“Here’s the solution: turn any of my former Navy chief petty officers loose on the situation and they and their buddies will have everything going right in about 6 months.”

Exactly right. It will get done a lot more cheaply, too. The list of necessary stuff I was able to get done by the Navy for 3 lb. cans of Folgers would blow the doors off any budget bureaucrat’s cost analysis. Give those CPOs a good reason, a good cup of java, stand back and watch stuff happen!