Oh bother.

I'm a deeply concerned that any "improvements" will get mired down by the pile of bureaucracy that shapes about eveything happening in the military right now.

I'll give a quick example: The Deputy Director position with the base Family Advocacy Branch was only recently filled after a 18 month gap. We definitely needed it, but it's only come around just now.

I believe that any of these great ideas also means that we have to change the culture of these supporting structures. We can improve the infrastructure that you can touch and feel pretty easily. It's more difficult to change the mindset of the folks who make that same infrastructure run. It may only be small rudder steers in some cases (like schools and such), but I know the medial side has been nothing short of an abyssmal mess for years, hence the multiple pages devoted to Tricare issues in each issue of the Marine Corps, Navy, Army, and Air Force Times.

We also need to tighten up our internal admin and pay situation immediately. I am thoroughly convinced that if IBM had employess that had to deal with some of the pay issues that our warriors face, mid-level managers would be getting fired wholesale. Having a bad pay experience has to be one of the greatest reasons for members leaving the force, hands-down.

We simply do not have the same controls to correct pay and admin situations like big business does, and it is unfortunately hurting us as a result.