Blake Hall
One of the provisions in a bill currently before the Senate, the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), requires the Secretary of Defense to justify to Congress “on a billet-by-billet basis, the authorization and assignment of each enlisted aide to each general officer and flag officer position.” The Secretary will also have to report the number of enlisted aides.
This section of the NDAA does not mandate that the Secretary decrease the number of flag and general officers, but it does require generals and admirals to analyze the duties of and justify each of their enlisted aides. The Secretary will then report the compiled data and justifications to Congress by June 30, 2015.
The NDAA details what the federal government will and will not fund within the Department of Defense in the coming year, and it reflects the Pentagon’s progress towards balancing its budget. The House of Representatives recently voted on and passed the NDAA, which is now before the Senate for consideration.