What do you do?
I work in Department of Defense finance and accounting software systems.
How did you find your way into federal service? Did you always want to join up?
I tried to go directly into government when I left college. I moved right away to DC with a friend and worked in temporary jobs until I got into the NP. I’ve always been really interested in government work and foreign relations, as well as foreign assistance, and you’ve got to be in or near the civil service to do that kind of work.
I first got a job with a nonprofit supporting an international development project, then moved to a think tank. I did all of this while trying to get closer to a government job, where I could be more involved in policy or near my areas of interest, and I was able to find my current spot through luck, and got in. It’s not the usual journey, nor is it even where I wanted to be when I started out, but I’ve learned a lot, and I’m proud of the work I’ve done.
It’s corny, I know, but there’s always better paying jobs with easier restrictions in the private sector, so you have to have less mercenary reasons to go be a civil servant.
Why is this work important to you?
It’s pretty boring — but crucial — in meeting the goals, and facilitating the operations of the force. That’s very generic, but I can’t get into too many of the details. I get a standard sense of accomplishment out of it that anyone would of getting stuff across the line, but, overall, it feels good to be part of helping out with the mission.
Why is this work important to the people of the United States?
It’s important because it allows the DoD to function and to save taxpayer money by upgrading existing capabilities. The force can get what it needs faster, and more easily, with fewer hoops to jump through. This is really important if you want better performance, fewer hours devoted to chasing down items, and more elaborate processes. So, all of this saves money, saves time, saves headaches.
What does all of this chaos and dysfunction mean to you? Do you have a sense of how it’s all going to impact your work and your mission?
I mean you’re killing off a generation of seasoned talent. That’s not something you can replace. During the Biden administration, we mostly brought up State back to pre-Tillerson levels, but there was still a lot of knowledge lost, and those who stayed became more ensconced in influence, and the overall bureaucracy becomes less balanced.
Over the long term, we’re going to spend more money on payouts and legal work, less work is going to get done, and we’re going to deliver a less reliable result, for more money, with far less transparency and oversight. It’s going to be a worse result for Americans who want to know what we’re doing, and why. Additionally, all the fire drills, the degraded morale, the confusion over Executive Orders and other memos are all going to make employees less effective at actually doing their jobs.
Everyone in the space is used to doing more with less, but now we’re doing less with less, because of forced attrition and reviews that we have Inspector General reports on, along with internal and program audits. If there were massive waste, we’d see it, and we’d know it. Hell, you can read all the kinds of reports, on, say the FFG, and what was done incorrectly, but we know that because we have robust investigative and accountability offices. This is going to strip that and make the normal jobs harder.
GOLIKEHELLMACHINE 