I have long known that our military is hollowed out. Mere comparisons of how many divisions the US has, vis-à-vis other countries, blatantly ignores this fact. Less than a week ago, however, Jennifer Griffin, on FNC, did a more specific accounting of the matter. She noted the following: *Marine aviators are cannibalizing other planes, just to get to the Middle East. *Half of the B-1 bombers in South Dakota's air base could not fly; people there had to get spare parts from the "Boneyard," in Arizona, in order to make them fly. *As to the army, only five--five--of 58 brigades are currently ready to fight. This all sounds pretty depressing to me...
US Navy Is NOT Ready For Major War: The US surface fleet may not be adequately trained for high-intensity combat, four experienced former skippers and the former deputy secretary of defense warned a US Naval Institute conference here on Monday. “Navigation and seamanship, these are the fundamental capabilities which every surface warfare officer should have, but I suspect if called to war, we’ll be required to do a lot more than safely navigate the Singapore strait,” where the destroyer USS McCain collided with an oil tanker, said retired Capt. Kevin Eyer, former skipper of the cruisers Shiloh, Chancellorsville, and Thomas Gates. “If our surface forces are unable to successfully execute these fundamental blocking and tackling tasks, how can it be possibly be expected that they are also able to do the much more complex warfighting tasks?” Warning !!! Before continuing you might want to borrow some Play Dough from a liberal who had to go into therapy after Trump won. Got your Play Dough ? Then continue -> https://breakingdefense.com/2017/12...ANlPHmNcth1vB9UloKF_a3It1eD0TA&_hsmi=59120648
I am guessing that you believe that the US military has no legitimate role beyond just "defend[ing] our shores" from assault. That strikes me as a very restrained view--held only by progressives and libertarians...
Most Americans would rather defend our shores from 5,000 to 10,000 miles away than on our beaches or in the air over the CONUS.
That is not defense. It is offense and the reason why so many in the world hate us and want to attack us
Cut the army and air force in half, beef up the navy and marines and update our nuclear forces with a new class of superior nuclear weapons both tactical and strategic and keep working on our missile defenses and we will be fine we just need to be sure any minor missile attack can likely be stopped and we can respond quickly with a striking force superior to any rogue states. And we need to use a nuclear weapon on an enemy as soon as we can and make it a legitimate attack to show we will use them.
When attacked you go on the offense. That's how you win wars after being attacked. You take the war to the enemy.
Our Air Force says the same. Our Special Forces and Rangers are spread all over the place and they are burning out. The Marines aren't doing any better. But you know Semper FI. We need to get rid of that BO peep sequestration.
All depends which branch of the military you are looking at. Clinton deactivated the 9th Marines (The Walking Dead) in violation of the National Security Act. All Marine Barack's and ship detachments became history and were deactivated. When Clinton became President he inherited Reagan's military that was able to put 500,000 troops into combat. When Clinton left the White House it was Clinton's military that G.W.Bush inherited Clinton's military being able to only put 200,000 troops into combat. Under Clinton 100 U.S. Navy ships were deactivated and over 1/2 of the Navy's oilers were deactivated that all of are ships couldn't refuel at sea which was SOP before Clinton and had to go into unfriendly ports like Yemen to refuel that allowed Al Qaeda to blow up the USS Cole. The Air National Guard who's main mission is the air defense of the CONUS lost 1/2 of it's fighter squadrons. So on 9-11-01 the ANG wasn't capable of putting a CAP over the CONUS and and it's not the job of the U.S. Air Force, Navy or Marines to provide CAP over the CONUS but that's what happened. 1993 18 U.S. Army combat divisions. 