Fact Sheet: Building the First Link to the Force of the Future
On his first day in office, Secretary Carter announced his goal to build the Force of the Future inorder for the Department of Defense to maintain our competitive edge in bringing in top talent toserve the nation. In March, Secretary Carter delivered a speech at his high school in Abington,Pennsylvania to discuss some of the goals for this initiative. Following those remarks, Secretary
Carter directed the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, BradCarson, to undertake a comprehensive review of the Department’s civilian and military
personnel systems.
The review occurred from April to August, and included over 150 subject matter experts from
the Military Services, scholars, and researchers. A core research and writing team from thePersonnel and Readiness office reviewed over 100 studies and commission reports related tocivilian and military personnel management, talent management, and private sector humanresources practices.
The review focused on ways in which the Department could increase permeability of personneland ideas between the public and private sector, increase recruiting results and outcomes for theDepartment, and emphasize talent management and retention to ensure that the quality of today’s
current force would translate to a “Force of the Future”.
The review produced a document in excess of 150 pages and included 29 reform proposals that
captured almost 80 individual reform initiatives. After receiving the document for his review, theSecretary of Defense directed the Deputy Secretary of Defense and Vice Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff to oversee a principal level working group to evaluate all the reform initiatives
against the backdrop of force readiness and maintaining an all-volunteer Joint Force. ThatWorking Group has recommended an initial tranche of over 20 reform initiatives, focused onpermeability, recruitment, and retention - 12 of which will be highlighted in the Secretary’s
November 18, 2015 speech at George Washington University. The group will continue to workon many of the other reforms the working group identified in the months ahead.
Reforms Highlighted in Secretary Carter’s George Washington University Speech
Improve and Enhance College Internship Programs. The Department will create a centralized
process to better manage its vast array of internship opportunities to increase the likelihood ofinterns receiving full time placement in the Department of Defense. With more young Americans
pursuing internships today, it is imperative that we are leveraging this talent pool to attract future
talent to the civilian workforces as many other agencies have done. The USD (P&R) will workwith the Military Services to develop more robust mechanisms to transition successful andpromising interns from temporary to permanent employees. Additionally, since many college
students do not realize what kinds of civilian job opportunities DoD offers, USD (P&R) will also
work to improve DoD’s on-campus presence.
Establish the Defense Digital Service (DDS). Working closely with the White House lead
United States Digital Services (USDS), DoD will establish the Defense Digital Service (DDS).
DDS will be composed of a small team of talented engineers and digital experts, brought in to
DoD on a temporary basis from the private sector to work with senior leaders to improve theDepartment's technological agility and solve its most complex IT problems. Chris Lynch, a wellrespected tech entrepreneur, will lead this organization starting today.
Launch Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program. DoD will launch an Entrepreneur-in-Residence(EIR) Pilot Program to embed up to three entrepreneurs in different parts of the Department towork on special projects sponsored by senior leaders. The goal of the EIR program is to align theattitude, expertise, experience, and professional networks of successful entrepreneurs against themission and challenges facing large, complex, bureaucratic organizations. The EIR program isdesigned to unleash the powerful advantages of an entrepreneurial mindset such as creativity,urgency, independence, and calculated risk-taking into organizational cultures and/or against aspecific problem. The new EIRs will be paired with a senior leader project sponsor from among
the Military Services and Office of the Secretary of Defense to spearhead an entrepreneurial
approach to tackling a specific DoD challenge. The EIRs will also participate in educational andmentorship programs that will contribute to a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in DoD.
Designate Chief Recruiting Officer. DoD will designate a Chief Recruiting Officer (CRO)within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to lead
executive recruitment throughout the Department. The new CRO will essentially function as an
executive headhunter, and work with leadership among the Military Services and Office of theSecretary of Defense to bring in highly qualified executives from the private sector to assist theDepartment in managing key portfolios and issue areas where private sector experience could bevaluable.
Expand Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellows Program. DoD will expand and upgrade its
Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellows Program, in terms of both attendance and scope, andrename it consistent with its expanded focus: Secretary of Defense Executive Fellows Program(SDEF). This program allows service-members to serve in top industrial institutions – including
places like Microsoft, Amazon, SpaceX, and Accenture – and bring back what they learn to keep
DoD on the cutting-edge. The program will also expand the fellowship mandate to include
fellowships with state and local government to help prepare service-members for leadership at
strategic levels. Finally, the program will now also include eligible senior non-commissioned
officers, as well as commissioned officers. Where previously the fellowship was a one year billet
it will now be two years enabling the fellows to apply what they have learned in the private
sector to a commensurate activity within the Department.
Increase Size of the Career Intermission Program. DoD will pursue Congressional action tolift the pilot restrictions for the Career Intermission Program (CIP). The CIP allows servicemembers to take a sabbatical from military service for a few years while they are starting afamily, exploring different career opportunities (such as time in the private sector), or getting anew degree. The program promises to not only give service-members increasing flexibility as
they pursue their military careers, but also enables them to bring new and innovative skills backto DoD. Many Service members are reluctant to use the program based on the current pilot
status; elimination of pilot authority will provide maximum flexibility for Service members andthe Secretaries of the Military Departments to expand the utility, participation, and duration of
the CIP based on individual Service needs, and ensure that taking advantage of this opportunity
does not harm chances for promotion.

