Have you ever been to basic training?? Do you have any idea how much time is wasted just moving recruits to and from the range? Or how much time is wasted having all those recruits sitting around waiting to use the range?

Yes. Ah. I see the disconnect, you're thinking in terms of time savings/ efficiency for the generating force (actually from the perspective of the recruit as well). Big army could care less about that, aside from filling spaces slightly faster. I'm talking about $$, in which that calculus (outside of training resources e.g. fuel, ammunition, etc) is honestly laughable compared to other programmatic concerns and budgeting decisions. Even after we stopped Grow The Army, and started downsizing (nothing like the paucity of earlier peace dividends though) there's still relatively substantial funding for readiness and new toys. Basic training expenses are unlikely to dent those decisions. If you care deeply about efficiency, the military or its gov partners/masters are institutionally opposed or at least blinded, even at the billion dollar levels.

The idea of better "soldierizing" is interesting but underspecified. Does drill and ceremony matter in the long run? Traditions/history etc. If it's just training for a job, then break everyone up based on contract and start advanced individual training early. That would be optimal and efficient. You'd eliminate the collective experience of having the volunteer force having gone through some kind of shared experience regardless of career (or maybe the experience is more minimal than it already is). Folks have advocated this position before. Maybe that's where it ends up. Maybe that's where it has to end up with the physical (and arguably emotional) erosion of the able bodied population. We have more human veal showing up stunted and unprepared by their lifestyle.