THE SERIOUS TRIMMING STARTS ONCE YOU'RE DOWN TO JUST THE "MUST HAVES":

Pentagon officials said they have eliminated 27 jobs for generals and admirals since March, the first time the Defense Department has imposed such a reduction since the aftermath of the Cold War, when the collapse of the Soviet Union prompted the military to downsize.

The cuts are part of a broader plan to shrink the upper ranks by 10 percent over five years, restoring them to the their size when the country was last at peace, before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

In ordering the cuts, Gates said the military had succumbed over the years to "brass creep," by adding a disproportionate number of jobs at the top. The number of four-star generals and admirals today, for instance, is roughly the same as in 1971, during the Vietnam War, even though the number of active-duty troops has shrunk by half. [...]

Gortney said the Pentagon review ordered each branch of the armed services to sort their generals and admirals into four categories: "must have," "need to have," "good to have" and "nice to have."

At least 10 percent had to fall into the "nice to have" category, he said. In the end, many of those were axed. "We mandated that you had to put the low-hanging fruit in there," Gortney said. "We made them defend every one of their positions."

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