Pentagon Imposed New Guidelines On Civilian Workers
In a striking escalation of federal workforce reform, the Pentagon has quietly issued new guidance that strips away key job protections for its civilian employees and empowers supervisors to fire underperforming staff with what it calls "speed and conviction." The directive, issued in a Sept. 30 memo titled "Separation of Employees with Unacceptable Performance," signals a sharp pivot in personnel policy — and is already drawing concern over its scope, intent, and political undertones.
The timing is impossible to ignore. The memo landed just one day before the government shutdown began, further rattling a Defense Department workforce already facing mass furloughs. Nearly half of the civilian workforce remains furloughed, and while a recent attempt to fire thousands of those workers was blocked in federal court, the new policy framework remains intact — and powerful.
Signed by Under Secretary of War Anthony Tata — the Pentagon’s top personnel policy officer and a staunch Trump loyalist — the memo directs HR officials and supervisors to waste no time in terminating those who receive "unacceptable" performance reviews. More significantly, it rewrites the application of long-standing federal job evaluation standards known as the Douglas Factors, injecting sweeping language that lowers the threshold for what qualifies as fireable behavior.
The memo reads:
“Every DoW position supports the mission, so deficiencies in any role can warrant strong action.”
That shift in tone is no accident. Under the new guidance, even minor performance issues can be grounds for removal if they’re perceived to "undermine the mission." And while federal managers have always had the authority to address poor performance, the memo places a new level of urgency on their actions — and accountability if they don’t follow through.
“Supervisors and human resources (HR) professionals are directed to act with speed and conviction,” the memo declares. It also warns that managers will be held accountable if they fail to take action against poor performers.
Pentagon officials have remained tight-lipped on how many employees have been terminated since the policy was enacted. In a statement to The Washington Post, the Department acknowledged it was still adapting to the new framework but declined to offer specifics.
What’s clear, however, is that this is more than an administrative shake-up. It’s part of a broader push led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has made no secret of his desire to "clear out the debris" — a term he’s used to describe bureaucratic resistance to the Trump administration’s defense priorities.
“The sooner we have the right people, the sooner we can advance the right policies. Personnel is policy,” Hegseth said in a recent address at Marine Corps Base Quantico.
Whether this is a long-overdue overhaul of a bloated bureaucracy or the early signs of politicized workforce control remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: the Pentagon is sending a message — perform, conform, or be gone.
