{"id":54998,"date":"2020-01-15T15:28:05","date_gmt":"2020-01-15T15:28:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/01\/15\/does-the-pentagon-need-a-chief-management-officer\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:00:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:00:07","slug":"does-the-pentagon-need-a-chief-management-officer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2020\/01\/15\/does-the-pentagon-need-a-chief-management-officer\/","title":{"rendered":"Does the Pentagon need a chief management officer?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ms. Lisa Hershman, an accomplished former CEO who has been serving in the Department of Defense for over two years, received Senate confirmation by unanimous consent to become the DoD chief management officer shortly before Christmas. At the same time, however, the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act required two studies from the DoD that openly posit eliminating the CMO function altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What gives?<\/a> The mixed signals coming out of these discordant events underscore the fact that the theory behind the current CMO function (and similar efforts over the past two decades) does not match the reality of the business structure of the DoD. The solution that will ultimately work best for the DoD is one that truly takes a business-based approach to DoD business operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CMO function is the latest in a long-running series of efforts since the early 2000s to reform the business of defense. The essential idea has been to bring the best commercial business practices into DoD business operations through organizational and legislative changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the rationale for these respective initiatives is unassailable, they have struggled in execution. The CMO and its predecessor organizations, for example, have focused on the acquisition or certification of DoD business systems. These efforts, however, have largely devolved into bureaucratic battles over resources and authorities, pitting the business-focused organization against the formidable military departments and the \u201cfourth estate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t