The Defense Department has created a new “program executive office” to design and implement its new “national security personnel system,” with the office to be headed on an interim basis by Peter Brown, executive director of the Naval Sea Systems Command. DoD also has formed working groups focusing on employee appeals rights and on labor relations; a “discussion draft” of options in those areas released earlier this year drew heavy criticism from employee organizations and from some on Capitol Hill. In addition, the agency has started examining pay for performance systems that could be incorporated into the new personnel system, including those used in alternative personnel systems being used in Army and Navy research labs and in the acquisition area.