Easy peazy. All Pres. Trump needs to do is wait for a good snowfall in D. C. The “essential personnel,” who are necessary for the government to function, stay on the payroll. Everyone who can stay home, can be laid off.
To some extent, I agree with you. But the reality is that "essential personnel" are those deemed essential for the daily operation of the facility. On Fort Hood, that pertains even to the soldiers; essential personnel might include MPs, EMTs, emergency room personnel, and select personnel necessary for ensuring that the "non-essential personnel" can be mustered to strength in an emergency.
No one would assume that simply because the on- and off-post authorities would like to keep the "non-essential military personnel" off the icy roads for part of or even the whole day means that those "non-essential personnel" of the military persuasion aren't needed.
To some extent, the same goes for the civilian component here at Fort Hood. For a number of years, I have been deemed a tier-two "essential person(nel)". When the roads are listed as "red", I would be one of the people still .. very slowly and carefully .. coming onto Fort Hood to perform duties. When the roads are "black", I would stay home, along with almost every person, military or civilian, assigned to Fort Hood ... mainly excepting the on-duty military police, EMTs, etc.
Now, do I believe that the job that I perform here is anything absolutely critical or vital to national security? No. But, without me .. or someone else performing the duties that I do on a daily basis .. a little bit of grit gets thrown in the gears of mission accomplishment. Enough days off .. or enough support mission personnel not performing their support duties for the military branch .. and the gears start to break down and the mission will and does suffer.
Of course, my position could be replaced by a military person. But that's one less to be deployed. That military person is subject to being transferred, deployed, or promoted out of that position ... meaning, again, the mission suffers while someone is retrained (who will also have to be be pulled off the line, meaning one less for flexible use). I have been in my position since 1995; I know the ins-and-outs that are necessary to the smooth administration of my duties. I know where the bodies are buried. As the old saying goes, "I do more before 9 o'clock than most people do all day" mainly because I've been doing it for so long.
So throwing the baby out with the bathwater .. just lay off all "non-essential personnel" .. is something that can be done. But those jobs are still going to have to be done and that means more uniformed military performing facility, base/post, and support duties rather than the jobs that they were trained for. I'm personally not worried about my job security; I'm good at what I do and can do it better than anyone else. But the cemeteries are full of "mission-essential personnel" and, eventually, I will leave this position and someone else will have to do it. I spent 20 years as an enlisted member of the military and going on 22 years in a civil service capacity and I can honestly say that the American people would be proud and pleased with the amount of productivity and "added value" that I have given the Department of the Army during that time. I have nothing to be ashamed of and, if the determination is made to terminate my position, I will leave with my head held high.