Corps takes steps to reduce civilian hiring - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Corps takes steps to reduce civilian hiring

As the Corps contemplates a likely drawdown, it has put in place new measures that will make it more complicated to add civilian employees.

The Corps’ new civilian manpower requirement process mandates that there must be a “zero sum gain” in civilian employees through fiscal 2011, Marine officials said in Marine administrative message 440/10, released in August.

“Adding billets or increasing grade of existing billets within a unit will require compensation from within the requesting unit’s civilian force structure,” said the message, released by Lt. Gen. George Flynn, deputy commandant of Combat Development & Integration. “Compensation must be dollar for dollar to fund the new requirement.”

The plan was announced after several years of growth within the civilian force that serves the Corps. In 2006, there were about 28,000 civilians working for the service, Marine officials. That number has grown annually, with about 29,000 in 2007, 31,000 in 2008, 33,000 in 2009 and 34,000 as of this summer, said Maj. Shawn Haney, a Marine spokeswoman.

Civilians hold a wide variety of jobs in the Corps in more than 20 communities. They include personnel for logistics, law enforcement, family readiness and public relations.