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DoD Civilian Deployment Practice Does Not Always Align with Policy Goals

• The impetus for establishing a DoD's civilian expeditionary workforce was to fill low-density, high-demand positions not easily filled by the uniformed military. In practice, expeditionary civilians have been used to reduce stress on the uniformed military, reduce the military's reliance on contractors, and circumvent limits on the deployment of additional uniformed military personnel.
• DoD policy guidance states a preference for expeditionary civilians when available and cost-effective. However, uncertainty about the nature and scale of future contingencies could shift this priority.
• There are few incentives to encourage home offices to allow their civilians to deploy in support of other DoD organizations. These offices must pay the civilian's salary while he or she is deployed and may need to backfill these positions and reintegrate the civilian upon return.
• There are also few incentives for civilians to volunteer to deploy. Doing so may hinder their career progression.

DoD's Civilian Deployment Concept Requires Modifications to Endure

• U.S. Central Command is the largest requestor of expeditionary civilians. Other combatant commands were less aware of the potential benefits of this workforce, perceived civilians as an unreliable labor source, or did not see a need for these capabilities.
• There has been little formal analysis comparing the cost to deploy a civilian with the cost to deploy military personnel or contractors. A better understanding of these relative costs across DoD would help policymakers and other officials determine the best circumstances under which to deploy civilians.