February 28, 2018
DoD must consider non-traditional approaches to military service
Last week the Pentagon began to follow through with Secretary Jim Mattis’ promise to increase military “lethality” by removing all service members who have been on “non-deployable” status for more than a year.
The new policy will likely achieve its goal of reducing the number of non-deployable service members, if only by forcing them to schedule dental appointments and update personnel records. At the same time, the policy cuts against President Trump’s primary goal for the military — increasing its size. Notwithstanding these countervailing goals, the Department of Defense (DoD) already faces large hurdles to expanding the military, mainly because shockingly few Americans are both willing and able to serve.
If the administration wants to have it both ways — growing the military without sacrificing standards and simultaneously making the force leaner and more lethal — it will need to develop a fundamentally different concept of military service than currently exists.
Read the full article in The Hill.
More from CNAS
-
Podcast
National Security Human Capital Program
Could the U.S. Bring Back the Draft?In this episode of At the Boundary, GNSI’s Dr. Guido Rossi sits down with Katherine Kuzminski, Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), to explore...
By Katherine L. Kuzminski
-
Podcast
Defense / National Security Human Capital Program / Technology & National Security
Episode 7: The Future Hands Shaping the U.S.’s Unmanned ArsenalHow is the U.S. responding to unmanned innovation across the globe? This episode with Paul Scharre, executive vice president, Stacie Pettyjohn, program director and senior fel...
By Stacie Pettyjohn, Paul Scharre & Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan
-
Commentary
Defense / National Security Human Capital Program / Transatlantic Security / Technology & National Security
Sharper: America’s EdgeA volatile global security environment requires the United States and its allies to develop new tactics and capabilities to deal with novel global threats. On June 3, policyma...
By Charles Horn
-
Podcast
National Security Human Capital Program
National Security Has a Human Capital Problem and There’s No Fast Way OutNational security doesn’t really exist without the military forces and supporting civilians to carry it out. Recruitment remains a problem for the armed forces. And there’s a ...
By Katherine L. Kuzminski
