On June 9, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced a military personnel initiative called “Force of the Future.” And while bureaucratic restructurings are not typically the most captivating subjects in the world, there was actually a very interesting Military Times piece published this weekend about an element of Carter’s plan that would seem to make for a pretty major change in the way that the U.S. military is integrated into society: namely, a proposal that lifelong civilians be allowed to enter the armed services as high-ranking officers.
The move, the Military Times explains, would be a “cyber warfare”-related response to the shortage of service members in technical fields:
Cyber, principally, is driving the call for change, but lateral entry could extend to any high-demand career field with a robust civilian counterpart—logistics, for example, and military policing or public affairs. Those who work in such technical jobs often are lured away from the military’s officer and enlisted ranks by high-paying jobs in the private sector. Offering personnel the opportunity to earn an O-6 salary—plus benefits—might alleviate that.
The O-6 pay grade that civilians would be allowed to enter into under the plan is quite high up on the scale, corresponding to a rank of colonel and involving base compensation in the $100,000-a-year range.* (The only officers who rank higher than colonels are generals and admirals.)
If your initial reaction to this idea is “wouldn’t this really tick off the career service members who went through boot camp and basic training and Hell Week and whatnot and have been in the military their whole adult life?,” you are correct: The MT writes that the most significant concern about the possible move is that it would create divisions in military culture—a “new subcaste of military service members who are fundamentally disconnected from the traditional career force.” Says a Brookings Institution security expert who’s a former Air Force officer: “Can you imagine someone coming in as an O-5 or O-6 and not knowing who salutes who? Or how to wear a uniform?”
Carter’s suggested changes still need to be approved by Congress; if so approved, each branch of the military would implement civilian commissions at its own discretion.
*Correction, June 21, 2016: This post initially misstated that O-6 salaries range around $200,000 a year; the range for O-6 base pay is actually $75,000–$113,000.
