Does the Department of Defense possess solutions for the Department of Homeland Security’s personnel management issues?

Abstract

Personnel and management problems are hindering the Department of Homeland Security in its ability to accomplish its mission. Leadership weaknesses, insufficient education and training for employees, and retention problems divide the workforce across many agencies and threaten to undermine the Department’s ability to carry out its objective of protecting the United States. Department of Defense (DOD) practices, however, can serve as a model for change. The DOD has demonstrated a finely tuned system of addressing personnel and management concerns, as developed through the creation of the all-volunteer force and the Goldwater-Nichols Act, which restructured the military chain of command. This research explores how the DOD might offer solutions to DHS through lessons learned from 1973 through the early 1990s—some 20 years of hard-earned experience dealing with issues that are very similar to what the DHS is facing in its infancy.