Why does each service branch have repeated functions? Inf., Avn., Boats, Med, HR/Pay, etc? Save $ with one branch with specialized functions?

2016-09-08T23:47:32-04:00

Response by MAJ Vance Fleming made Sep 8 at 2016 11:48 PM

2016-09-08T23:48:20-04:00

Tradition is not reason enough to waste our military capabilities. With a smaller military and budget concerns, it is important to maximize where troops are placed.
Why does each service need its own aviation, medical service, payroll system, personnel system, logistics, transportation, etc.? Why have infantry, armor and artillery in the Marines and the Army? Why have boats in the Army, Marines and Navy? I am sure there are many more examples.

Here is my proposal:

Consolidate all the branches into one military (Department of Defense) service with one medical, human resource, pay, supply and other support systems. All support positions (hospitals, supplies, finance, personnel) will follow one system. This will reduce the number of troops needed to fill those support positions by probably about one-quarter to one-third of the current level. These positions can be moved to the combat arms.
A lot of the permanent garrison positions could be civilians, thus freeing up more troop numbers for the combat arms.

There would be one branch of infantry, armor, artillery, aviation, naval assets instead of being spread across all services. Internally, there can be specialized units for unique missions.

Instead of each service having its own special operators, have one the can also have specialized functions internally.

Consolidate bases into about seven joint locations; one forward-operating base each in the Pacific and Europe; one each, west coast, east coast, southern US / Texas (all with lots of training / maneuver space, private airstrips and docks for ships); central US and somewhere in the northern Midwest (all with lots of training / maneuver space, and private airstrips).

Being consolidated assets, there would be less time needed for emergency coordination as procedures would be internal to that location and under one commander.
This would also reduce the number of senior officers (specifically, flag officers), the need for a Joint Chiefs of Staff and the number of people needed at the Pentagon.

Another cost savings would be in the minimized number of types of uniforms, awards, accoutrements, and Service Schools / ROTC programs.

I am sure I am overlooking many other areas. I am also sure that there are tons of costs involved with such a transition.

I look forward to the responses I get.

Response by SN Greg Wright made Sep 8 at 2016 11:48 PM

2016-09-08T23:48:42-04:00

Sorry, Major, but no Air Force fixed-wing pilot is ever going to land on a carrier.

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Sep 9 at 2016 12:03 AM

2016-09-09T00:03:16-04:00

Not too sure I agree with that idea. Aviation is one complicated branch. In the Marines, they put their own pilots on the ground with the grunts just so they know how to communicate with the pilots. The Army wasn't even allowed to have the Mohawks because the Air Force got some Freudian complex about letting us have our own fixed wing toys. there isn't one airframe in the armed forces that is universal across all the branches. It takes a good 10 years MINMUM to be able to contribute to a complicated aviation deployment discussion and that figure only figures units with only 2 different airframes. The Marines have ancient helicopters that have been upgraded so much that they are hardly recognizable from their initial design. The logistics of an all inclusive aviation branch would need hundreds of connexes just to handle the common hardware and the special tools and parts would require a division of truck drivers to move.

Response by MSG Pat Colby made Sep 9 at 2016 12:11 AM

2016-09-09T00:11:44-04:00

Why do we even have different branches of the Military?

Why do we even have a Military? We got a shitload of nukes just gathering dust....

Response by MSG Pat Colby made Sep 9 at 2016 12:44 AM

2016-09-09T00:44:01-04:00

Holy SHIT! The Air Force has boats!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ships_of_the_United_States_Air_Force

List of ships of the United States Air Force - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Starting in 1957 the US Air Force began operating a small fleet of Missile Range Instrumentation Ships to support missile test ranges. They were designated "ORV" for Ocean Range Vessel. They used the ship name prefix "USAF" (e.g.: USAF Coastal Crusader (ORV-16)).

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Sep 9 at 2016 1:08 AM

2016-09-09T01:08:48-04:00

Good Damn Question. I don't have a good answer. I give a damn what Uniform you wear as long as I get Paid and get Fed.

Response by Capt Michael Greene made Sep 9 at 2016 1:21 AM

2016-09-09T01:21:30-04:00

It's very practical. Each service has its own operating environment which requires a unique philosophy, doctrine, culture, policies and procedures. Each service has optimized its procedures to maximize effectiveness in their own environment.

Consider HR/Pay types. Would they all be trained in the procedures used both aboard ship and also in the desert? Would they have to learn 4 sets of regulations?

Different procedures make for a different mindset: Air Force pilots use mile-long runways and gradually settle down on the glide path until touchdown halfway down the runway. Navy pilots won't put a foot of runway behind them; they'll put it down on the numbers. Different policies: In the Navy, if there is a fire, all hands attack the fire until Damage Control arrives. In the Air Force, all hands evacuate and wait for the Fire Dept. Different capabilities: A common specialty is dermatology. In the Army, derm doctors are needed right up front, as combat wounds almost always involve the skin. But how many doctors can you fit on a ship? In combat: The services don't have the same radios or the same language.

Importantly, each Division commander or Wing commander has under his personal command all the resources required to prosecute war without needing some other commander to provide supply, transportation, housing, etc. Very effective and efficient in war. Don't change it.

Response by 1SG Patrick Burke made Sep 9 at 2016 2:38 AM

2016-09-09T02:38:08-04:00

There are a multitude of issues that would/could arise from that. To highlight a few -

1. No General is going to forgo anything to another branch.

2. Comparability - meaning if the Army has Bradley's and Tanks, those supporting them would need to have compatible platforms. The Marines (or any other branch) is going to fund a life cycle of M113s. Same goes the other way.

3. Command Structure - (hypothetical) if the Navy has all the Medical, Airforce has all the Aviation, and the Army has all the Infantry - that would mean the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs would be the only common commander. The Navy would be able to pick and choose when and how they support the Army's Infantry.

4. No Cost Benefit - (hypothetical) if DOD has 100 medics split evenly between the branches (Seperate Marines from Navy), that means25 a piece. They are all paid the same, so moving them under one branch is still the same amount of compensation.

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Sep 9 at 2016 3:50 PM

2016-09-09T15:50:56-04:00

Your suggestion has lots of merit. the issue is as always control. And the SecDef is currently busy helping transforming America and its military arm.

Response by TSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 18 at 2016 7:52 PM

2016-09-18T19:52:57-04:00

Love this question. While some functions may be too specialized for the individual branches such as aviation or infantry, other functions would just make sense to render as a shared-services corps such as medical/dental, chaplain, or legal.

Response by CPT Tom Monahan made Sep 18 at 2016 9:20 PM

2016-09-18T21:20:31-04:00

I don't disagree. Logistics is logistics. Medical is medical. CAS and short range sorties are different than transport and heavy bombing. Why do we have Marine air wings when the Navy is there? DFAS is a good example of consolidation. Heck, the
Navy took over the obsolete Costal Artillery mission. Go figure.