The President traveled across the river to the Pentagon today to preview a new defense strategy to chase down falling defense budgets. Obama was quick to declare that the “tide of war” is receding for the United States and our military. But what he left out is that it is not always up to us when we engage in conflict or respond to terrorism here at home or prevent hostilities from getting worse in key oil shipping lanes, for example. Just because Washington announces truth does not mean that it …
The U.S. military has already contributed more to debt and deficit reduction than any other federal agency. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R–OH), recently sent a clear message to the congressional “super committee” charged with producing additional debt reduction plans: The defense budget has already coughed up enough. Noting—correctly—that members of the military have “taken more than their fair share of the hits” this year alone, Speaker Boehner urged politicians to look elsewhere for savings. This is a welcome acknowledgement by leadership to the entire House of Representatives that …
The echo chamber of Washington is hard at work. The consensus is growing that the U.S. military will need to aim for a slimmer but still perfectly effective military, thanks to the budget and capability cuts of the past three years. However, given the magnitude of ongoing defense budget cuts, a hollowing force simply does not translate into a “meaner” military. For the past half-century and more, America has taken a leadership role in the world. This has manifest vital national interests all around the globe. As a result, the …
Tomorrow starts the 11th year that U.S. military forces will be fighting in Afghanistan. Even though President Obama twice “surged” U.S. troops on the ground there since taking office, he has been busy cutting military capabilities and dollars the entire time. During his first two years in office, the President and Congress helped accelerate the reduction of America’s military technological advantages. Advanced equipment projects killed, delayed, or modified over the past three years include: F-22 fifth-generation tactical fighter, C-17 cargo aircraft, VH-71 helicopter, Combat search and rescue helicopter, DDG-1000 destroyer …
The U.S. Navy has approved contracts to finish building the hulls of the second and third ships of the Zumwalt class of guided-missile destroyers being constructed at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Maine. The $1.8 billion contract will also fund systems integration of the DDG-1001 Michael Monsoor and DDG-1002. The second ship of the class is named after the late Navy SEAL Michael A. Monsoor, who received the Medal of Honor for sacrificing his life for his fellow SEAL team members in Iraq. Despite the fact that the military …
The chief of Russia’s air force announced this week that the PAK FA, Russia’s fifth-generation stealth fighter, will enter service in 2015. This would be close to the time when two U.S. F-35 Joint Strike Fighter variants for the U.S. Air Force (F-35A) and the Navy (F-35C) are expected to attain initial operational capability in 2016. This display means the U.S. must keep its own Joint Strike Fighter program on schedule for production. The public flight of a PAK FA’s T-50 prototype before the world, at the MAKS–2011 International Aviation …
During a joint press event today in Washington, the Secretaries of Defense and State agreed that politicians must tackle the elephant in the room to reduce America’s crushing debt: mandatory spending on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, which account for more than 60 percent of the entire federal budget. As the Secretaries correctly suggest, America cannot afford to allow these programs to consume ever larger portions of the federal budget and the nation’s income, and delaying reforms would inevitably add to the pressure to shortchange national security funding. This threat …
Hoping to reverse the trend of “enormous [defense] cuts” ahead, House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee chairman J. Randy Forbes (R–VA) held a hearing on the state of the military. Testifying before Congress were the vice chiefs of the four services: Army General Peter Chiarelli, Navy Admiral Jonathon Greenert, Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, Jr., and Air Force General Phillip Breedlove. One of the primary drivers of decreased military readiness, according to the vice chiefs, is the unrelenting pace of operations for the past decade. No military service has been immune …
According to two top officials, the Navy is operating at an “unsustainable” pace for its current force structure. At a House Armed Services Committee hearing recently, Vice Admirals William Burke and Kevin McCoy described a force that was falling into disrepair and struggling to cover ever-increasing responsibilities with decreasing manpower and money. The Navy’s maintenance issues began in the 1990s when Washington sought a post–Cold War peace dividend. One of the first casualties was manpower, and that led to smaller Navy maintenance crews. At first, the Navy tried to get …
The Heritage Foundation would like to wish a Happy Birthday to the United States Army. Two hundred and thirty-six years after its founding, the United States Army is truly a global presence, boasting men and women who serve their country with distinction and valor spanning every corner of the globe. Today, we honor their service and give thanks for their sacrifices both at home and abroad in the defense of our freedom. Many of the defining moments of American history are shared by the army. They endured the long winter …
