Interesting article about the Air Force and telework

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/air-f...-here-to-stay/

 

The .gov (none of it) will ever get away with much telework... perceptions of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse would be dramatically amplified.

Also in the mil the only people who's daily work is not classified are rifle carriers, truck mechanics, and cooks, and you can't do any of that at home. What are they going to do, install SCIF's in everybody's off-base apartment?

 

how many people even have seen the inside of a SCIF ?

 

Have to respectfully disagree. I know several who are teleworking and even leadership has agreed that productivity has actually increased in many areas. Yes there are some issues but overall cost is down on utilities etc. and a very large savings on office supplies. Especially when people aren't printing personal paperwork. Like everything much is about perception and arguably the pandemic has changed all our perceptions and acceptance of teleworking. Agree that some mil work will have to stay on SIPR ( with not all that many overall and not every workday)and a certain number of pax will have to be on-site definitely. Of course the more teleworking means fewer people to expose those who have to be on base/post. My .02

 

Lots of STU-IIIs( and now SCIPs) outside of SCIFs in the old days. One of my Wing Commanders had one in his home in base housing to my certain knowledge. I called him on it several times.

 

Telework has been performed for years in Govt work . Being on-site does not necessarily diminish waste, fraud, etc. any more than teleworking. Personal observation. Those that conduct themselves in an unproductive manner will do so regardless of whether on the job site or teleworking. That is the choice an individual makes and is also amplified on-site if condoned or ignored by their agency culture and supervisory staff, not the result of teleworking.

Yes. Classified work does require a SCIF. However, there is usually a large proportion of work (regardless of agency) performed in a SCIF environment that is of an unclassified nature and does not require a SCIF, this is what is being alluded to. Nothing new about this, been done for years already.

 

thousands upon thousands of .GOV employees are not performing security sensitive work and could be off loaded from decrepit rotting office buildings into their homes, via VPN's and video conferencing. bulldoze the buildings and dump GSA leases/commitments.

Even those in security sensitive jobs can indeed telework:

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workf...flexibilities/

welcome to 2021

 

I currently work in DoD Acquisitions.

For already established teams, teleworking has done pretty well. We have not had a major drop off in work quality or any impacts to program timelines. However, we've started to find that integrating new people into the program has been really tough. Since this is the military, there is a fairly constant stream of personnel rotating in and out. The challenge with new folks coming on is not necessarily teaching them what their role in the program will be, but actually getting them to feel comfortable with the rest of the people on the team. It's a lot harder to get people together for lunch, or to have the non work related social interactions you have in the office between meetings. Zoom Happy Hour meetings are possibly one of the worst things 2020 has produced.

Any work that needs a secure system is still happening in person and on base. Also, travel did not decrease at all. Site visits and work with our contractor teams continued, all of which is out of state. I see telework as being used as a relief valve in the future. Make it an option for talented folks who might otherwise quit. A single mother or father, someone with a sick relative, etc... Also mixing in partial telework, where people may do one or two days a week teleworking to avoid a commute or just get a break from sitting at their desk. I can tell you that I have no desire to do full time telework ever again in my life (well honestly I don't want to do program management again in my life, why I'm on this forum, haha), but I wouldn't mind a day or two every other week to get a break from the office.

Regardless of what happens with telework, I don't see it reducing travel in the long term. We are a mission essential program, so unlike a private business we couldn't take a pause on travel, but honestly the increased telework still didn't reduce our need to travel, despite the pressure from leadership to do so if possible. Eventually businesses are going to need to get back to traveling as well. The ones who jump on it first are going to have an edge on their competition.

 

Interesting. All travel has stopped on my side of the DoD military spectrum and has been canceled since March via directive from DoD chain of command. And this for a supposed high-priority military division operation. Site visits (Govt, military, and contractors) are still on total stop with no re-start date date even in discussions.

I disagree with most of your other points and could point out opposite experiences to them, but that is all right. We see things differently.