A House committee has said it is concerned that reductions in DoD headquarters and other support staffing “may result in the loss of critical capabilities” particularly in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) competencies.
The House Armed Services Committee expressed that concern in adopting an amendment to the fiscal 2017 DoD authorization bill. The 2016 version of that measure ordered at least a 25 percent reduction in headquarters, administrative, and support activities at DoD by 2019 versus 2015 levels.
That bill also required DoD to annually report on its progress; as part of the new bill the committee said those reports should specifically include an assessment of the impact on STEM employees and the “operational impact” of that loss.
“The committee has made clear its intention that the Department of Defense and the military services recruit, hire, and retain the nation’s top scientific and engineering talent. It would, therefore, be imprudent for the military services and the department to achieve headquarters, administrative, and support activities reductions by reducing the number of STEM employees just because their workplace resides within a headquarters function,” and explanatory statement said.
“Further, as the committee has stated in past House reports, any reduction in personnel should not be implemented as an across-the-board cut, but rather should be strategically designed to retain critical functions, capabilities, and skillsets— including, but not limited to the depots, the arsenals, the ammunition plants and the acquisition workforce—and to eliminate unnecessary or redundant functions or skillsets that do not benefit or support mission requirements,” it said.
