Monday, February 21, 2005
Draft
McCausland
49
developmental experiences beyond this could include assignments as Political Adviser to
a Regional Commander, War College faculty, sabbaticals, etc. These will serve not only
to continue the development of now senior members of the NSPC but also encourage the
retention of their valuable expertise.
Implementation of the NSPC will require several considerations. First, it must be
phased in over time and cannot be done “overnight”.
Still the transition period and
exceptions to policy cannot be so extensive as to dilute the effort. Second, as suggested
above, every effort must be made to insure that the responsibility and oversight for career
management decisions lies with the individual agency, OPM, and NSC.
Individuals
must be considered for development at the points in their career identified. Otherwise
they do not fulfill the prerequisite for promotion consideration and are being unfairly
punished.
Third, a reduction must be made in the number of Schedule C political
appointees in the agencies affected. This must insure that an NSPC member fulfills most
Deputy Assistant Secretary positions and some at the Assistant Secretary level. This will
have the concomitant advantage of easing the change from one administration to another.
Finally, the implementation of this proposal will not only require Presidential leadership
(as previously suggested) but also Congressional advocacy and agency support. Clearly
the “track record” of implementing the recommendations of previous studies is not cause
for optimism. Still Congress must be as aggressive in this area of reform as it was in the
adoption of Goldwater-Nichols Act despite the fact that this will reduce the possibility of
Congressmen or staff members moving into political appointee positions.
Final Observations and Conclusions
Convention