Thursday, January 06, 2011
In need of cyber warriors equipped with the latest IT knowledge, the Department of Defense has started a pilot program that will send some of its employees to work in the private sector for brief periods.
The plan allows Pentagon IT specialists to work at a company anywhere from three months to two years, while the government pays for their salaries. The two-way program also will allow private sector workers to temporarily join the government, with the company picking up the tab.
Pentagon operations planning to participate in the program include the Defense Information Systems Agency, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Air Force and the Army.
The program is controversial both because of security concerns and potential conflict-of-interest issues when participating private companies bid for future contracts.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Defense Dept., Private Industry to Trade Workers for a While (by Marjorie Censer, Washington Post)
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