Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has issued a memo announcing cuts to senior personnel and contractors and has advanced several efficiency initiatives as part of an ongoing effort to fight bloat within DoD and reduce spending.
According to the March 14 memo, the department will cut 102 general and flag officer positions and reduce or restructure 38 others, as well as cut 176 civilian senior executive and senior scientific or expert positions.
The department plans to reduce its reliance on support contracts by $6 billion. Together, the Pentagon expects the actions – most of which are set for completion by this September – to save about $14 billion.
The actions include dismantling the Joint Forces Command – for $2 billion in projected savings, a requirement to include cost estimates in all new proposals, initiatives, reports or studies, as well as consolidations across the office of the secretary of defense, defense agencies, and field activities.
