
Few things will panic most staffs than the dreaded “Manpower Review.” You know the one, when someone goes through your manning document to make sure that you have “what you need” and not “too much.” We guard each BA/NMP & BSC as if it were a birthright.
Sometimes a review nibbles around the edges, but on whole, staffs have not shrunk in line with what you would think with the size of the Navy we have and the efficiencies of technology.
We have seen efforts to save manpower at sea, but ashore – how much?
How much could we cut staff levels? 5%, 10%, or more?
How much of the work is actually that important – that adds value? How much is just covering self-generated work – or justifies 51% of its existence by its own inertia?
In the national security arena, are there few staff’s more important than those who directly serve the Commander in Chief, for instance, the National Security Council?
The White House National Security Council staff is being downsized sharply in a bid to improve efficiency within the policy coordinating body by consolidating positions and cutting staff.
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Mr. O’Brien noted that the NSC had a policymaking staff of 12 in 1962 when President Kennedy faced down the Soviet Union during the Cuban missile crisis.
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Under President Obama, the NSC staff mushroomed to as many as 450 people. Mr. O’Brien plans to cut the staff to fewer than 120 policy officials by early next year.
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White House National Security Adviser Robert C. O’Brien is leading the NSC reform effort. He revealed in a recent interview with The Washington Times that 40 to 45 NSC staff officials were sent back in recent months to the agencies where they originally worked, with more likely to be moved out.
From 450 to 120. That is aggressive … but to do it, he is also refocusing.
“The NSC is a coordinating body. I am trying to get us back to a lean and efficient staff that can get the job done, can coordinate with our interagency partners, and make sure the president receives the best advice he needs to make the decisions necessary to keep the American people safe.”
In the Obama administration, NSC officials wielded enormous power. NSC staff members were known to telephone commanders in Afghanistan and other locations in the Middle East with orders — a violation of the military’s strict chain of command, said military officials familiar with the calls.
“I just don’t think that we need the numbers of people that it expanded to under the last administration to do this job right,” Mr. O’Brien said.
Look at the staffs you are most familiar with. If you could re-scope its mission and requirements, how much would you cut … and could you do it in a way that is a net positive towards mission accomplishment?
Is it a staff working in a modern way?
Will O’Brien’s efforts produce a better product? I have no idea … but one could argue that larger did not make better before, so maybe time to try a different path.
Good luck.