Military structural change?

[Doodlesweaver]

Does anybody remember what the structural changes were about 6 months ago in the military? I recall something where Rumsfeld made changes in the structure of the military - putting civilians in charge of leadership positions previously occupied by military brass. I am curious as to what those changes were.

[MADem]

1. Read these full articles, they will start you off

Rumsfeld's rigidity. The testimony of former colleagues and subordinates makes it clear that a confrontational and autocratic leadership style has been a consistent theme of Rumsfeld's political career. Under the current secretary of defense, a more responsive and agile civilian-military relationship is unlikely to equate to more decision-making power for the generals. Moreover, there are no current indications that Rumsfeld is considering resignation, or that Bush is inclined to push him.

Underlying the criticisms directed at Rumsfeld and the Pentagon's civilian leadership is a broader concern among senior commanders regarding civilian supervision of military operations. However, the type of warfare favored by most uniformed Army officers--overwhelming force, with limited military involvement in post-combat operations--is unlikely to be a feature of future U.S. campaigns.

Rumsfeld's critics are motivated by varying degrees of principle, personal animosity and frustration over the civilian leadership's strategic miscalculations in Iraq. He is unlikely to respond by resigning. However, the evolution of the military's core mission--featuring a greater emphasis on post-combat operations--could make civilian-military tensions an increasing theme at the Pentagon....

http://www.forbes.com/home/2006/04/19/defense-rumsfeld-pentagon-cx_0420oxford.html

Then, there's the whole Spiral ONE issue, which is held up in court to this point: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0205/021005sz1.htm

New Pentagon personnel system mirrors DHS plan
By Shawn Zeller
[e-mail]

The Defense Department will replace the decades-old General Schedule pay and classification system with a new system based on pay for performance, according to proposed regulations that will be published in the Federal Register on Monday.

In a briefing at the Pentagon Thursday, Defense and Office of Personnel Management officials said that the new system also will restrict union bargaining rights and implement stricter disciplinary rules for 650,000 Defense civilian workers.


After the proposed rules are published, Defense will take comments from the public for 30 days and then confer with employee unions about them for another 30 days.


The announcement of the proposal was met with immediate denunciations from Democratic members of Congress and unions. The American Federation of Government Employees, Association of Civilian Technicians, Laborers International Union, National Association of Government Employees and National Federation of Federal Employees said they would file a lawsuit next week in federal court arguing that Defense did not follow congressionally prescribed procedures in developing the new labor relations rules......

And the simple, sad fact that DISSENT IS NOT TOLERATED:

SIT DOWN, SHUT UP

The growing civilian domination of military decision-making--short-circuiting internal Pentagon debate--is creating a growing worry among defense experts and some military officers as the administration puts finishing touches on future spending and force-shaping plans.

The latest clampdown is dated to a Nov. 21 meeting, sponsored by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, that closeted Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England with top civilian and military officials. Since this gathering, defense experts say everyone is "speaking with a single voice," an effect that one expert described as eerie. Debate about the Pentagon's budget deliberations has suddenly gone underground. Some participants say there were actually three meetings where they were told, "this is the final word and there will be no belly-aching."

Roping in dissenters has been a hallmark of this administration. The Pentagon announced a replacement for onetime Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki more than year before his scheduled departure date after he testified to Congress that more troops would be needed in Iraq than advertised by top Pentagon civilians.

Similarly, then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz last year signed program budget decision No. 753 in late December, slashing a number of top Pentagon programs, including the Air Force's premier F-22, and sending a chill through the aerospace industry. The decision came after most acquisition officials had left for the holidays. After the outcry about PBD 753, the Office of the Secretary of Defense is trying to avoid the appearance that senior civilians hijacked the consultive process.
...

http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/news/channel_awst_story.jsp?id=news/010206p2.xml

Rumsfeld and senior officers, particularly in the Army, have had well-known disagreements over the Bush administration's reform agenda, in many cases predating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

For example, Rumsfeld clashed early in Bush's first term with Army Gen. Erik K. Shinseki over the speed and scale of change in the Army, an effort Shinseki had begun under President Clinton. Shinseki retired after his dispute with Rumsfeld in 2003 over the number of troops needed to stabilize Iraq, differences cited by several former officers calling for Rumsfeld's resignation.

Following Shinseki's retirement, Rumsfeld passed over all other active-duty Army officers to pick Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, then a retired Special Forces officer, to become the new Army chief of staff, a move almost unprecedented in military history and one that was seen by many as an illustration of the secretary's distrust of the Army's senior leadership.

"The idea of bringing a retired person out of retirement to serve as chief of staff of the Army was stunning, and a lot of people didn't like it," Rumsfeld said. "The fact that he was a Special Forces officer — a joint officer — added to the attitudes."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-defense19apr19,1,7779548.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

[Donna Zen]

2. Excellent post

n/t