Report: Pentagon CMO to be replaced after less than 9 months on job

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon’s chief management officer will be replaced due to a lack of production, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis plans to replace John Gibson, who took over as the department’s CMO in February of this year. Gibson was told more than a month ago that his tenure would be coming to an end due to a “lack of performance,” according to the report.

No replacement appears to have been lined up at this point, and a Pentagon spokesman declined to comment on potential personnel matters.

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Gibson had been charged with finding efficiencies within the department, which Mattis hoped to funnel directly towards warfighting needs. In a May 1 interview with Defense News, Gibson said he had targets of finding $6 billion in FY19, as part of a broader goal of saving $46 billion over the next five years.

“We’re probably going to pleasantly surprise people,” he said then of expected savings, adding they would “support lethality. That brings those resources back to the services to use.”

Gibson was originally confirmed as the deputy CMO, a position that was elevated by Congress to the full CMO and marked as the number three position inside the department.

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