SECDEF - the savings are there

SECDEF - it isn't impossible. It just requires leadership, vision, and the willingness to attack sacred cows.

Mr. Gates set a deadline of July 31 for receiving details on programs and personnel to be cut and a description of savings in management practices to be included in the budget proposal for the next fiscal year, 2012. Two-thirds of the ordered savings must be an actual money transfer from noncombat accounts to the war-fighting budget, while one-third can be found in efficiencies and eliminating redundancies and overhead.

The specific instructions are included in three unclassified guidance documents signed by Mr. Gates — one to the armed services, one to the Pentagon’s primary agencies and directorates, and one to the global combatant commands.

For fiscal year 2012, the departments of the Army, Air Force and Navy — which includes the Marine Corps — must each find $2 billion in savings, while the rest of the Defense Department must find $1 billion in savings. By 2016, each military department must have $10 billion in savings, with $7 billion across the rest of the Pentagon.

“You are not going to be able to do it just on pure efficiencies,” Mr. Lynn said. “You are going to have to eliminate lower-priority programs. You are going to have to find headquarters that you don’t think you need. You are going to have to find staffs that you think you can cut.”

Here are some minor but low hanging fruit. DACOWITS last year had 15 memebers, it now has 35. Cut to 8.

Lead from the front. We have more Flag Officers than ships. Cut Flag Officer billets by 30-50%, with a bias to 50%. Remove all BA/NMP directly associated with that Flag Officer billet.

Want to attack bureaucratic bloat? Get 1-each CDR CO from the Surface, Air, and Submarine forces. Have them go up to the ink board (no PPT allowed) and have them diagram their Operational and Administrative Chains of Command. Set a goal with eliminating 30-50% of those Staffs. Once those UIC are eliminated, only allow 10% of their BA/NMP be retained and transferred to other UICs. Take the 90% left as savings. Include Staffs that those COs have to send reports to who are not in their CoC.

Ask VADM Curits why he needs three Lieutenant Commanders in his Diversity Shop. Tell him to get by with a LDO LT. Transfer one of the LCDR BA/NMP to NAVSEA/SUPSHIPS and take the other two as savings.

Ask the CNO how many Woman and Diversity advisors he has on his Staff and what their military and/or GS level are. Eliminate two-thirds of them. Downgrade the billets' paygrades. If contractors; eliminate the position.

Rinse, repeat throughout the fleet. Chump change? Sure - but look at the chart of CoinStar for the last couple of years. Chump change adds up to a lot - it also sets the right example. Don't ask a DDG CO to give up XX% of his critical billets when your staff has grown.

That is just first blush. If you want more discussion - at a higher level - check out yesterday's Midrats discussion in the first half hour with Bryan McGrath.