Stability in Soldiers' Lives: Army Secretary Lays Out Suggestions for Her Successor

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth's tenure may be approaching its end, and she is preparing to pass the baton -- and raft of important issues for the service's future -- to her successor.

Chief among those issues for her are more stability and predictability in the lives of soldiers, more mobility in their careers and flexibility for spouses to build civilian careers, Wormuth told Military.com in a recent interview.

"We have to start looking seriously at the question about how we operate as an Army, what kind of lifestyle we offer," she said. "The things that young people want are demonstrably different from what the people at the age of our generals and command sergeants major experienced."

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Wormuth, who previously served as the Pentagon's under secretary of defense for policy and made history as the first female Army secretary, was nominated by President Joe Biden and assumed her post in May 2021.

For now, it's unclear how much longer she'll be in the role. Her days are likely numbered if former President Donald Trump, a Republican, wins the election. On the other hand, if Vice President Kamala Harris clinches the presidency, Wormuth could stay on, take on a new role in the administration or leave public service altogether.

When looking to the future -- and potentially a new Army civilian leader -- Wormuth said she believes the service's approach to recruiting needs a fundamental shift away from its old sledgehammer tactics. She envisions a more strategic, nuanced method -- one that positions the Army as a competitive employer, akin to a dynamic tech company actively seeking top talent.

Instead of casting a wide net with generic appeals, Wormuth wants the Army to hone in on specific skill sets, tailoring its outreach efforts to attract a diverse pool of qualified candidates. The service has made some moves toward that mode of thinking, but it will likely take years for it to see the fruits of that labor.

Part of that, Wormuth noted, is that the Army's next wave of leadership needs to look at whether instead of moving to a new duty station every 2-3 years, that model can be shifted to five years.

"It obviously depends on what happens with the election, to see whether I personally will be able to continue to take that forward and work on real solutions," she said. "But if I have a successor, that person and the [chief of staff of the Army] need to be thinking about this."

Part of the rationale for not moving troops around so much is allowing their spouses to more easily build careers. In a report published earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office found that only half of military spouses are employed, a third of whom are part-time workers.

The report highlighted the difficulties military spouses face in maintaining consistent employment, largely due to the constant upheaval caused by relocations and the unpredictable schedules of service members. Many spouses often find themselves functioning as single parents, juggling grocery shopping, school drop-offs and managing the household alone while their partners are away on duty or dealing with irregular hours.

In a recent address to the force, Wormuth noted that the service leans far too heavily on "spouses and partners as a de-facto unpaid Army labor force," and that internal service data shows most officers leave the service for more stability and a better family life in the private sector.

"Spouse employment doesn't improve very much year over year," Wormuth said. "Despite various programs we have, fundamentally, if you're moving every 2-3 years, it's hard to have a job, much less build a career."

Meanwhile, the Army is juggling a wide array of missions, from combat operations in the Middle East and Africa to expanding its influence in the Pacific and reinforcing NATO's frontlines in Europe. Most recently, the service deployed 100 soldiers to Israel to bolster air defenses amid growing regional tensions.

Those high demands are taking a heavy toll on the force. Soldiers today are spending more time away from home than they did even during the height of the post-9/11 wars. The constant deployments, intensive training cycles and prolonged separations from their families have created a relentless pressure-cooker environment for many service members, which has also been exacerbating a suicide crisis in the ranks.

Countering that is difficult, Wormuth explained, as the Army ultimately must meet the needs of the current administration's national security strategy. But there are ways to alleviate pressure on the margins, including combatant commanders properly measuring how many troops they need for a given mission. Another solution could be expanding the Army's permanent presence in Poland, which is now only a tiny garrison.

"We wouldn't be having to move brigades back and forth year after year to do rotation deployments," she said, noting there are also the realities of the up-front cost of building a major base. "Poland has been eager to host for some time now, ... but it's also a question of where would a brigade come from?"

During her tenure, Wormuth has overseen the Army's shift away from two decades of counterinsurgency operations, and its new focus on preparing the force for potential large-scale conflicts -- chief among them China in the Indo-Pacific region. At the same time, the Army has been key in ramping up munitions production to supply Ukraine as it defends against an invasion by Russia.

But Wormuth has also turned her attention inward, making quality-of-life issues for soldiers and their families a North Star of her tenure.

Two key accomplishments were nearly doubling the budget for barracks construction and maintenance to $2 billion; shifting funds from the Army's relatively flat budget to pay for replacing the service's sometimes dilapidated living quarters; and policy saying that only a general can deny a soldier's parental leave -- a radical change to the Army status quo.

Wormuth's name is commonly floated around as a candidate for defense secretary in a Harris administration. It's incredibly rare for Army secretaries to stay on and not be replaced under new administrations, even among the same political parties. Potential picks for her successor in a possible Harris administration are already being vetted, according to one Democratic source with direct knowledge of the situation.

Wormuth has so far brought a rare continuity to the role, serving the second-longest term since the Sept. 11 attacks. Her tenure stands in stark contrast to the position's revolving door nature. The role has often been marked by transient leadership with frequent interim appointments.

John McHugh, who served from 2009 to 2015 under President Barack Obama, held the position for a notably long tenure compared to the norm, making him one of the longest-serving secretaries in recent history.

"We'll see what the American voter decides," Wormuth said. "I just hope that the American public respects whatever the American voter decides and does so without violence."

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