Defense Department Spending Cuts

[ByrdC130]

I say instead - let's shrink the large number of ready combat ground forces and focus on modernization - keeping a core of highly trained forward thinking and constantly innovating senior NCOs, and officers. Also for the forces that we do keep - time to tilt toward air and sea power and modernized equipment.

It would be a nice thought to think that wars could just be fought with hi-tech gizmonitry and big long range guns that go boom. But, the reality played out in Desert Storm and to the wars today, you can big boom the crap out of your enemy but unless you kill every single one of them, you still have to have the boots on the ground to secure said ground. Even in Viet Nam the massive B-52 strikes didn't kill that many VC, they dug underground and when the bombs stopped, they went about their business.

The weapons of war change, but the fundamentals of war rarely change. But, after seeing the US mil think it has changed the fundamentals of war and not realize that it really hasn't changed, it doesn't suprise me to hear someone else blow and go about leaner meaner quick strike forces. Same was said right after Desert Storm and numbers of troops dropped because we'd never fight another war of occupation. So let's see, we've had large forces in Iraq & Afghanistan for how long. Oh, so multiple deployments aren't that big a deal...Jeeze I want to cuss right now.

 

[David2012]

Sen. Tom Coburn has exposed more waste of our tax dollars. It seems the Pentagon spent $100,000+ on a planning workshop that had a section dedicated to discussing 'Did Jesus die for Klingons".

The pentagon also spent money developing a smartphone app so Pentagon employees could plan their coffee breaks in a more effiecient manner.

With people like this now in control, our country has to be doomed for failure.

And to top everything off, it looks like 'Hostess' and its Bakers union have failed to reach a deal and 'Hostess' has announced it is going to liquidate the company putting 18,000+ union workers out of a job. It appears that we have seen the end of the "Twinkie". Production has ended.

In some places, the unions wouldn't let trucks carrying twinkies carry bread, and trucks carrying bread carry twinkies.. just to keep more teamster drivers employed.

 

[reddog1]

We could have a nuclear holocaust by morning. I hope I can still make coffee.

 

[338Shooter]

I don't like coffee.

 

[trickydick]

 

[Drebin]

I need a few more weeks to prepare!

 

[jfssms]

I don't like coffee.

I hear you, try a monster hotdog.

 

[mugsy]

It would be a nice thought to think that wars could just be fought with hi-tech gizmonitry and big long range guns that go boom. But, the reality played out in Desert Storm and to the wars today, you can big boom the crap out of your enemy but unless you kill every single one of them, you still have to have the boots on the ground to secure said ground. Even in Viet Nam the massive B-52 strikes didn't kill that many VC, they dug underground and when the bombs stopped, they went about their business.

The weapons of war change, but the fundamentals of war rarely change. But, after seeing the US mil think it has changed the fundamentals of war and not realize that it really hasn't changed, it doesn't suprise me to hear someone else blow and go about leaner meaner quick strike forces. Same was said right after Desert Storm and numbers of troops dropped because we'd never fight another war of occupation. So let's see, we've had large forces in Iraq & Afghanistan for how long. Oh, so multiple deployments aren't that big a deal...Jeeze I want to cuss right now.

Umm...the solution to what you are saying in your last line is NOT large standing ground forces in peacetime, it is a logical mobilization plan for war but read on...

You misunderstand - I am not saying that IF we have to engage in another ground war that we should do it on the cheap. I am saying that since we are, in fact, regrouping after a long ground war and will inevitably contract our land component/don't aniticipate another large ground war for a while then it is time to modernize what we do have and re-capitalize our force for future operations. The simple fact is that if we are going to be on a lean budget then keeping large numbers of troops in garrison is not the way to go. If money was not an object I'd say do it all - but money is an object and we do have an opportunity for a strategic pause. So let's take advantage of that pause to rebuild our core capability which has always been high-tech capability both in destructive potential, self-defense potential, and intelligence gathering potential while keeping our remianing ground troops from becoming hollow.
A lot of the success we have had was due to long-term past investments we made, as a nation, in drones, aircraft that rule the skies and give us assymetric advantages, long-haul logistics capability, etc. The next war may not be fought against what is essentially an army of primitives and every soldier on the battlefield will darn well want the latest and greatest technology to give him an advantage.
The Army hasn't suffered a hostile air attack since the Korean War (60+ years ago) - that didn't happen by accident or by our great force of numbers. It happened because we invested in military technology that let us keep our soldiers and airmen more capable. Likewise, the Navy has protected our ability to move troops globally and project American power quickly long before masses of troops can be moved - again didn't happen cheaply, low-tech, or easily. If we don't invest NOW - while we have the chance to trim back on ground force expenses then we will see soldiers killed because we can't control the skies or the seas and we will lose our next fight. Heck and we haven't even touched on the relatively new realm of cyber-warfare.

 

[TwoForFlinching]

We could have a nuclear holocaust by morning. I hope I can still make coffee.

+1...

 

[TwoForFlinching]

Coburn's a great Senator.

Another two-term, full retirement, drain onthe deficit politician... But one heck of a nice guy