Posted on 01/30/2009 7:44:09 PM PST by luv2ndamend
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2009 – The Defense Department is forming a civilian expeditionary workforce that will be trained and equipped to deploy overseas in support of military missions worldwide, according to department officials.
The intent of the program “is to maximize the use of the civilian workforce to allow military personnel to be fully utilized for operational requirements,” according to a Defense Department statement.
Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England signed Defense Department Directive 1404.10, which outlines and provides guidance about the program, on Jan. 23.
Certain duty positions may be designated by the various Defense Department components to participate in the program. If a position is designated, the employee will be asked to sign an agreement that they will deploy if called upon to do so. If the employee does not wish to deploy, every effort will be made to reassign the employee to a nondeploying position.
The directive emphasizes, however, that volunteers be sought first for any expeditionary requirements, before requiring anyone to serve involuntarily or on short notice. Overseas duty tours shall not exceed two years.
Employees in deployable-designated positions will be trained, equipped and prepared to serve overseas in support of humanitarian, reconstruction and, if absolutely necessary, combat-support missions.
The program also is open to former and retired civilian employees who agree to return to federal service on a time-limited status to serve overseas or to fill in for people deployed overseas.
Program participants are eligible for military medical support while serving in their overseas duty station.
All participants will undergo pre- and post-deployment medical testing, including physical and psychological exams.
Defense civilians reassigned from their normal duty to serve overseas will be granted the right to return to the positions they held prior to their deployment or to a position of similar grade, level and responsibility within the same organization, regardless of the deployment length .
Families of deployed Defense Department civilian employees shall be supported and provided with information on benefits and entitlements and issues likely to be faced by the employee during and upon return from a deployment.
Defense civilian employees who participate in the expeditionary program shall be treated with high regard as an indication of the department’s respect for those who serve expeditionary requirements.
Expeditionary program participants’ service and experience shall be valued, respected and recognized as career-enhancing.
Participants who meet program requirements would be eligible to receive the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Global War on Terrorism.
Did not take him long.
Boy, I missed this one.
I retired from the AF in 2004 and worked a deployment actions for nine years. This is something DOD has been working on for a decade to augment the deployed forces. It’s not an Obama action.
Please, dear God.........help us.
That’s reassuring. :)
Wow, Thank god!
Pentagon's WPA!!
There a crapload of civilians on the battlefield now. Civil Service and contractor.
How’d you like to the combat commander that has to make a decision that they have to abandon these folks or lose a critical battle?
http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/140410p.pdf
I wonder what Obamas will look like for the us?
I think the military has done this for years. In the 70s I was part of this effort and I was working for a contractor. It's very important to a technical military force to have technicians available to fix stuff, configure stuff and in general keep it all working. Sometimes in early deployments the only way to do it is with the contractor people who designed the systems. Two folks died in my group while out on ship board duty. Both were preventable accidents involving SM2 missile firings.
This phrase is so wrong on so many levels.
so that is part of DoD requirements for civilians when working for the US.
The ghost of General Hooker would be pleased to see this return of paid “Camp Followers”.
That is, after all, the origin for “Hooker”, as meaning a women of ea$y virtue. The phrase “General Hooker’s girls” was shortened to Hookers.
The volunteers knew it was high risk, the insurance was astronomical.
I see this as just the military getting better organized. But I don't see anyway they can get away from using civilian contractors who did the design.
When I was younger, it was exciting. Looking back, it was more like crap, I did what?
I don't know for sure what Obama is doing, just what we did.
Retired Federal Employees. Does that exclude Retired Military, I wonder?
I have a vision of airborne accountants. “I love the smell of toner cartridge in the morning. It smells like... VICTORY!”
I want to see who is breaking my stuff. I'll go to Afghan if necessary. Those are parts that go on AC-130 gunships, BTW.
I’m glad to know this, because I was really, really scared. Well, I still am, but I feel better about this.
This ain’t new. It’s been ongoing for many years.
It only makes sense to have civilians do the jobs that don’t require a combat soldier, our most precious resource.
It started out with cooks, then clerks, then non combat drivers, and has saved us untold millions of dollars.
IIRC, it was Les Aspin’s idea or one he brought to Nixon in the 70’s that got the ball rolling.
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