| Comment Number: | OL-10507502 |
| Received: | 3/14/2005 11:43:29 AM |
| Subject: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment |
| Title: | National Security Personnel System |
| CFR Citation: | 5 CFR Chapter XCIX and Part 9901 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
The NSPS implements a complete reversal for awarding step increases. Under the current system, where an employee is denied a step increase the supervisor must substantiate withholding the increase. However under the NSPS, the supervisor must justify awarding any increase and if the supervisor does not care to initiate an increase he/she does not have to justify his/her action. In my estimation, an employee is far less likely to receive any increase in monetary value that would be equivalent to today’s step increase and cost of living adjustments. In my past, I worked several years for many dishonest and vindictive supervisors and military commanders, which caused me to report them for fraud, waste and abuse. Two supervisors were reassigned and a commander was forced to retire. However, I suffered retaliation and a decrease in my appraisal ratings. Had this system been implemented at that time, I have not doubts besides the retaliation and decrease in my appraisals; and thus, I would have not received any increase in pay and eventually lost of job. I have witnessed too many incompetent civilian and military supervisors, who solely rely upon the “good ole buddy” system for governing their employees and the NSPS further supports this agenda. Just a few days ago, the employees in my command had to take an ethics class even though the ethical breach occurred at the highest level of DoD and not at my level. In the summary of the NSPS there is a statement which indicates NSPS is aligning DoD’s human resources management system with the Department’s critical mission requirements and protects the civil service rights of its employees. If any employee believes this will happen then pigs have wings. he underlining purpose of this change is to allow reassignment of civilians employees into war zones. It is also a means by which to cause employees to retire so that new employees can be hired at reduced pay and benefits. Bargaining unit employees will be the greatest losers when this NSPS is implemented. Within the summary of the NSPS document you will find the quoted statement as being an underlying reason for NSPS ‘‘* * * a future force that is defined less by size and more by mobility and swiftness, one that is easier to deploy and sustain, one that relies more heavily on stealth, precision weaponry, and information technologies.’’ With that statement on May 25, 2001, President Bush set a new direction for defense strategy and defense management—one toward transformation. On January 31, 2002, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld echoed the sentiments expressed by President Bush, stating that ‘‘All the high-tech weapons in the world will not transform the U.S. armed forces unless we also transform the way we think, the way we train, the way we exercise, and the way we fight.’’ In view of the quote I believe the NSPS is media propaganda since if DoD is allowed to reassign civil service employees into hostile war zones and civilians are killed in the line of duty the public view will be that the civilians were only performing their duties in order to “get rich” whereas a military death is view as patriotic. Also contained in the NSPS summary it is stated “Further, NSPS is a key pillar in the Department of Defense’s transformation—a new way to manage its civilian workforce. NSPS is essential to the Department’s efforts to create an environment in which the total force, uniformed personnel and civilians, thinks and operates as one cohesive unit.” With implementation of NSPS, the country’s leadership will be turning civilians into soldiers. We will be subjected to deployments and reassignments to other locations just as military personnel. Within the NSPS summary it states “DoD civilians must complement and support the military around the world in every time zone, every day.” I interpret this to be stating, civilian employees can expect to be forced to work extreme hours. Say NO to the NSPS agenda.