Defense Workforce
When does federal service really end? DOD case challenges retirees’ speech rights
A Pentagon effort to discipline retired Navy officer and Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., over public comments is raising broader questions about whether military retirees remain subject to federal authority, and what that could mean for speech rights, retirement benefits and post-service obligations.
Defense workers' morale has plunged under Trump, survey finds
Only 9% of Army civilians found Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s leadership motivating.
Hegseth orders ‘ruthless’ review of JAGs. Some see an attempt to evade accountability
Current and former military lawyers question the secretary’s motives and timing.
A year into Hegseth’s cuts, Defense civilians report ‘degraded performance’ and low morale
And the hiring freeze is still keeping overseas workers from taking new jobs stateside.
Exclusive
Hegseth ramps up pressure on Defense civilians to deploy for immigration enforcement
All supervisors must encourage employees to volunteer, secretary says, and requests will be accepted absent high-level intervention.
Now accepting applications — for classified intel
Foreign adversaries are using fake jobs and consulting gigs to coax secrets from former U.S. officials. It’s had results, and the efforts don’t appear to be slowing.
Nearly all civilian Defense employees are back in the office, but watchdog says officials should better track telework eligibility
Employees who are still teleworking are mostly exempt from the in-person work requirement.
Pentagon would have to explain future JAG firings under NDAA provision
The compromise version of the defense policy bill reflects lawmakers’ concern about Hegseth’s February purge of three judge advocates general.
House strips its own provision protecting Defense civilians’ union rights from NDAA
A source familiar with congressional negotiations said that the bipartisan language effectively nullifying President Trump’s anti-union executive orders as they pertain to the Pentagon was dropped due to lack of support in the Senate.
CISA tells staff to not speak with reporters, internal email shows
“CISA does not comment on leaked internal emails, especially when they’re about leaking internal emails,” CISA Director of Public Affairs Marci McCarthy told Nextgov/FCW when asked for comment.
NSA has met 2,000-person workforce reduction goal, people familiar say
A broader Pentagon goal to shrink the nation’s defense budget over the coming five years could potentially subject the agency to further downsizing.
Foreign spies are targeting Army soldiers, civilians and families, official warns
Current and former federal workers, especially those with security clearances, should be aware of the attempts, an Army intelligence chief said in a November memo.
Memo lays out path to removing even more defense civilians from their jobs
The Defense Department, which has met its 8% overall reduction goal, is now going after “low performers.”
Senators challenge Hegseth’s bottleneck on communications with Congress
The Senate Armed Services chairman said new limits in a recent memo “may need to be clarified.”
Hegseth uses unprecedented meeting to unveil 10 personnel, due-process reviews
After summoning senior officers from around the world, the Defense secretary invites them to resign if they don’t agree with him.
Navy to cut at least a third of its civilian public-affairs staff
The service is also centralizing all PAO hiring and contracting.
Troops in DC to help with ‘monument security,’ ‘area beautification’
Pentagon officials had few details to offer Wednesday about the National Guard’s role in the unprecedented deployment.
Defense tech office cuts staff down to 40
The cuts to the Defense Technical Information Center are intended to refocus it on “its core statutory mission” according to a Pentagon spokesperson.
New lawsuit scrutinizes Hegseth’s implementation of Trump’s anti-union EO
While previous lawsuits argued simply that President Trump’s citation of the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act’s so-called “national security exemption” en masse violated federal regulatory law, a new suit from IFPTE drills down on the Defense secretary’s implementation of the controversial edict.
Reconciliation bill includes measure to help civilian intel analysts cover moving costs
The policy aims to ease the financial burden on non-military intelligence workers by aligning their moving expense tax benefits with those already afforded to military personnel.
