Is the Military Big Enough?

[OxQQme]

http://billmoyers.com/story/times-still-pulls-punches/

>"Page A13 of the print edition of the March 27 New York Times carries a tantalizing if equivocal headline: “Is the Military Big Enough?” The article takes up a whole page, half of which is a graphic representing the numbers of tactical aircraft (3,476), attack helicopters (760), “unmanned aerial vehicles,” aka drones (637), bombers (157), and so on.

The subject is extraordinarily important, and the Times’ reporting is a good start, but still, the graphic and the headline skirt the thrust of the text, which questions, however imperfectly, what such vast expenditures are supposed to accomplish. The full page screams: Important! Unfortunately, the text goes on to mumble. Indeed, with American armed forces in harm’s way in God knows how many countries, it’s startling how spotty the paper’s coverage of military matters is.

>"Mr. Trump has not articulated a new mission that would require a military spending increase. This has left analysts wondering what goals he has in mind. Erin M. Simpson, a national security consultant, called Mr. Trump’s plans “a budget in search of a strategy.”

>" Trump’s proposed military budget has no detectable relation to a strategy.

[True Dough]

1. But Russia's nukes are "tippy top"

America has to make its nuclear weapons great again!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2016/06/16/trump-called-russias-nukes-tippy-top-heres-why-it-matters/?utm_term=.963503b35a3f

[Jonny Appleseed]

2. We can't stop until attack helicopters become a significant voting bloc

[loyalsister]

3. Probably when it comes to equipment

But the fact that soldiers have been doing multiple tours makes me doubt that I there are enough personnel. I think mandatory draft should accompany initiation of military action. Especially if it will require boots on the ground.
I think there's a chance Congress would have questioned the IWR more if that had been the case. There needs to be a large enough pool that they not be required to serve so many tours.

[Docreed2003]

4. Exactly...

Equipment wise, yes our armed forces are the absolute best. Personnel wise, I'm not saying they are "the best" While they are certainly amazing men and women serving in inglorious roles, the military by and large is undermanned. Sadly, budgeting for the military rarely takes that human element into account. I say that as an Afghanistan vet and current reservist. I'm not sure a draft is entirely the answer but forcing multiple deployments with minimal break between them has been an incredible stress on the military for the past 15 years. We must address this issue and stop ignoring this fact.

[TheFrenchRazor]

5. undermanned... or overdeployed in useless, unnecessary wars. i say get the US military

out of other people's countries, and back to the business of self defense, and we'll have plenty of personnel.

[Kentonio]

6. Hey, its only as much spending as the next 8 biggest countries COMBINED

So clearly, what we need the most is more military invesment..