The U.S. Military Has a Management Problem

The U.S. armed forces are good at many things, but conspicuously bad at managing talent. As a result, many good officers are quitting. The Army’s latest leadership survey found that fewer than half of active-duty junior officers hoped to stay in the military after 20 years of service, when their pensions kick in, and only half of active-duty leaders say morale is high or very high. In the Air Force, which has a shortfall of some 2,000 pilots, the problem is acute.

The Defense Department recognizes the problem, but hasn’t done enough about it. Perhaps Congress can do better. Its latest defense policy act calls for change — including reform of the services’ longstanding “up-or-out” promotion system. Together with a few other reforms, that would help a lot.