Witnesses warn hiring freeze and voluntary reductions risk gaps in civilian workforce, slowing sexual‑assault prevention hires
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Summary
Senior service personnel told the House subcommittee that voluntary separations under the Defense Reduction Program and a hiring freeze are likely to cause gaps in civilian ranks, complicating readiness and delaying implementation of the Integrated Primary Prevention workforce called for by IRC recommendations.
Senior military leaders told the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel that voluntary reductions and a hiring freeze in the civilian workforce create an operational risk for the services and are hampering efforts to hire prevention professionals called for by the Independent Review Commission (IRC) on sexual assault.
"We had about 16,000 sign up" for the voluntary program, Lieutenant General Brian Eifler, U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff, said, describing the Army's initial response to the Department of Defense voluntary reduction program (DRP) and the need to analyze impacts before cuts are made.
Why it matters: Military commanders and members warned the loss of experienced civilian staff could increase workloads for uniformed personnel, complicate continuity in schools, pay systems, childcare and prevention programs, and slow implementation of IRC recommendations designed to professionalize sexual-assault prevention and response.
Members and witnesses gave service-specific estimates of likely workforce reductions and described efforts to mitigate mission effects. Admiral Richard Cheeseman said about 10% of the Navy's workforce participated in the DRP in his enterprise and that he was "very concerned about my force development pipeline, how it will affect the school houses, and how it will affect our pay systems going forward." The Marine Corps reported roughly 1,600 civilian participants and said the Marines’ lean civilian-to-uniform ratio creates an "outsized impact." The Air Force witness said the department expects to lose roughly 12,000 civilians and the Space Force estimated about a 10% reduction in its small civilian cohort.
Members pressed the witnesses on the integrated prevention workforce called for by the IRC: "The hiring freeze is slowing down our ability to hire integrated primary prevention workforce right now," the Air Force witness said, and the Navy witness said the hiring pause is "slowing down our ability to hire" those professionals. The services reported using exemption authorities where possible and integrating prevention teams at installations, but they said the hiring freeze remains the largest near-term constraint.
Witnesses emphasized that some functions have been exempted from cuts (for example, certain childcare roles) and that services are asking for targeted exemptions to maintain critical prevention and family-support functions. They asked Congress for predictable budgets and, in some cases, authority to use alternative hiring mechanisms or exemptions to maintain critical capacity.
Next steps: Service leaders said they are analyzing where gaps will appear, seeking exemptions for critical jobs, reorganizing to mitigate shortfalls and will brief Congress on the impacts. Members said they will continue oversight and urged the services to quantify mission risk and staffing shortfalls for follow-up action.