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they will provide a great benefit to the companies that recruit them to the private sector. If they retire, it opens up channels for advancement for younger or newer employees that can bring fresh ideas.

They will...but the loss of experienced engineers, scientists, and program managers with knowledge of government processes will damage the government. It won’t burn down, but a wholesale replacement of experience with naivety will exacerbate—not correct—the issues you claim exist. I’ve worked private and public sector and I believe most of these people will be fine eventually if they leave. It will hurt the organizations far more. You want new employees and fresh ideas to flow in naturally. Think incremental improvement, not business process re-engineering.

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It's called public service not public career

Wrong. Elected officials are different than career federal employees. You have no clue what would happen if there was as much turmoil in these organizations as you suggest would be appropriate. Wal-Mart, Lowe’s, Bank of America—ANY large, private sector organization—puts a premium on recruiting, grooming and retaining talent. The federal government is no different.

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Federal hiring practices need to be blown up, burned down, and started anew.

I completely agree. The military is already looking at options there. Other Departments are probably doing similar.

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We need to rethink everything about the way our government is organized because its current makeup works for no one but it's own self-perpetuating beaurocracy.

To an extent this happens more than you know. Nearly 400 positions were recently adjusted in my organization to address concerns over flexibility and innovation. Big ships take long to turn, but they are inherently more stable. Stability lessens risk, which is important when more than just profits are at stake.

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No one is irreplaceable.

I wholeheartedly agree. There is a “next person up” mentality throughout the government. No INDIVIDUAL is irreplaceable; in some orgs, that can be extended to “no TEAM or no UNIT is irreplaceable.” Gutting an entire capability by losing a great deal at once is different. They may not have explained that when they prepared you for Lane 6 Cashier duties.

This post was edited on 1/12/19 at 6:54 pm