DOD's personnel chief resigns

Brad Carson, the Defense Department's acting personnel chief who was recently at the center of a contentious confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill, announced his impending resignation yesterday.

Carson, who was appointed acting under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness by President Obama in April 2015, is expected to step down in April of this year. His “acting” role, which he used to author a series of sweeping and controversial personnel reforms, made him the subject of criticism from Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, who said Carson was in violation of the Vacancies Act because he was not officially confirmed.

Carson, a former congressman and top attorney for the Army, was the chief architect of new personnel policies dubbed the “Force of the Future,” key components of which allow women to serve in all combat roles and altered DOD's promotion system. His newest tranche of policy proposals would increase maternity leave and allow transgender troops to serve openly while seeking medical treatment.

During a February confirmation hearing, McCain blasted Carson's personnel reform effort as “an outrageous waste of official time and resources.”

McCain specifically criticized parts of the proposal that offered new and “expensive fringe benefits allegedly aimed at retention during a time when we are asking 3,000 excellent Army captains to leave the service who would have otherwise chosen to remain on active duty.”

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) also called for Carson's office to be investigated for being a “hostile work environment.”

Defense Secretary Ash Carter praised Carson's work in a Monday statement.

"Brad Carson has developed some of the most important and groundbreaking work in years to modernize our personnel policies," Carter said. “At my direction, he charted a path forward for the Department and our people that will leave a lasting legacy, and will improve the mission effectiveness, readiness and the quality of life for our civilian workforce, uniformed service members and families. I asked him to serve in this important role, and I am grateful for his service, leadership, and commitment to our Force of the Future."