Project Description

The FY 2010 National Defense Authorization Act mandated that the Department of Defense conduct a review of post-employment restrictions “to determine if such policies adequately protect the public interest without unreasonably limiting future employment options of former Department of Defense personnel." The statute also directed DoD to contract with the Academy to conduct an independent assessment of the DoD Panel’s report and to develop its own findings and recommendations.

Also, DoD asked the Academy to undertake a complementary review to identify effective practices that would help inform key recommendations and implementation actions. The Academy Panel conducted a detailed assessment of the DoD review between August 2011 and February 2012, and issued its report on February 16, 2012.

Key Findings

The Academy Panel’s report contained several findings and recommendations for DoD, as well as potential actions for Congress. Due to methodological and analytical weaknesses in DoD’s review, the Academy Panel determined that the DoD report on the impact of post-employment restrictions did not persuasively demonstrate that the current regime is adequate to protect the public interest. The Panel also found that the DoD report failed to adequately address the inherent complexity and ambiguity in the restrictions and their potential impact on DoD’s access to talent. Despite these deficiencies, the Panel agreed with DoD’s finding that no additional post-employment restrictions are needed.