Summary: The lack of civilian oversight in the promotion process for general officer or flag officer (GO/FO) positions has allowed an increasingly bureaucratic Department of Defense (DoD) to metastasize, leading to excessive overhead and an aversion to decision-making and accountability. A reduction in the number of GO/FOs would begin to alleviate these problems. This reduction may be accomplished through a Presidential Memorandum outlining the desired decrease and the process and criteria by which DoD would provide proposed nominees for promotions to the President for White House review. 

Introduction

Observers of the US military often note that there seems to have been a significant increase in GO/FO positions over the last several decades. While this is, in part, a subjective observation, analysis supports it. A report by the Congressional Research Service provides empirical evidence, finding that between 1965 and 2018 the share made up of GO/FOs increased by 44 percent. 

Growth during this period at the most senior GO/FO levels is even more pronounced. Four-star officers increased their share by 114 percent, and three-star officers saw a 149 percent increase from 1965 to 2018. One-star and two-star GO/FOs as a percentage of the total force increased less, but still saw noteworthy growth at 31 percent. One might also note, using a different analysis based on force numbers, that during WWII there was one GO for every 6,000 troops while in 2017 that ratio increased to roughly one GO for every 1,400 troops.