Considering all the negative hype over DOD’s new National Security Personnel System, the fact that nearly two-thirds of the guinea pigs at Tinker AFB, Okla., received “threes” on the NSPS five-point scale is a welcome relief. The Washington Post reports that 69 percent of the 2,500 Tinker civilian employees rated under an NSPS trial run got a “three” and that makes them “valued performers.” That rating also would give each the maximum annual pay raise, but this was just a test.
A top Pentagon tech official called on industry this week to help the military develop “lighter, more efficient” directed energy weapons designed to go on aircraft and conduct special operations missions or down drones—areas where the Air Force’s directed energy efforts have been quiet as of late.