Break Out the Scissors

Navy Times is reporting that the next round of cuts to the Navy may be coming to a Flag near you.

Since 2003, the Navy’s active-duty end strength has dropped from about 380,000 to about 330,000, a reduction of about 15 percent. And yet, the size of the admiralty has grown from 271 in 2001 to 275 last year, according to the U.S. Naval Institute, which maintains a running tally.

Now, Gates and others may be setting their sights on flag officers. Two wars and tightening defense budgets have prompted the Pentagon to look at trimming the ranks of flag officers and other high-level officials as a way to save money.

“How many of our headquarters and secretariats are primarily in the business of reporting to or supervising other headquarters and secretariats, as opposed to overseeing activity related to real-world needs and missions?” Gates said May 8 at the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kan.

Time to break out the hard copy of your May 2010 Proceedings and scratch a few X's with the magic marker I suppose.

If there is a 10% cut that would drop the number of Admirals to 248. A 25% cut would drop the number of Admirals to around 207. The Navy Times article mentions so financial figures, so lets borrow them:

Admirals are not cheap. The Navy estimates that each admiral costs about $230,000 each year in salary and benefits.

Lets presume for a minute that the Navy cuts 25% of the Flag Officer ranks and 10 staff positions for each Flag officer, and the average cost of a staff billet is $120,000. That means 69 Flag officers and 690 staff billets. The savings come to about $98,670,000.

Would such a move pay for itself, or cost the Navy ~$100 million somewhere else? Would that ~$100 million represent efficiency or lost productivity? I see this approach similar to how I see all calls in government to cut manpower - a shot in the dark. This isn't about reform and SECDEF doesn't seem concerned with the ramifications of the changes he is making, so the impression is that cutting Flag officers is a way to give the perception that the DoD is doing something to cut costs.