{"id":62346,"date":"2022-09-20T20:22:15","date_gmt":"2022-09-20T20:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2022\/09\/20\/motivated-millennials-set-to-replace-baby-boomers-defense-execs-say\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:32:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:32:58","slug":"motivated-millennials-set-to-replace-baby-boomers-defense-execs-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/industry\/2022\/09\/20\/motivated-millennials-set-to-replace-baby-boomers-defense-execs-say\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Motivated\u2019 millennials set to replace baby boomers, defense execs say"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2015 Millennials, the defense industry wants you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As America\u2019s baby boomers, named for the post-World War II surge of births, retire from defense industry jobs, their former employers are counting on millennials, who became young adults in this century, to take their place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking at a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.csis.org\/events\/current-challenges-defense-industrial-base\" target=\"_blank\">Center for Strategic and International Studies<\/a> event on Tuesday, defense industry executives waved away the stereotypes about millennials being entitled and lacking a work ethic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI haven\u2019t come across a millennial that\u2019s lazy, I\u2019ll tell you that straight up,\u201d said Gordon Stein, the vice president of U.S. operations for General Dynamics Land Systems, which makes the Abrams tank and other armored vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The comments came as the defense industry grapples with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/naval\/2022\/09\/20\/ship-repair-delays-increased-in-2022-due-to-labor-material-challenges\/\" target=\"_blank\">labor shortages<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2021\/11\/23\/no-company-is-immune-supply-chain-woes-weigh-on-defense-firms\/\" target=\"_blank\">supply chain kinks<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2022\/09\/01\/defense-industry-to-launch-inflation-relief-push-in-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\">inflation<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2022\/09\/07\/us-officials-balance-arms-sales-push-against-tech-protection-needs\/\" target=\"_blank\">increased demand<\/a> brought about Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe use to say, \u2018The millennials are coming.\u2019 The millennials are here,\u201d said Frank St. John, chief operating officer at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2022\/07\/19\/the-clutch-isnt-engaged-yet-lockheed-martin-reports-lower-sales-but-says-it-expects-growing-demand\/\" target=\"_blank\">Lockheed Martin<\/a>, the world\u2019s largest defense company. \u201cThey represent the largest demographic in our workforce right now. They represent about 40% of our population.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey\u2019re doing a significant share of the work, and they success we\u2019ve had is due to some highly motivated \u2015 not lazy \u2015 millennials,\u201d St. John said, adding that the industry\u2019s national defense mission feeds employees\u2019 desire to do important work.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/industry\/2022\/08\/05\/amid-hiring-boom-defense-firms-say-labor-shortage-is-dragging-them-down\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"206\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18121508401740.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Amid hiring boom, defense firms say labor shortage is dragging them down<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Labor shortfalls rooted in the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic remain a millstone around the neck of the defense industry, forcing firms to juggle staff, hold job fairs and find workarounds to keep operations running as smoothly as possible.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Americans have been quitting their jobs in droves, a trend some have dubbed the \u201cGreat Resignation.\u201d Stein said that for the defense sector, it\u2019s been more like a \u201cGreat Retirement\u201d with the pandemic motivating baby boomers to exit the workforce early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe knew it was coming, so how did we prepare for it?\u201d he said. \u201cSo I think the pandemic highlighted some of these vulnerabilities and gaps that we as an industry, but broadly the United States, needed to face.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since 2017, the age of employees in the aerospace and defense sector has averaged around 47 years old, while employees 55 or older made up 26% of the workforce, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ey.com\/en_us\/aerospace-defense\/2021-a-d-workforce-study\" target=\"_blank\">study<\/a> by the accounting and consulting firm EY.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To attract workers under the age of 40, firms have to factor in their values as well as offer internal or external job mobility to gain a wealth of experiences, purposeful corporate social responsibility initiatives and flexibility, according to EY\u2019s study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Motivation is not an issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe haven\u2019t seen a challenge of motivation at all. We have, though, recognized that millennials have a different view of work-life balance than someone, say, in my generation, where I just worked and if there was a little time left over for life that was my balance,\u201d said Lockheed\u2019s St. John, who is 56.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Lockheed, efforts to attract and retain millennials has meant making work weeks more flexible and opening up broadening opportunities for employees, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s no longer the case that someone is going to stay in the same job, doing the same program, say, for a decade. We need to be thinking in terms of every 24 months or so \u2015 a new experience,\u201d St. John said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Contractors are looking at re-skilling its union-affiliated workforce for the digital age, an effort that\u2019s driven partnerships with the U.S. Navy and local governments.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/industry\/2022\/07\/19\/the-clutch-isnt-engaged-yet-lockheed-martin-reports-lower-sales-but-says-it-expects-growing-demand\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22123769030348.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">\u2018The clutch isn\u2019t engaged yet\u2019: Lockheed posts slow sales amid supply chain woes<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Lockheed Martin\u2019s chief executive said Tuesday the U.S. and its allies are \u201cchanging gears\u201d toward increased defense spending that will boost the company\u2019s future sales \u2015 but it will take time.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That dovetails with efforts to figure out the future of remote work, after the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe do see the millennials have benefitted from the flexibility that COVID afforded all of us \u2015 or forced all of us to put in place,\u201d GE Aviation Military Systems CEO Amy Gowder said. \u201cBut they still want the engagement, so we\u2019re working on the right balance of that in-person collaboration that you can\u2019t substitute for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For \u201ctouch labor\u201d that can\u2019t be done remotely, like machining and welding, GE is collaborating with labor unions for training and apprenticeship programs. That, she said, is helping satisfy workers who want to continue to learn and grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Millennials may soon have to share the spotlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Stein, the industry should already be focused on Generation Z, the group born between the late 1990s and early 2010s. To recruit tradespeople, talent pipelines have to start in high school and vocational schools, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s where you grow that talent, it starts right there in the schools and the homes,\u201d Stein said. \u201cIf you look at the demographics, we have to start now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Generation X, the generation between Baby Boomers and millennials, was not mentioned at the CSIS event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As America\u2019s baby boomers, named for the post-World War II surge of births, retire, the defense industry is counting on millennials to take their place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":116840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":12,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,12,36,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3446],"class_list":["post-62346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-industry","category-newsletters","category-pentagon"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"KNMMTPD4CZCDNDKHJOWKWVJIHM","arc_canonical_url":"\/industry\/2022\/09\/20\/motivated-millennials-set-to-replace-baby-boomers-defense-execs-say\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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