Inspirado por la flexibilidad del trabajo por encargo en el sector privado, el Pent\u00e1gono se encuentra en medio de la fase de prototipo de una iniciativa, denominada GigEagle, dise\u00f1ada para aprovechar el talento de toda la fuerza laboral del Pent\u00e1gono, en lo que los funcionarios dijeron que Breaking Defense podr\u00eda ser un enfoque \u201ctransformador\u201d para dotar de personal a proyectos de defensa a corto plazo.<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u2014 Inspired by the flexibility of gig work in the private sector, the Pentagon is in the midst of the prototype phase of an initiative, dubbed GigEagle, designed to tap into talent across the Pentagon workforce, in what officials told Breaking Defense could be a \u201ctransformational\u201d approach to staffing up short-term defense projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had these very rapidly evolving mission needs and requirements. We would follow the standard process, maybe looking for resumes, calling people we knew. It just wasn\u2019t working, and so what you started to see was that the mission need would just go unmet,\u201d Air Force Reserve Brig. Gen. Michael McGinley, the director of GigEagle, told Breaking Defense in a recent interview.<\/p>\n
GigEagle, led by the Air Force Research Lab with help from the\u00a0Defense Innovation Unit<\/a>, is designed to help quickly find talent for important short-term Pentagon projects \u2014 up to 90 days \u2014 filling a tactical talent gap with which the department has struggled for years, McGinley said.<\/p>\n The project has been in the works since 2018, and development contracts were awarded in 2022 to tech firms Carahsoft and EightFold AI. But it it officially launched its prototype first phase on April 1 of this year. That phase is set to end in September, when phase two and the production phase starts.<\/p>\n As envisioned, the platform can be compared to \u201ca more secure version of LinkedIn,\u201d Maj. Jim Perkins, another product manager of GigEagle, told Breaking Defense.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had overwhelming demand from Reservists trying to come into DIU. They were saying, \u2018Hey, I have all these other skills, I think I might be able to help you. How can I help?\u2019 And at the time, we didn\u2019t have roles or official billets to put them in,\u201d Air Force Lt. Col. Chuck Kubik, a project lead on GigEagle, told Breaking Defense.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why this is so transformational and not just another jobs board. This is giving the ability to precisely identify target and engage talent that we just didn\u2019t even know about,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n For now, it\u2019s only open to Reserve members, but phase two is expected to open up the platform DoD-wide and phase three could reach outside the military to academia and industry.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we get this right, we have the power, the potential to change the future of public service. That\u2019s what\u2019s so compelling here is that once you identify and engage people, you give people a whole new way to serve their country,\u201d\u00a0McGinley said.<\/p>\n To access the site, Reservists need to go to gigeagle.mil and put in their military access card (CAC) to create a profile, and employers and employees can start the process of filling roles.\u00a0Unlike LinkedIn, there is no social media or networking aspect to GigEagle \u2014 it\u2019s strictly business.<\/p>\n The work managers aren\u2019t looking for typical military jobs;\u00a0they\u2019re usually more technical and niche, Perkins said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not having a Marine infantry officer go take over command of a Army infantry platoon. Like, that\u2019s not the sort of thing that GigEagle is really all about. But, if you came out of the Marine Corps and you\u2019re still in the Reserves, but your day job is you do supply chain management for Walmart \u2014 that\u2019s a skill set that all of the military needs, because supply chain and logistics is just a joint DoD problem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n