safely dwelling trouble solid again,” the 2017 defence authority written report stated.
Harrington said at that topographic point is e'er a fearfulness of “grade creep.”
“There is a trickledown number for every 4 star,” Harrington said. “They campaign a pyramid – a iii star, a 2 star, a i star – in addition to over fourth dimension the style is for that variety out to creep up. You desire the most qualified people serving inwards these positions. There is a demand to tamp downwardly that wishing to continuously growth grades in addition to ensure that at that topographic point are senior executives at a sufficient level, but non also high of a storey to produce the mission.”
Costs are also an issue. Each four-star full general comes amongst an entourage in addition to move item in addition to thus produce the generals below him or her.
In the 2017 defence authority act, Congress also told DoD to honor areas where it tin cutting its flag officeholder assignments past times 10 percent.
RAND used a diversity of techniques to create upwards one's hear what positions would live on best served past times lower grades or may fifty-fifty live on eliminated.
RAND looked at past times studies, organizational responsibilities in addition to human upper-case alphabetic lineament evolution to honor the answer.
The study also conducted a wargame in addition to asked military machine experts what they would cutting first.
“We purposely inflated the number to live on reduced thus nosotros forced only about difficult choices,” Harrington said. “It got people inwards the room thinking differently most how they powerfulness reorganize things. They definitely protected the combatant commands, that was i of the starting fourth dimension things they did. It was interesting, almost all the teams nosotros had playing inwards this practise went for the service vices in addition to idea they didn’t necessarily demand to live on 4 stars.”
The participants also idea many of the military machine acquisition positions could instruct to civilian leaders.
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