The Department of Defense is downsizing the Defense Technical Information Center to 40 civilian positions as part of an artificial intelligence-first digital transformation initiative, which is expected to result in annual savings of over $25 million and better capabilities for meeting critical mission needs.
Silvana Rubino-Hallman, announced as acting administrator on July 29, will implement the personnel reduction, conduct core mission review for all contractor personnel augmenting DTIC staff, direct “cognizant contracting officers” to issue any stop-work orders as appropriate and oversee DTIC’s digital transformation, according to a memorandum from Emil Michael, the under secretary of defense for research and engineering.
Reducing Bureaucracy at DTIC
The reduction-in-force aims to refocus DTIC on its core statutory mandate of administering a library of technical information, while improving the user experience and eliminating duplicative functions.
Civilian personnel not selected for retention will receive specific notices of reduction-in-force by Aug. 25 and be placed on administrative leave with full rights. Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said the decision is part of a broader reform effort to streamline operations and reduce bureaucracy.
DTIC will also be realigned under the assistant secretary of defense for critical technologies as part of its reorganization.
According to the memo, DTIC’s outdated information systems are no longer adequate to support global research and development trends or integrate with data and intelligence platforms. The restructured center is expected to improve knowledge-sharing and better support deterrence-related R&D investments.
