The Pentagon’s top personnel chief\u00a0\u2014\u00a0the architect of the controversial “Force of the Future” personnel reform\u00a0initiative\u00a0\u2014\u00a0has resigned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brad Carson, who served as acting undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, will leave his post on April 8, according to defense officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
At the same time, Carson’s senior adviser, Morgan Plummer, a former Army officer and central figure in the personnel reform effort, will also step down, defense officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carson, a 49-year-old former congressman and Iraq War veteran, was tapped for the job in April 2015 and oversaw implementation of\u00a0several controversial changes to military personnel policy, including the recent decision to open combat jobs to women with no exemptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carson also became the public face of Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s ambitious effort to modernize the military personnel system, which faced stiff opposition from some corners of the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carson recently completed the year-long effort and passed along to the secretary a slate of final recommendations, which may include a call for major changes to the federal law\u00a0that defines\u00a0military officers’ career tracks, defense officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The departure also comes after Carson’s disastrous confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in February. Senators accused him of presuming confirmation and violating a once rarely enforced law that bars new appointees from serving in their\u00a0high-level positions while awaiting the Senate’s formal approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Combined with controversy surrounding the personnel reform effort \u2014 which Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, called “an outrageous waste of official time and resources”\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Carson’s chances at confirmation before the end of the Obama administration appeared slim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carson notified his staff by email Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Given the extraordinary work that we’ve already achieved to date, low likelihood of confirmation even after recusing myself, and reduced time left in the administration, I have determined it is better for me and my family to depart from public life and try to quickly provide some stability to P&R’s leadership for the duration of the Administration,” Carson wrote in the email, according to a copy obtained by Military Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I could not be more proud of the work we’ve achieved together, nor of each of you for the tremendous work that you do,” Carson wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s unclear who Carter might tap to replace Carson for the final nine month of the\u00a0administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
A Democrat from Oklahoma who\u00a0spent four years\u00a0in the House of Representatives, Carson came to the top Pentagon job after serving as undersecretary of the Army. \u00a0His\u00a012 months as the acting personnel chief included several far-reaching changes and accomplishments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carson’s brief tenure marked a sharp change for the office that for years suffered from high-turnover among its leadership and typically initiated few policy changes. Prior to Carson’s appointment last year, most Pentagon personnel reforms from recent years were either initiated by the individual services or by Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Force of the Future initiative stemmed\u00a0from the secretary’s concern that the military’s\u00a0rigid career tracks may not appeal to the best and brightest among today’s younger generation, especially people with high-demand skills needed for career fields like cyber warfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carter has rolled out the policy changes in stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In November, Carter unveiled “tranche one,” which included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In January, Carter announced “tranche two,” with reforms that included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carter is now considering formal recommendations for a “tranche three” and tranche four,” according to defense officials familiar with the process. That may include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brad Carson, acting undersecretary of defense, and architect of controversial personnel reforms, to step down in April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":103816,"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":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[15,88],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3125],"class_list":["post-116968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-your-military"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"OXMNUKUF4BB4BBNCV5EIXJ44IQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/2016\/03\/14\/pentagon-s-top-personnel-official-resigns\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n