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Congress has recently expressed concern that the current tenure system for developing general and flag officers does not effectively prepare them for handling increasing levels of responsibility and for performing with maximum efficiency at each level of assignment. This report assesses the continued appropriateness of mandatory retirement of general and flag officers after 35 years. It focuses on the value of extending tenure, specifically examining promotions, number of assignment, and career length. The study discusses two types of consequences resulting from such an extension. Systemic results of longer service lead to fewer promotions and fewer rising to the highest grades, but increased stability and experience. Career-path consequences indicate more depth or breadth of experience could result for officers. The appropriateness of continued mandatory retirement after 35 years depends, finally, on objectives. If the objective is rapid career-path movement to positions of responsibility, the 35-year limit accomplishes this. If the goal is more experienced officers and greater stability, removing the limit seems best. Decision makers will need to decide which objective is most important.
Congress has long taken a keen interest in the management of officer careers. It played a major role in the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act of 1980, the legislation that currently governs officer personnel management in all services. Recently, it has turned its attention to the tenure of the most senior military personnel, the general and flag officers. Although current law permits exceptions, it requires most flag-rank officers to retire once they have 35 years of active commissioned service. Congress is concerned that the current system does not adequately prepare officers for the most senior assignments. As a result of these concerns, Congress asked the Secretary of Defense to review the career patterns of flag-rank officers. It requested specific data about average time-in-grade both when selected and when promoted as well as the length of tours. It also asked the Secretary to assess the appropriateness of mandatory retirement at 35 years.
The U.S. Congress determines the maximum number of general and flag officers that the military may have by specifying service-specific ceilings. The Defense Dept. has been required to study officer requirements and to recommend changes to the law, if necessary. This interim report on DoD's progress to date reviews DoD's draft recommendations and estimates the cost to implement them, reviews the criteria the services use in doing their studies, compares troop strength to officer requirements, and determines whether certain general or flag officer positions may be candidates for conversion to civilian status. Tables.
The Department of Defense (DoD) experiences a high turnover from its general and flag officers (G/FOs). A concern exists that simply lengthening the stay of senior officers will only clog the system, stagnating promotions throughout the entire officer corps. In response to this, RAND researchers analyzed the current system, reviewed literature on corporate management practices, and modeled different ways of managing G/FOs. In addition to proposing variations to the promotion model, the authors address the concerns expressed by those in DoD and Congress about implementing such changes.
A significant disparity exists between the numbers of male and female personnel among high-ranking officers serving in the U.S. Navy. The general perception is that women have not been part of the Navy long enough to be in the flag officer's ranks. However, it has been over 30 years since the Navy first placed women in the ranks of flag officers. The purpose of the study is to trace the most common professional career paths followed by male and female flag officers in the U.S. Navy and to examine how certain aspects of a military career might have influenced selection to the ranks of flag officer. In addition, this study explored: (1) how female flag officers visualized their roles, (2) what factors they viewed as important or prerequisites for promotion today, and (3) their opinion regarding the limited number of female flag officers in the Navy. The following research questions guided this study: 1. What are the most common career paths among active duty officers that reach the rank of admiral (O-7 or above) in the United States Navy and what aspects of their careers might have influenced selection to flag officer? 2. What factors do female flag officers view as required for promotion to higher ranks and what do they believe is the most significant contributor to the disparity between the number of male and female flag officers? The method used to address the first research question employed the use of frequencies to analyze most commonly held positions in the career paths of all naval flag officers. The method used to get at the second research question included qualitative analyses of interviews with five female flag officers. There were four positional themes that emerged from both the document and interview data sets. Naval flag officers most often had assignments in the following areas: military headquarters, sea and operational duty, command, and joint staff duty. Most prominent were positions at military headquarters, with some participants having been at these commands three to five times. The interview data also revealed four additional themes. The female flag officers found that mentoring, leadership styles, the changing of women's roles in the military, and personal and professional challenges were important factors in attaining the rank of Admiral.