Military

Commentary: Investing in military human capital

Fluent in social media, hyper-connected, incredibly astute, these people desire more flexibility and opportunity than they are being offered in the military. In a world where you can pay bills or connect with a long-lost friend in an instant online, this generation also has little patience for red-tape, glacially slow information systems, and antiquated ways of doing business.

Department leaders seeking to capture and keep these men and women in the service can certainly feel trapped by a promotion system that prizes the cookie-cutter over the peculiar, penalizing anyone whose career progress is outside of the usual.