I finally had the time to check out the latest release of DF, and was having a blast until I decided I needed some dwarves to defend my fortress. Over the years I've come across a lot of complaints about DF's UI, but this is the first time I've ever had an issue with it.
The military screen is no fun.
I propose a merger of the old and new system - the default should be similar to the more simple system in previous versions, and players should have the option of micromanaging things if they want to.
Let us go back to having a simple screen where we can activate dwarves, group them, select a type of weapon, general armor type, and most importantly let us activate a dwarf we see in game from the view unit menu. Seeing a list of names is too abstract for me, particularly when migrants arrive. I like to snag them right as they enter the map for the first time. When I saw a dwarf and I activated them they'd be moved to the top of the list in the military menu, so I could easily see who I had chosen to be a soldier.
Keep the new stuff so that if someone wants to dictate what color shoelaces the third dwarf in the squad wants to wear and when he can move his bowls they can, but let it default to something similar to the old system - I don't need much more than a squad with dwarves that practice with a type of weapon I choose when inactive and move to a spot that I want when I need them to go there.