Talent Management for a Modern Military

Chris, Melanie, and Zack explore how the U.S. military recruits
and retains top performers. In the recently released Marine
Corps’ talent management report, Marine Corps Commandant David H.
Berger explains that the Corps “must bring into the service the
right people with the right skill sets, measure their talents,
and then match their skills to the duties they desire and are
suited to perform.”


But military leaders realize that the competition for talent is
fierce, and they must be willing to challenge long-standing
assumptions to succeed. Can they? Will the right package of
incentives — combined with the desire of a small but significant
number of American men and women to serve in uniform — ensure
that the U.S. military will have the right people, in the right
place, at the right time? Or do we need to consider moving to a
different model, including possibly one based on compulsory
service for all able-bodied men and women?


Older and wiser Zack Cooper has a grievance with grad student
Zack Cooper, Melanie throws shade on the Biden administration’s
economic policies, and Chris faults those playing politics with
the lives of millions of innocent men, women, and children in
Afghanistan. Shout outs to NASA astronaut-candidate Chris
Williams, to Vice President Kamala Harris for wearing wired
instead of Bluetooth headphones, and to the Atlantic Council’s
Mathew Burrows and Evan Cooper for a new report on U.S. efforts
to promote democracy around the world.


Links:


Commandant of the Marine Corps Issues Talent Management 2030
Plan, November 3,
2021, https://www.marines.mil/News/Press-Releases/Press-Release-Display/Article/2831808/commandant-of-the-marine-corps-issues-talent-management-2030-plan/.


Gen. David H. Berger, “A Concept for Stand-In Forces,”
Proceedings, November 2021,
https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2021/november/concept-stand-forces.


Zoe Poindexter, “Amazon's consumer chief says hiring remains a
"challenge" in "very tight" labor market,” CBS News, Nov. 28,
2021, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-hiring-dave-clark-labor-market-face-the-nation/?ftag=CNM-16-10abd6g.


“Support for drafting women to the military has decreased since
2016 years,” Ipsos, Aug. 2,
2021, https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/military-draft-women-support-2021.


Connor O’Brien, “Lawmakers drop proposal to add women to the
draft as defense bill headaches mount,” POLITICO, Dec. 6,
2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/06/ndaa-women-draft-dropped-523829.


Christina Goldbaum, “Facing Economic Collapse, Afghanistan Is
Gripped by Starvation,” New York Times, Dec. 4,
2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/04/world/asia/afghanistan-starvation-crisis.html.


Laurel Miller,
Twitter, https://twitter.com/LaurelMillerICG/status/1467557958494175233?s=20


Mathew Burrows and Evan Cooper, “Assumption #4: The United States
should prioritize the promotion of democracy around the world
over other key US objectives,” Atlantic Council, Nov. 9, 2021,
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/content-series/assumption-testing-series/assumption-4-the-united-states-should-prioritize-the-promotion-of-democracy-around-the-world-over-other-key-us-objectives/.


NAEI Student Competition,
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/programs/scowcroft-center-for-strategy-and-security/new-american-engagement-initiative/naei-annual-student-competition/.


Scott Bixby and Adam Rawnsley, “Actually, Kamala is Right:
Bluetooth is a Risk,” The Daily Beast, Dec. 7, 2021,
https://www.thedailybeast.com/well-actually-vice-president-kamala-harris-is-right-bluetooth-is-a-risk.


Callie Patteson, “Pete Buttigieg Slammed for Urging Electric Car
Buying to Counter Gas Prices,” New York Post, Nov. 29, 2021,
https://nypost.com/2021/11/29/buttigieg-slammed-for-urging-electric-car-buying-to-counter-gas-prices/.


“Biden is Hiking Lumber Tariffs at the Wrong Time,” Washington
Post, Dec. 2, 2021,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/12/02/biden-lumber-tariff-mistake/.


Jen Spindel and Robert Ralston, “Congress Might Require Women to
Register for the Draft. Where Do Republicans and Democrats
Stand?”, Washington Post, Nov. 15, 2021.


Christopher Preble, “Don’t Make Everyone Register for the
Draft. Just End Draft Registration for Everyone,” Washington
Post, Feb. 5, 2016,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/11/15/congress-might-require-women-register-draft-where-do-republicans-democrats-stand/.


Congressional Executive Commission on China, “Hearing on How
China Uses Economic Coercion to Silence Critics and Achieve its
Political Aims Globally,” Dec. 7,
2021, https://www.cecc.gov/events/hearings/how-china-uses-economic-coercion-to-silence-critics-and-achieve-its-political-aims.


NASA Astronaut Candidate Christopher L. Williams, NASA, December
2021, https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/christopher-l-williams/biography.