The Department of Defense announced new policy and procedures Thursday that will prioritize performance over other considerations for future reduction in force decisions determining which civilian employees should be retained. Previously, RIF decisions prioritized tenure, then veteran’s preference, length of service, and performance. The new policy, which was mandated by the Fiscal 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, establishes a retention register that will rank employees based on current performance review first, then tenure, followed by an average of all performance reviews, veteran’s preference, and finally DOD Service Computation Date, according to a DOD release.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
