Help with GMTiiC bracelet . . .

[HazenPingree]

I picked up a very cool dark green shell cordovan NATO style strap for my GMTiiC. My first disappointment came when I realized how small the window is on the watch to remove the spring-bars (so Question #1, can you recommend a good springbar tool?), my second disappointment was that the leather NATO strap was too thick to fit between the case and those thick spring-bars that Rolex now uses. So Question #2 is, can I safely replace the OEM with good but thin bars so that I can fit the strap on? Any general advice or recommendations would be appreciated, thanks.