“When there is a RIF, the married junior enlisted can be chosen as first to go, and there is no problem adding marriage as an exclusion for entry in the first place.”
The Marines tried that...backed down in the face of impending legislation from Congress and a huge public uproar. And if you treat family like lepers, you won’t HAVE any mid or senior level enlisted...they won’t stay. Nor will young officers stay to mature.
Congress has latitude, but they need a draft to force people in. And once forced, they would need laws to keep them in, if they behave as you recommend.
The tradition system was to treat all enlisted personnel E-3 and below as single, providing no additional benefits for spouse or children. A return to this policy seems a logical step in the future, since manpower costs since the early 1980’s have risen some 80%, to a great extent attributable to junior enlisted spouse and family benefits.
Likewise, private quarters would only be provided to those E-4 and above. And minimum frustration in the ranks is created by phasing in such a program with new enlistments.
The bottom line is that cutbacks are coming, because they must come. The money is no longer there to maintain our current force structure, and cutbacks will be made based on the needs of the service, not its personnel. As was always the case.