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<\/a><\/p>\n Rachel S. Cohen<\/a><\/p>\n \n August 7, 2026 5:38 pm <\/p>\n 3 min read<\/p>\n The Defense Department is looking to slash its monthslong civilian hiring process to just 30 days \u2014 an ambitious goal the Pentagon has chased for years \u2014 with the help of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a steep drop from the 80-day goal the department set for 2025 and 2026<\/a>, and about three times faster than the average hire in 2024. Hitting that pace would help DoD fill critical vacancies and put it on par with the private sector as it competes for talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n Michael Cogar, who oversees Pentagon civilian personnel policy, is targeting the 30-day deadline through the department\u2019s Contact-to-Contract initiative, which began as a pilot program in 2023. He described the plan in a recent presentation to the Army\u2019s Civilian Human Resources Agency.<\/p>\n Contact-to-Contract aims to shorten the time it takes to move someone from notice of referral to formal job offer by abbreviating steps like background checks, drug testing and other aspects of onboarding. DoD formalized the program\u2019s guidance for use across the department in 2024, when hiring averaged 92 days<\/a>.<\/p>\n ]]><\/p>\n The Trump administration has sought to integrate AI into a host of combat and back-office operations across the Defense Department to reduce manual labor and improve reaction time.\u00a0But it\u2019s unclear how DoD might use AI to fast-track hires or what products it would rely upon.<\/p>\n Generative AI will \u201csmash traditional bottlenecks\u201d in the vetting process, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs said in a recent LinkedIn post<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIn today\u2019s strategic environment, slow hiring timelines are no longer just bureaucratic delays,\u201d the office wrote. \u201cThey are national security risks.\u201d<\/p>\n The goal is part of a three-pronged approach to speed up the defense hiring process, the office wrote. Cogar\u2019s team plans to end \u201cself-imposed, risk-averse\u201d policies that can slow hiring, while \u201cadhering strictly\u201d to the baseline legal requirements candidates must meet that are set by Congress and the Office of Personnel Management.<\/p>\n The office also pledges to outsource routine administrative tasks to AI so human resources specialists can instead become \u201chigh-value strategic advisors.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Many defense agencies are rebuilding their civilian corps after losing more than 78,000 employees \u2014 about 10% of its civilian workforce \u2014 as part of the Trump administration\u2019s push to cut federal jobs last year.<\/p>\n