What's the most important thing the military should do while going through this downsizing period?

First, the Army absolutely needs to drastically diminish its reliance on contractors.  How can we justify spending costs when we are hiring civilians to do the jobs of military personnel that are then no longer doing their jobs.  And, to top it off, they get paid MORE to do it!!!

Next, take a good, long look at the top!  There are too many toxic leaders, and people that have been able to stay under the radar for far too long.  It's easy to cut a fat private or two, but for real change to happen you need to surgically cut out the cancer that is toxic leadership.

Finally, instead of falling back in to a garrison mindset the Army needs to continue training like we are going to war at any minute.  A top athlete doesn't just let themselves get fat in the off-season; they continue to train and get better for when the next season rolls around.  We need to streamline and maintain the fighting force with better soldiers while cutting the "players" that aren't going to be ready for "game time".

Actionable analysis by verified performance review (well thought AARs or the like) not widgets, trackers and database reliant systems (these cost ill spent money to create and maintain) . What do I mean? Let the command and unit leadership rate their units/Soldiers performance based on old school actual performance. Do not rely on or let bureaucrats define it by how many check the block by completing surveys, needlessly lengthy online training modules, videos and excessively repetitive mandatory training at the drop of a dime for every time an issue arises (Soldiers do something heinously wrong, expedite getting rid of them and their ability to polute the waters; we all truly know what is right and wrong). Do not let up on requesting the appropriate assetts to train and be mission ready.

I do to some degree support having DoD civilian employees and minimum contractors. Military spending has been historically the largest government spending piece of the pie. Employing these folks is good for the economy and unemployment rates. However, all those in uniform see daily the waste of time and funds that occurs at the hands of some civilians and contractors. Troops do it as well but we can act upon this fairly reasonably. There are too many loopholes that stagnate or delay the process to effectively deal with these people (union rules and contract policies). Give units and leaders more well paid, trained, educated and enthusiastic (because they see/feel their benefits and are not intimidated to take responsibility for hard work) Soldiers who can and should do these jobs.

In response to retired 1SG Darrell Davis' comment about the Military Industrial Complex, you are spot on! We know it, but I think there has to be more done to insure the tax payers know it along with our politicians do something to change it. I'm sure most Americans would be appalled at the amount of money that seems to go wasted on certain programs and agendas while support for and the amount of troops is getting cut more and more daily.

Most analysts would agree downsizing rarely has the desired outcomes. One usually reduces its production force or in our case fighting strength, while not having effectively addressed the root causes of financial imbalance... Oversight or neglectful budget spending by the government as a whole in every department with little to nothing done to reprimand those responsible or capture the opportunities to keep it from happening again and again. When was the last time you saw a politician relieved, fined or imprisoned for making a choice that cost millions of dollars or peoples' lives that created a "loss of confidence"?

Because downsizing has a second and third order effect on civilians, we must make sure the support will continue to be there for our continuity partners.  This may seem simple but believe me; your civilian support can make or break you, especially when they do not see commitment to their needs from our leadership.  This applies to both the family and professional settings.  After all, it is our civilians who provide that critical historical knowledge and operational continuity.

As a mid-career NCO (15yrs) I am finding myself increasingly frustrated with the way the Army is conducting business at the Soldier/Leader level. Gone are the days when an NCO could actually mentor and counsel his/her Soldiers without fear of some sort of reprisal, should the Soldier disagree. Respect is now a catch word, and CYA is the norm. All Soldiers deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, but the rank structure should stand for something more than a pay chart. 

During the "Draw Down" or "Right-sizing", the focus should be on retaining only the highest quality individuals, using the "Total Soldier" concept. What I have witnessed is a trend of targeting only those Soldiers who do not meet published standards for PT and Weight Control. The reality is that there are far more sub-standard Soldiers who are physically fit, but have questionable morals and ideals. When I can stand in the chow hall line and listen to young Soldiers brag about being arrested by civilian authorities and going to jail, I can't help to wonder where all this talk about "professionalism" went. Clean out the ranks by asking those who who have chronic discipline issues to leave first, revamp the screening process for new recruits (both enlisted and commissioned), and act swiftly when a morals issue manifests itself.