Update and Modernize Retirement System. DoD will continue to refine the Blended
Retirement System approved by Congress in the FY16 National Defense Authorization Act. For
decades, service-members have had to serve 20 years before becoming eligible for any
retirement benefits, and since 80% of military personnel depart before 20 years, most do leave
without any retirement benefits presenting a disadvantage in comparison to their peers. Under thenew system, the member is expected to achieve a retirement that is equivalent or better thanunder the current system, while many Service members who leave prior to achieving full
retirement will also now depart with a portable retirement benefit. This system will let current
and future generations of service-members the choice to have more flexibility in their careers.
Implement Web-Based Talent Management System. The Military Services will pilot webbased systems that help match the right knowledge, skills, and abilities of Service members withavailable assignments. These web-based platforms will provide an opportunity for Service
members and gaining units to “shop around” and discover mutual matches that better satisfy allparties involved. These are roughly equivalent to a “LinkedIn”-style system, in which service
members will populate an online database with information they believe is important, whichwould then be wedded to official personnel data. Commanders and Service members will be able
to search for the right job, using data that has not currently been captured by the Department.
The Military Services will closely monitor these new systems to ensure there is no degradationof readiness or dearth of talent in certain geographic locations.
Establish Office of People Analytics. The USD (P&R) will immediately establish the Office ofPeople Analytics (OPA) to better harness the Department’s big data capabilities in managing ourtalent. DoD has limited visibility into the characteristics of civilian and military personnel andlacks the ability to conduct comprehensive analysis on how policy or environmental changes willaffect the performance or composition of the workforce. OPA is designed to serve in direct
analytic support to the Military Services and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) to fix
this gap and inform better personnel policies that attract, recruit, and retain high performers
within/to DoD. OPA will be prepared to partner with the Military Services and OSD onquestions pertaining to recruiting, hiring and retention, succession planning, training, andincreased talent-based assignment matching throughout the Department.
Implement Exit Surveys. The Military Services will begin to monitor the reasons that Servicemembers are leaving in order to better refine personnel policies that retain top talent andappropriately divest low performers. Detailed exit surveys will become a fully integrated,
standard requirement in the Transition Assistance Program (TAP).
Examine Ways to Improve Recruiting. USD (P&R) will supervise a study to identify ways inwhich military recruiters can be rewarded for recruit performance in basic training and initialenlistment term. In addition to improving the overall incentives for successful recruiting,recommendations from the study could inform future pilot programs and save the Department
lost time and money. DoD will commission a study, likely working through and with the Fully
Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), to better understand the factors affecting
poor recruit outcomes and present recommendations to the Secretary of Defense. Completion ofthe studies, and submission of any recommendations for further action by the Secretary or theMilitary Services, will occur within the next year.
Diversity Briefings. Senior leaders (Vice Chiefs and Under Secretaries) will begin receiving
semiannual briefings on the racial and gender diversity within each branch, career field, andmilitary occupational specialty. USD (P&R) will also supervise a study to identify the primarycauses and anticipated impacts of the geographic and familial concentration of military recruits.
Additional Approved Force of the Future Initiatives
Talent Management Centers of Excellence. The Military Services will establish TalentManagement Centers of Excellence to provide labor economics data and modelling for Service
personnel chiefs and senior leaders.
Civilian Skills in Reserve Component. DoD will better align individual capabilities withmission requirements by cataloging civilian skill sets inherent in reserve component Service
members.
Compensation Study. The USD (P&R) will conduct a comprehensive study for the purposes ofbetter aligning basic and special pays with the principles of talent management. This study willbuild upon the recent findings of the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization
Commission (MCRMC) by focusing exclusively on possible reforms associated with basic andspecial pays.
Increased Use of Reserve Component Service Members. The Military Services will conduct
studies to determine the utility of employing Full Time Support (FTS) personnel from theirReserve Components in certain billets like ROTC cadre, recruiters, and military school
instructors.
Doctoral-Level Program in Strategy. The USD (P&R), in conjunction with the Joint Staff andthe Military Services, will establish a doctoral-level program in Strategy through the current
Professional Military Education (PME) system. USD (P&R) will coordinate with Joint Staff andthe Military Services to identify an initial location (likely National Defense University) for theprogram and to develop a fully accredited curriculum.
Center for Talent Development. DoD will establish a Center for Talent Development (CTD) toprovide Department-wide guidance on talent development policy and strategy, offer world classprofessional development opportunities to the civilian workforce, and serve as a repository ofexpertise on talent development.
Civilian Human Capital Innovation Laboratory. The Department will establish a Civilian
Human Capital Innovation Laboratory (CHIL) to ensure DoD’s human resources (HR) personnel
remain at the forefront of human capital best practices. The CHIL’s primary purpose is tocontinuously design, launch, and evaluate pilots, prototypes, and experiments aimed atformulating and testing concepts and practices that improve HR outcomes for DoD stakeholders,
accelerate and simplify business processes, and reduce costs.

Defense Innovation Network. DoD will establish a Department-wide Defense Innovation
Network (DIN) for the purpose of identifying, connecting, empowering, and encouragingmilitary and civilian personnel throughout the DoD workforce who are or aspire to be involved
in innovation.
Active and Reserve Component Permeability. The Department will form a Task Force,chaired by the USD (P&R), to identify mechanisms that increase the speed and ease with which
Service members can transition from the Active Component to the Reserve Component.
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