A Congressional Budget Office report estimates that approximately 80,000 active-duty positions could be replaced with federal civilian jobs if all military branches “use the same mix of the service branch with the smallest percentage of military personnel.”
CBO said in a report released Sunday that it based the estimate on an analysis of 2012 data in the Defense Department’s Inherently Governmental and Commercial Activities database.
Adebayo Adedeji, principal analyst at CBO’s national security division, presented the report at the Western Economic Association International’s 91st annual conference in Portland, Oregon.
“Transferring to civilians certain jobs currently held by military personnel could reduce costs and increase DoD’s focus on warfighting,†Adedeji wrote.
According to the report, inherently governmental jobs that both civilian and military personnel can perform represent 62 percent of all positions in the database and commercial jobs account for 38 percent of all positions in IGCA.
CBO also cited the reasons why service branches assign uniformed personnel to commercial jobs that provide private sector-based services.
These include the need to meet readiness and workforce management objectives as well as comply with laws, treaties and international agreements, the report said.
