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

1. Bring back the SQT

2. Let those folks out that don't want to be in (appropriate reductions in benefits should be applied)

3. Performance Based Promotion Boards

4. All soldiers (officers/enlisted) should receive a Career Performace Chart that will indicate Career Achievement Goals, with each goal made up of subtasks based upon TIS and TIG, MOS, and SQI. Failure to meet or exceed those objectives should result in chapter proceedings.

4. Promote more Seconday MOSs so that soldiers can be reassigned to those positions when needed.

5. More Professional Development geared toward the younger NCOs that should include Financial Education, Person to Person Leadership, Anger Management, Small Task Success.

6. Not all solders are honest and retain the 3-hour moral and ethics class they are given in Basic Training. Soldiers should be exposed to moral and ethical situations more often so that they can conduct themselves accordingly. The concept of On the Spot Correction is almost non-existent these days.

7. Senior Leaders (First Sergeants, SGMs, CSMs) should interact directly with Junior NCOs (SGTs, SSGs) when executing Operations and Planning. SSG(P), SFCs, and MSGs should be there to help Guide there subordinates..learning by watching is not a great concept in the military, the more they realize that, the better leaders troops will become. 

8. Program utilization should be shared across all branches instead of a sepreate program for each service. Porgram interoperability is essential in cutting costs. This would eliminate excess contract jobs.

Plus more, but I have to get back to work. I will add some more later.

What is your response?

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

First and foremost, we have to recognize that what is
preserved in terms of the force and the associated capabilities will represent
our “start point” for the next major conflict. 
Miscalculations will directly translate into additional casualties and
ad hoc solutions during the early months and first years of this next period of
prolonged combat. 

Fundamental enablers, while not “sexy” to retain and
certainly a significant challenge to keep trained and ready are imperative
building blocks in the force we should retain.  Signal, Medical, Aviation and Intelligence individual,
collective skills along with the necessary force structure which ensure these
critical pieces are ready to deploy and support (fight) early are an absolute must have.  Significant investment dollars must continue
to be leveraged and spent to continue the processes to network the force on
tomorrow’s battlefield, treat and heal our warriors, move the force rapidly
across the space and enable decision dominance for leaders from the point of action
on the ground, to and through our leadership nodes in the fight all the way to
the White House. 

This line of thought represents a significant intellectual challenge
and directly runs counter to the Army’s “DNA” of retaining combat arms
formations in the active force.  Combined
arms maneuver is most certainly the key ingredient for success in a kinetic
fight and must at some level be retained. 
A point for thought, how many commanders since 9/11 have asked for more
killing power?  The fight has been and
will be a fight for information. 
Understanding the humans in the space will be the most important aspect
of all future fights.  Not many potential
adversaries, not any with direct understanding of what we did as we burst
across the Iraqi border in ’03 and marched to Baghdad, will risk their war
objectives on a “conventional” battlefield against the combined arms
capabilities of the air and ground forces we can put on the field. Accordingly,
a mix of enablers with a lethal but reduced active force of combat arms
formations supported by other formations in the Guard and Reserves represents
the new norm for how we mix our force across the Active, Guard and Reserve formations. 

Our most important “thing we must do:” is retain capable,
combat experienced junior leaders, present day senior 0-3s and junior 0-4s who
are deemed most likely to be tomorrows 0-5 and 0-6 level commanders and Flag
Officer primary staff officers.  They
must be incentivized to stay the course, remaining in a force that will for the
near term not look much like the force they joined, deployed with, and lead in
combat.  Many, if not all, will ask WHY
STAY?  Most of our very successful junior
leaders would be do well in any field of endeavor they pursue.  Too times today’s senior leaders are not
capable or not willing to provide a clear and concise (think precise) answer to
the question Why - as it is not politically correct and certainly not what many
young leaders and their spouse want to hear: 
the force will need you to be a key senior leader in the early period of
the next fight.  Your experiences and expertise
will reduce the number of KIA and WIA in that early period of major conflict.  Senior leaders must look them straight in the
face and tell them they understand they are asking everything of them – those nearly
10 years between senior Captain and LTC worst case (normal case for Army) equal
five Permanent changes of station: five new houses to set up and manage; for
the kids five new schools, 5 sets of friends lost, five new sets of friends to
make while seeing less and less of the service member as he or she takes on
more difficult and time consuming jobs. After those 10 years of sacrifice, the force
offers no guarantee of command or primary staff job that assures selection to
0-6.  This must be done.  It is possible.  History shows us that General Marshall with
others in fact accomplish this critical task as he moved through the pre-WWII
Army and once appointed Chief of Staff shaped the officer course who lead the
Army to victory in WWII.  A tough, very
tough sell to leaders and their families who know nothing but deployment and
conflict but the critical action we must successful undertake if we want to be successful
in the next significant fight.