Not only my experience but most people I've ever talked to at any length on the topics corroborate your two numbered points.

This:
...On the other hand, there should be a corps of specialists who do the screening, recruiting, organizing, quality control, and deep thinking. They could be drawn from a variety of sources into something like the proposed Advisory Corps.
I believe is very true and very important. We are going to be -- have to be -- a total spectrum force whether that is liked or not. We have that capability to be that, all that's required is the will and effort. What you say is a requisite first step; we simply have to better select and screen people for jobs. The key to doing that well is, as you say:
...Anyway, this is a fairly small group whose sole function in life is to oversee various forms of intstitutional training... (emphasis added /kw)
The bureaucracy is a BIG part of the problem...
...What we would have to add is a cultural/linguistic element and perhaps some regional orientation.
T-MAAG...