In all its years of fighting the US military has never looked so lean. The fat boy of the world’s militaries is being forced, by congress, on a diet plane not even Jenny Craig would suggest. Congress has told the US military simply, with looming budget cuts, to Charmin up because less simply has to do more. The US military is experiencing an unprecedented troop reduction due to lack of funding. Consequently, as newton stated so accurately so many years ago, “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”. As our military shrinks and generals are being told to do more with less, many are reacting by turning to advanced weapon technology to fill the void where boots once stood.
As America heads into a new year, we find our government tightening its purse strings and cracking down on excessive spending, with an emphasis on the US military. According to author Brad Plumer, a reporter at the Washington Post, “U.S. defense spending is expected to have risen in 2012, to about $729 billion, and then is set to fall in 2013 to $716 billion, as spending caps start kicking in.” Pared with a more drastic 350 billion dollar cute going into effect over the next ten years, the military finds itself cutting what cost the most to maintain and support troops (Fact Sheet par. 2). In recent years the military has bolstered an overwhelming 1,468,364 troops (Active Duty). These numbers are to be cut substantially; the biggest cut is to be seen in the Army. The Army must deal with a reduction of 80,000 troops, cutting its force of 570,000 troops to nearly 140,000.Subsequently, the budget cuts, which have led to a reduction of troops in the military, has driven the military to turn to advanced weapons technology that requires less people to m...
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Plumer, Brad. "America’s Staggering Defense Budget, in Charts." Editorial. Washington Post. Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2013. Web. 19 Jan. 2014..
Richter, Paul. "U.S. Sending Missiles, Drones to Help Iraq Fight Militants." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 26 Dec. 2013. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. http://articles.latimes.com/2013/dec/26/world/la-fg-iraq-us-arms-20131227.
Roggio, Bill. "US Drones Kill 2 AQAP Fighters in Eastern Yemen." The Long War Journal. The Long War Journal, 8 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/01/us_drones_kill_2_aqa_2.php?utm_sou rce=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: LongWarJournalSiteWide (The Long War Journal (Site-Wide)).
...states there are three powerful external factors that cloud the Marines’ horizon. The first being the oppressive influence of threat. That threat is rooted in the attitudes or aspirations of the Army, the Navy, or various chief executives. Its nature has varied-threat to the Corps’s repute, to its right to fight, to its very survival. Secondly, the recurrent military affliction called austerity. At worst, they linger in active service and are a hazard to all around them. The third is the dead hand of bureaucracy that lies over the entire military establishment. While the larger services may be able to handle the pressures of bureaucracy, the Marine Corps has neither the instinct nor the time for it. The Marines are an assemblage of warriors, nothing more. Paper massaging and computer competitions do not kill the enemy, which is what the Marines are supposed to do.
“The Price of Military Folly.” U.S. News Online. 1996. 10 April 2000 . Robinson, Linda.
Djibouti and CIA predators from a secret base on the Arabian Peninsula converged over Yemen
Controversy has plagued America’s presence in the Middle East and America’s usage of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) contributes vastly to this controversy. Their usefulness and ability to keep allied troops out of harm’s reach is hardly disputed. However, their presence in countries that are not at war with America, such as Pakistan and Yemen, is something contested. People that see the implications of drone use are paying special attention to the civilian casualty count, world perspective, and the legality of drone operations in non-combative states. The use of drone technology in the countries of Yemen and Pakistan are having negative consequences. In a broad spectrum, unconsented drone strikes are illegal according to the laws of armed conflict, unethical, and are imposing a moral obligation upon those who use them. These issues are all of great importance and need to be addressed. Their legality is also something of great importance and begins with abiding to the Laws of Armed Conflict.
After more than ten years of persistent counterinsurgency (COIN) conflict and multiple simultaneous responses to several natural disasters, the United States Army is at a crossroads regarding professional education for its officers and enlisted force. Considering overseas contingency operations in Iraq are due to conclude in December 2011 and by 2014 for Afghanistan, it is plausible that strategic planners are considering the future make-up of what will constitute the Total Army Force to include new educational criteria for what could be a smaller force than was needed for present day operations. While this may be “peace dividend” speculation, there is precedence for the Army to reevaluate its force structure and personal qualification requirements after every major conflict over the last century. . Even though defense budget reductions should redoubt army equipment priorities, training deferrals because of persistent contingency operations have inhibited enlisted professional development despite that counterinsurgency operations require refocused soldiers training to improve their sense of situational understanding and application of observable operational ethics through conceptual enlisted leadership evaluation efforts.
