The purpose of this Joint Applied Project (JAP) is to examine and provide a thorough overview of the history of the Department of Defense's (DoD) civilian personnel system. The research will explore converting civil servants from the General Schedule (GS) pay system to the National Security Personnel System (NSPS), then converting back to the GS system. This JAP will explore the inception of the GS System and discuss the perceived advantages and disadvantages. It will also explore the reason for the change to NSPS and the enactment of NSPS through the National Defense Authorization Act for 2004. It will also discuss the effects of the transition to the new pay-for-performance system. It will then examine the concerns, perceived issues, and discuss the perceived advantages and disadvantages of NSPS. It will explore the reasons surrounding the reimplementation of the GS system and the abolishment of NSPS through the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. The data collected and analyzed will address the preferences and the perceptions from the affected employees who experienced the implementation of NSPS. It will conclude discussing these findings with suggestions for further research into the DoD's Civilian Personnel System.

Provides answers to these questions from Solomon Ortiz, U.S. House of Rep.: (1) What steps could have been taken to roll out NSPS in a more orderly and fair fashion and if NSPS continues, what steps should now be taken to move forward? (2) As DoD and OPM leadership hold discussions to determine the overall framework, scope, and timeline of the review, what guidance or suggestions would you give to DoD and OPM to include in the methodology of this study? (3) Under the GS system, an employee steadily moves up through the various grades and can monitor career progression. There appears to be no such similar movement in NSPS; an employee, while receiving pay increases and bonuses, may remain in the same pay band for his/her entire career. If this is a valid concern, how can it be addressed?

The DoD has begun implementing the National Security Personnel System (NSPS), its new human capital system for managing civilian personnel performance. As of May 2008, about 182,000 civilian employees were under NSPS. DoD¿s implementation of NSPS will have far-reaching implications for DoD and civil service reform across the fed. gov¿t. The author developed an initial list of safeguards that NSPS should include to ensure it is fair, effective, and credible. This report determines: (1) the extent to which DoD has implemented internal safeguards to ensure the fairness, effectiveness, and credibility of NSPS; and (2) how DoD civilian personnel perceive NSPS and what actions DoD has taken to address these perceptions. Illustrations.