President Obama has just ordered massive cutbacks in defense spending, eventually to total some $500 billion. There is plenty of fat in a Pentagon budget that grew after 9/11, but such slashing goes way too far.
Fairly or not, the cuts will only cement the now-familiar stereotype of Obama’s desire to retrench on the world scene. They follow symbolic apologies for purported past American sins, bows to foreign royals, and outreach to the likes of Iran and Syria. Abroad, such perceptions can matter as much as reality, as our rivals begin hoping that Obama is as dubious about America’s historically exceptional world role as are they.
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In contrast, a robust military keeps the peace by deterring aggressors through the appearance of overwhelming force. We often forget that the appearance of strength in peace is almost as important as the reality of strength in war. When wars end, we scale back (think 1919 or 1946) — only to kick ourselves once tensions arise again out of nowhere, and we must scramble to catch up and rearm for an unimagined World War II or Cold War.
America’s armed forces spend about 80 percent of their budgets not on bullets and bombs but on training and compensating troops. Often, they do a far better job of shaping the minds and character of our youth than do our colleges. Somehow the military can take an 18-year-old and teach him to park a $100 million fighter on a carrier deck, but our colleges cannot ensure that his civilian counterpart will show up regularly for classes. Young men and women leave the service debt-free and with skills. Too many of our college students pile up debt and become increasingly angry that by their mid-20s they still have received neither competitive skills nor real education.
The reason why our deficit is more than $1 trillion is not just that we have multimillion-dollar jet fighters or tens of thousands of Marines. Defense outlays currently represent only about 20 percent of federal budget expenditures and are below 5 percent of our gross national product. Those percentages are roughly average costs for recent years — despite an ongoing deployment in Afghanistan. In contrast, over the last three years we have borrowed a record near– $5 trillion for vast unfunded entitlements — from a spiraling Social Security and Medicare to an expansion of the food-stamp program to include one-seventh of America. Yet many Americans would probably prefer a new frigate manned by highly trained youth to discourage our enemies, rather than another Solyndra-like investment or a near– $1 trillion stimulus aimed at creating jobs in “shovel-ready” projects.
"Welfare queens driving Cadillacs" is bad Government spending, but apparently having a squadron of F-35 JSF fighters flying around burning expensive jet fuel, training for some mission to stop a lone truck bomber in a Kabul marketplace is "good" Government spending.
The best way to explain the attitude between the men on the line and the people who "get the stuff" is most of the staff officers quickly forget the line.
The US military could just use a better rifle than the prone to jam M-16 (M-4 in the Army) and a better rocket launcher than the neo-bazooka called the Viper. Indeed, the US Marines were going to use captured stocks of RPG-7s in their rifle squads back after the invasion of Grenada until flatly told by the DoD that using captured equipment was not the style of Americans.
The USN could make due with 100 nex AV-8 Jump Jets and 100-200 new F/A-18E & F jets. The USAF could make due with 300 F-15Es and 900 F-16C Block 50+.
Nobody really wants the F-35. Nobody except the Congress, the companies, and the unions. It's amazing how well all three work together for money.
Copy the RPG, re-open the F-15, F-16, and AV-8 production lines, and give the Army & Marines a high tech version of the M-14 rifle.
Na... that's too easy. We gotta give that pork to everybody.
Skip the M-14, just copy the AK-47 already and be done. There's never been a more battle proven firearm in the history of warfare, and probably never will be.
Are the police and fire departments a command economy?
Are life guards at the beach a command economy?
You seem not to understand the difference between the expenses of government which secure ourselves and the surplus wealth produced by the workers in the capitalist economy that pay those expenses.
Using the DOD budget as an infinite pot of money to loot for welfares is criminally wrong. Using it as an infinite pot to rob for tax cuts or deficit reduction, as many Republicans are wont to do, is equally wrong. National security is the rent on the nation. It is a necessity. Welfare spending is a luxury.
However, rebalancing the DOD budget is long overdue. The United States came out of the Cold War with a force structured to fight a land war in Europe. Large ground forces and tactical air forces, but a medium-sized Navy long on convoy escorts.