Shalikashvili, J.M. (n.d.). Shape, Respond, Prepare Now -- A Military Strategy for a New Era. National Military Strategy. Retrieved September 14, 2004, from http://www.dtic.mil/jcs/nms/index.html#Top
...ccomplishments. As the years progress, just as they have in the past, so will military technology. Not more 80 years ago, the United States was just learning how to se machine guns. Not more than 60 years ago, the United States was just learning how to use tanks and artillery. Nowadays, the US military has become the leading war machine in all aspects of warfare including weapons, computer technology and biological as well as chemical warfare. God only knows what advancements are to come our way.
In this article, an author under the name Warcat talks about how the army started out in war in the early 1900s and how their weapons evolved from then to now. As weapons evolved so did the method of using them. Until the 1900s, soldiers fought in big formations where Generals could mass their troops here they would do the most damage to the enemy. As guns became more common, troops were equipped with them and deployed in several ranks. When the atomic bomb was developed, large militaries again realized the danger of concentration their armies like they once did. Technology has changed the way war is fought. With more widespread and instantaneous media coverage, citizens are quickly informed of world events. With realistic views of what their
Forsling, C. (2014, September 9 ). Task and purpose . Retrieved November 16, 2017, from Task and purpose : http://taskandpurpose.com/real-problem-military-salaries-compensation/
Nowadays, countries are so advanced and have powerful allies. Shifting some funding to ensure that U.S. soldiers are getting efficient training and equipment does not mean the United States of America is looking for a fight, it means that the U.S. is trying to be prepared for a fight if our country is attacked. The U.S. is only trying to give our country a fighting chance against other countries and when we are ahead of other countries in training, weapons, ect. we will try and stay ahead of others to ensure the safety of the United States of America. President Donald J. Trump’s executive order “Rebuilding the U.S. Armed Forces” is literally militarism in itself but is very necessary and essential for the United States of America’s critical
In a world where people rush to purchase lottery tickets in the hopes of hitting a jackpot worth a few million, these expenditures are incomprehensible and may seem excessive; however, not everyone feels this way. In an article found on the U.S. Department of Defense’s website, the “DoD has done its best to manage through this prolonged period of budget uncertainty, the secretary said, making painful choices and tradeoffs” and that in “today’s security environment we need to be dynamic and we need to be responsive. What we have now is a straitjacket” (Pellerin, 2015). At the end of the day, it is all about who is being asked whether the defense budget is excessive; for those that do not feel an imminent threat is looming, the budget would seem over-the-top, but for those that either feel that a threat is imminent, or those working in the defense sector, would most likely be in favor of sustaining the current budget or increasing it. Furthermore, another topic to look at is how the United States compares with other countries on defense spending and is the difference validated?
Armed with numerous studies, and intensive public hearings, Congress mandated far-reaching changes in DOD organization and responsibilities in the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. This landmark legislation significantly expanded the authority and responsibility of the chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. Included in this expanded authority and responsibility was the requirement for the chairman to develop a doctrine for the joint employment of armed forces. As operations Urgent Fury, Just Cause, and Desert Storm have vividly demonstrated, the realities of armed conflict in today's world make the integration of individual service capabilities a matter of success or failure, life or death. Furthermore, the operation Desert One demonstrated the need for a strengthened Joint Warfare Doctrine and the consequent change in Joint Warfare Employment. It is plain to see the benefits of having the greatest navy integrated with the world's greatest army and air force. However, even in the wake of a relatively successful joint operation in the Middle East (Desert Storm), certain weaknesses are evident in the current joint employment tactics and/or capabilities. By analyzing past operations such as Urgent Fury and Desert Storm, we are able to see sufficient evidence that the Joint Warfare Concept can be disastrous in one instance and virtually flawless in another.
Lee, R. (2011, June 9). Sa'dah al-Houthi Rebellion in Yemen (2004-Present). Retrieved from Sa'dah al-Houthi Rebellion in Yemen: http://www.historyguy.com/yemen_saada_war.htm
In recent years critics have condemned the military’s research into new weapon technology, saying it only leads to death and war. However, the benefits and security from the research far out weigh the drawbacks.
Yenne, Bill (2004). Attack of the Drones: A History of Unmanned Aerial Combat. MN: Zenith Imprint.