Download - Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)

MILITARY TO CIVILIAN CONVERSION
• Navy plans to convert an additional 8,902 military billets into approximately 2,579 DoD civilian positions and an estimated
1,001 contractors. The balance of the positions will be eliminated.
• Air Force plans to convert an additional 2,196 military billets into approximately 1,971 DoD civilian positions.
• Army plans to convert an additional 964 military billets into approximately 964 DoD civilian positions and move those
military billets into combat positions.
• Marine Corps plans to convert 261 military billets into approximately 130 DoD civilian positions.
Air Force and Navy. The Navy and (starting in FY 2006) the Air Force are reducing their military end strength (i.e., reducing the
number of military personnel) when military billets are converted. As a result, funds in the military personnel (MilPers) account can
be used to "pay" for the DoD civilian/contractor replacements. Because the average cost of civilians are less than the average cost of
military, the net savings can be used for force modernization, recapitalization, and other military needs.
Army and Marine Corps. When the Army and Marine Corps convert military billets to DoD civilian or private sector performance,
they retain the military end strength so it can be used in the operating force. As a result, the cost of civilian replacements is an added
expense, but less of an expense than adding additional military end strength. This means that when military conversions are used to
increase the size of the operating force instead of increasing military end strength, there is cost avoidance. In addition, military
conversions offer a way to increase operational capabilities and man units quicker at the mid-grade level than accessing the equivalent
number of military.
Examples of Active and Reserve Component positions that are being converted include: medical; training; security; air traffic control
and aircraft maintenance; range operations; support ships; legal and administrative; and other base, installation, and headquarters
command essential missions.
The military components will continue reviewing their workforce allocation to determine where additional civilian conversions can be
achieved.
Cost Estimates
There are two types of savings resulting from military to civilian conversions.
• Cost savings occur when military end strength is reduced as a result of the conversion. Savings occur because military
personnel are replaced by lower cost DoD civilians or contractors. Military personnel costs include compensation, special pay
and allowance entitlements, and military training. DoD civilian personnel costs include basic compensation, overtime pay,
holiday pay, and benefits, but do not include most special pay and allowances, housing, or skill training beyond that required
for job performance.
• Additional costs are avoided when military end strength is realigned to operational units in lieu of increasing military end
strength and DoD civilians/contractors are used to backfill the converted billet. The cost avoidance is achieved because a
civilian/contractor is hired at a lower cost than a military member would cost.
MILITARY TO CIVILIAN CONVERSION 176