2000 10 U.S. Army combat divisions. Under Clinton the U.S. Air Force went from 24 Air Wings to 13 Air Wings. You don't judge a military by how many are wearing the uniform. You have to have REMF's to support the combat arms. Navies need shore support facilities and ship yards to be able to put ships to sea and fight. Armies need installations in the CONUS to train for war and maintenance and supply depots to support troops when they are deployed into combat. What happened under Clinton's watch was BRAC ll and BRAC lll. 1993 The 1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission included: Anniston Army Depot (Realign) Camp Evans Fort Wingate Griffiss Air Force Base Homestead Air Force Base (Turned over to the U.S. Air Force Reserve) K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base March Air Force Base (Turned over to U.S. Air Force Reserve) Mare Island Naval Shipyard Marine Corps Air Station El Toro Naval Air Station Agana Naval Air Station Alameda Naval Air Station Barbers Point Naval Air Station Cecil Field Naval Air Station Dallas (Realign as Grand Prairie Armed Forces Reserve Complex) Naval Air Station Glenview Naval Air Warfare Center Trenton Naval Aviation Depot Alameda Naval Aviation Depot Norfolk Naval Aviation Depot Pensacola Naval Electronic Systems Engineering Center, Saint Inigoes Naval Hospital Charleston Naval Hospital Oakland Naval Hospital Orlando Naval Reserve Center Gadsden Naval Reserve Center Montgomery Naval Station Charleston Naval Station Mobile Naval Station Staten Island Naval Station Treasure Island Naval Supply Center, Oakland Naval Training Center Orlando Naval Training Center San Diego Newark Air Force Base O'Hare Air Reserve Station Plattsburgh Air Force Base Vint Hill Farms Station Williams Air Force Base 1995 The 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission included: Bergstrom Air Force Base Camp Bonneville Castle Air Force Base Fitzsimons Army Medical Center Fort Chafee (Turned over to the Arkansas National Guard) Fort Greely (Realign) Fort Indiantown Gap (Turned to the Pennsylvania National Guard) Fort McClellan Fort Pickett (Turned over to the Virginia National Guard) Fort Ritchie Kelly Air Force Base Letterkenny Army Depot McClellan Air Force Base Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne Naval Air Facility Adak Naval Air Station South Weymouth Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Warminster Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Indianapolis Naval Reserve Center Fayetteville Naval Reserve Center Fort Smith Naval Reserve Center Huntsville Naval Shipyard, Long Beach Naval Supply Center, Oakland Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division Oakland Army Base Ontario Air National Guard Station Red River Army Depot Reese Air Force Base Roslyn Air National Guard Station Savanna Army Depot Activity Seneca Army Depot Ship Repair Facility, Guam Sierra Army Depot Stratford Army Engine Plant
It was North Koreans commies who attacked U.S. Army troops in South Korea in 1950. A nation doesn't have to be attacked by another country's military to take punitive actions against that nation. From 1800 to 1934 U.S. Marines made 180 armed landing on foreign shores, broke some stuff, shot some people and went back to their ships leaving a message "**** with America or American citizens again, we will be back and kick your butts again." The vast majority of these little wars were punitive actions.
If we are not in south korea there is no attack. These "punative actions" only serve to enrich the military industrial complex and make the world hate us
In 1950 South Korea was still under post WW ll Allie military occupation along with many other countries through out the world. I was aboard Okinawa two times when I was in the Corps, 1969 and 1970. Okinawa was still under post WW ll U.S. military occupation at the time with a U.S. military government and wasn't returned back to Japan until November of 1971. The Soviet's post WW ll military occupation of Eastern Europe didn't end until 1991. From 1946 until beginning in the late 1970's and 80's the entire Central Pacific (Micronesian Islands formerly the Mandate Islands ) was under the control of the U.S. Navy. We still have troops in Germany today. Wars of profiteering enriches the military complex. When Gen. Smedly Butler said that "War is a racket" he was only referring to the Banana Wars which were mostly wars of profiteering.
I really do not know exactly what that is supposed to mean. Even more importantly, perhaps, is the fact that I am not quite sure just how it is germane to my previous response.
Dude, that meme is 40 years out of date. Regular US businesses far outnumber the profits of military sales.
It is a paraphrase of a great man who refused to go to Vietnam and paid for it. We need to protect our shores....not the ME