Every year, hundreds of technically or tactically skilled officers and non-commissioned officers, trained at great expense, leave the military for the private sector, not because their skills aren't needed but because the military up-or-out promotion system and enlisted retention gates favor leadership qualities over technical expertise. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, in shaping his “Force of the Future” initiative, is weighing creation of new “technical career tracks” that would allow many more high-tech military personnel to serve full careers without having to strive for command or being pushed into supervisory roles. For more details, see this Military Advantage blog post.
The Arguments Behind New Tech-Track Career Paths
