How can “lateral entry” into the military's upper ranks be successfully implemented?

CPT Jack Durish hit the nail on the head, Capt Brandon Charters!

CPT Jack Durish - It worked very well during WWII, when they created the Seabees identified by a CB insignia on the uniform sleeve. They were organized like the Marine Corps under the Department of the Navy. My 92 years young not qualified for the Navy color blind father was a proud member of the 77th CB in the South Pacific. They used Army Engineers and experienced construction workers from site managers, Heavy equipment operators, longshoremen, saw mill operations, pipe fitters/welders

SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT - Well, you're talking about construction workers. Give a construction worker a gun and get the hell out of their way. That's what I'd do. The only other success story I ever heard of related to a civilian who was recruited as a general, General Sarnoff. But his is a very unusual story... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sarnoff

SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT - When I was stationed at West Point as n MP in the late 70s the elite WP Army Band members shared the same dining facility. At the time they did not fall under the normal promotion system and none were below the rank of SSG mostly senior NCOs. Many had spent their entire career there

SSG Jeff Carlisle-Tierno - In my opinion, the current civilian pay scale is heavily inflated. I understand that it is necessary to a certain point in order to compete with equivalent positions in the civilian world, however giving an engineer fresh out of college a GS-13 position, or putting GS-13 equivalent on the contractor ID card for someone who is really doing the job of a SFC or at best a CW2 is going to cause problems.
There also doesn't seem to be adequate training for contractors & civilians who don't have a military background on military courtesy or the level of responsibility an Infantry Squad leader has in the field.

SSG Jeff Carlisle-Tierno - Jeff, you think I am crazy and going to tell you who called the shots "Snitches get Stitches"

SSG (Join to see) - I agree. I understand there'll always be civilian tech reps and such, some GSA and some subcontracted, but you need a core which is accountable to the chain of command. As a civilian, I worked as a truck driver and equipment operator for a while (and even went back to the sandbox as a contract truck driver, and that experience did a lot to shape my perception on the flaws of relying on contractors even further, but that's for another post), then I changed careers and became a diesel tech, so now I work on HD trucks and heavy equipment. Now, the old M35s, 800 series, etc. were very simple vehicles - mechanical engines and drivetrains, solid state electronics, etc. The current vehicles, not so much, and I think about repairs I do at my job which to me are so simple, and yet, they're the sort of things which always went to contractors. So lateral entry as an experience to get personnel with those skill sets in the ranks, who will work with the lower enlisted and reinforce those skill sets, would be a great idea, IMO.
CPT Pedro Meza No doubt. There's a reason I kept those questions to myself at the time.

let the military lead the military and civilians stay at their desks,when i was in and the Army Dining Facilities went civilian contract and that was mess as they under bid the job and of course uncle sugar has to dish out more money to keep the troops fed,and soon most GS jobs will be NAF jobs for a lot less pay and no retirement.let's keep the military commanded and run by military men and women.

Now that sounds like a good idea.

This probably works - though you'd have to cough up more than 2k even non taxable. If they have certain skill sets - they can year more than that easily. You need to be putting 90-120k on the table after taxes, and even that might not be enough - things like overall benefits, stock options, bonus payments, etc.

Why should they get non-taxable bonuses, the regular military doesn't and neither do civilians in industry.

PO1 Tony Holland - I think the point the commenter was making was trying to get compensation levels to a level that would obtain and retain that type of skill.

While in the civilian world you might not get tax exempt bonuses - there are methods to greatly reduce the tax burden - deferred income is one method - yes at a certain point you might have to pay the FICA and Medicare taxes, you can push the income tax out to a later date - typically when there will be a lower overall bite.