Chief Reform Officer

A long-time Defense Department civilian employee was selected this week to direct the day-to-day operations of the controversial National Security Personnel System under development.

Defense officials announced Monday that Mary Lacey had been appointed as the program executive officer of NSPS. Last year, Congress granted the Pentagon broad authority to develop a more flexible personnel system. Labor union representatives and some lawmakers have sharply criticized Defense's initial efforts to set up the NSPS as overzealous and harmful to federal workers.

Lacey's appointment is effective immediately, but she is still working to absorb the "voluminous" amount of information needed for the job, said Defense spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Jane Campbell. Lacey comes to the job from a position as technical director of the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indian Head, Md. She also has served as executive director of the center, and as program manager for advanced technology in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. She began her public service career in 1973 at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory.

The announcement of Lacey's appointment is already paying dividends for the Pentagon. John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which has vehemently opposed the new personnel system, reacted positively to the announcement in an interview with Government Executive. Gage noted he has experience negotiating with Lacey when she was at the Naval Surface Warfare Center. He seemed hopeful that she would ease the adversarial standoff that has marked the early stages of the NSPS.

"She knows how to get a job done," Gage said. "Hopefully we won't be bogged down in philosophical disputes when we try to work this thing out."

In February, Navy Secretary Gordon England was named to serve as the senior executive overseeing the new personnel system, and was given the job of smoothing over disagreements caused by the overhaul. According to Campbell, England will now provide oversight of the program and Lacey will "take charge and carry out the mission."

According to a Pentagon statement, Lacey will work with the Office of Personnel Management to develop the new system. Defense has been criticized for not including OPM in its initial planning, as Congress required in the original law.

"She will be working with our partners at OPM to lead broad collaboration within an open process, one that provides opportunities for employee, manager and union input and dialogue," England said in the statement.

In the statement, Lacey described her job as "an incredibly important and challenging assignment, " adding, "NSPS will truly impact everybody."