The post-Cold War world was far less predictable, with emphasis shifting from Europe to the Middle East and Far East. Logically, the United States should have shifted its force balance to sea-based forces that could be rapidly moved where needed. But this did not happen. Thanks to the ossification cemented in by Goldwater-Nichols regulations, Congressional pressure, and a total lack of vision on the part of the Clinton Administration, the United States wound up with a smaller version of the unbalanced force.
Over the last decade, that force has become even more unbalanced. A force equipped and trained to fight counterinsurgency efforts - and disturbingly incapable of fighting a peer opponent. Counterinsurgency may seem appealing, but history has shown that the American public does not have the patience for it. Which means that cutting our ability to carry out an unexecutable strategy is no loss - IF the money goes to reinforce our conventional warfighting power, something we ARE good at.
Unfortunately, it seems that the DOD budget will be gutted to pay off Obama's donors instead.
The technology of high tech gadgets we enjoy today was initiated from DARPA funded projects. DARPA was founded in response to Sputnik. Soviets never caught upm during the cold war. The Arab-Israeli wars were the testing ground for American vs Soviet weapons systems. With the exception of the Soviet aviation industry most Russian equipment were pieces of junk. They didn't do so well in producing Low Observable aircraft or efficient nuclear submarine design.
It is not a good analog to compare a university student to a military member.
However, if one is going to do that then here is some reality. The wash out rate for MIT, Cal Tech, and Michigan Tech is about 50%. The wash out rate for the military academies and the US Nuclear training school is about 50%. BTW, military personnel miss class all the time in school. All they need is an excuse.
Now, this poster is a retired military officer. That said it is very perpexing that no cuts can be made to the military. Then one sees the vast amount of waste that can make the public school system seem efficient.
Let's take the three most recent debacles. The US Army gave up on it's light and medium grey uniform. Soldiers had no concealment from that uniform in green or sand. Billions were lost in that boondoggle. Next, let us take the LCS. The US Navy spent money in excess of getting a new aircraft carrier on a ship that is basically a converted car ferry. The LCS is armed with one - count 'em - one 57mm cannon. It is overbuilt and underarmed. Next, lets look at my personal DoD favorite, the F-22. The F-22 program was in development from the late 80s until it was cancelled in '09. It is pretty impressive to have a program in development so long that people retire from it on a regular basis. When adjusted for constant dollars the F-22 had more money spent on it than the F-15 program. However, the F-15, no inexpensive aircraft, had a run of nearly 1,000 airframes and was as advanced over the F-4 (a dreadful aircraft) as the F-22 is over the F-15.
But this might be more than academic. Mark Steyn bluntly says there is no future for "the most broke nation ever" on the Earth.
Victor knows that the vast numbers of hoplites didn't stop the fall of Athens.
Our expensive defense will be pointless to the coming Treasury Debt Bubble. It hits 20 trillion in 2016.
The simple quick fix would be to REQUIRE all able bodied males 17+ to serve.
I know this smacks those as "cruel" and unusual, but if you are from Mexico or Peru, serve the country you want to live in (if you want to live here, not just plug into the system.)
At least the money spent will go towards a need and not welfare.
Of course, Obama won't do that...it'll coat him precious votes!
Why just males? And why only able-bodied? There are plenty of positions of need that could be filled by women, or by people with poor eyesight or certain disabilities. Universal service could be a good concept, but it needs to be spread much wider than just those who learn how to use weapons and handle artillery, planes and ships.
Excellent article that so effectively diagnoses our current situation. Entitlements will triumph over defense because they appeal so enticingly to our natures. We will always trade someone taking care of us over vigilance and sacrifice even though history has repeatedly shown us the consequences of that folly. The foolishness of the 30s and the subsequent consequences rendered by Hitler and Tojo should stand as stark reminders but they don't.
The foolishness of VietNam and the subsequent consequences should have stood as stark reminders, but we still had Iraq. So much from learning anything from our mistakes...
Charming description of what the military does for young people, professor. Unfortunately, not all of them emerge from the experience "debt free and with competitive skills." Many of them emerge dead. Others emerge crippled for life, unable to work. and yes, in need of "government handouts." When is NR going to tell that story?
No disrespect intended but it is important for you to know that those who subscribe to NR know that NR has told "that story" and will continue to do so.
Moreover, NR has never considered veteran benefits to be "government handouts".
And yet, they call social security, which workers and employers have paid into all their working lives, a handout, when it is in fact just getting back what is already ours.
