President Bush and Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld advocate transforming the military to meet current and future threats, while changing its culture to reward new thinking, innovation, and experimentation. Many organizational changes and reserve component integration issues have, and will continue to take place. I believe our military has a significant opportunity to become a more capable, ready, and joint force by undertaking an organizational and personnel transformation in an area not currently being addressed.
While considerable focus is being given to the various warfare organizations in all branches of the military, the staff support structures are in need of a comprehensive review to determine the most cost-effective and efficient organization.
Have you recently dealt with the medical, dental, or legal departments of your supporting command? Was the doctor or dentist you saw a Navy commander, civilian contractor, or an Army reservist on a two-week active duty period? Hard to tell when they are in scrubs or a white coat. How about the lawyer who updated your will or the priest who conducted communion?
From your perspective, does it really matter? To me, it doesn't. What matters the most, is their special skills.
The current system of having separate staff/support type officers and enlisted personnel is inherently inefficient and does not address current operational requirements. For example, a Navy chaplain and an Army chaplain are interchangeable in the performance of their "professional" duties; yet, they are restrained to functioning, with few exceptions, solely within their uniformed branch of service. This systematic restraint can easily result in a shortage of chaplains in the Army and Air Force and an overstaffed condition in the Navy.
There are specific warfare skills, training and operational scenarios within the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, that result in uniquely defined soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines. The medical, dental, supply, chaplain, legal, civil engineering, public affairs, information technology, human resources, law enforcement and other staff functions, however, are inherently more generic. These staff positions function primarily within their specialty, and secondly as a member of their affiliated military branch.
Why can't all medical and dental personnel be part of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and assigned to whatever branch of the service has a requirement? The uniform and white coat stay the same . . . they just work wherever there is a need.
All military branches operate under the Uniform Code of Military Justice so why can't the attorneys and legal staff provide services without regard for their uniform insignia? Could they be part of a DoD-wide military law specialty and detailed accordingly?
Isn't an Army Corps of Engineers officer as qualified as the Navy's Civil Engineering Corps officer? Maybe it's just me, but can you really tell any difference between an Army MP and a Navy Master-at-Arms? The same logic can be applied to the supply, public affairs, information technology, and human resources specialties.
No longer can we afford, nor do world events allow, the military branches to operate in anything but a joint environment. Centrally recruit, train and detail personnel by their specialty, not the color of their cammies, and see the inherent gains in efficiency and effectiveness. Combine the various overhead support structures and redirect the cost savings to hardware and readiness. While we are at it, integrate the applicable reserve components as well. Pick the best practices of each service, use them in the newly transformed organization and see the level of jointness, flexibility and responsiveness that is attained.
Eike most ideas, it's harder to execute than it is to talk about. But true organizational transformation takes new ideas and must address all aspects of the organizational structure, across the entire DoD spectrum. While some consolidations of staff specialties would be more complicated than others, some could be done rather quickly and with reasonable effort. Would it really be that difficult to combine all medical personnel into the Public Health Service and all lawyers into the Defense Department Judge Advocate General Corps?
It's worth further study.