This is a familiar problem to pilots forced to fly a desk in order to advance, but it affects any number of similarly technically skilled personnel. In a time of great recruiting challenges, we should look at how to keep the skilled people interested in military service doing the jobs they love. Public service was once an honored profession. It implied a selflessness and devotion to country, but that idea was largely lost in the fallout of cynicism about government. Today, restrictions on future employment, the media pursuit and even criminalization of mistakes, as well as the increasing difficulty of advancing initiatives without being seen as partisan, all conspire to make government service less attractive to exactly the people we should be trying to entice.
Quality of service is an issue in other ways for both military and defense civilians.
After all, the people who take positions serving the public want to succeed. Frustration with being prevented from doing one's job is another barrier to keeping good people. Therefore, we should give our people solid infrastructure. Line mechanics need the right tools and parts, in sufficient quantities. Analysts need modern data processing equipment and skilled assistants.