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Chapter 10: Bent but Not Broken: How the Next Commander in Chief Can Prevent the Breaking of the U.S. Military
- Brookings Institution Press
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SUMMARY The good news for the next president is that he or she will become commander in chief of a military that is unmatched in its power and capability by any other nation’s armed forces in history. The bad news is that this excellence is under siege. The U.S. military and its National Guard and Reserve components has been stretched thin and worn down by the combination of extensive deployments over the last six years and a deferral of the hard questions of how a nation supports a military at war. The U.S. military is far from broken. But warning symptoms are there. Trends in recruiting and retention show a force under great stress. This is more than a simple issue of raw numbers of troops but also the long-term effect on quality. Likewise, while the focus of defense budgeting remains on major program acquisitions years into the future, the reality is that a looming equipment gap harms our security in the here and now. Iraq has driven many of these challenges, but they will continue years after operations end there. The problems can no longer be passed on. 133 Bent but Not Broken How the Next Commander in Chief Can Prevent the Breaking of the U.S. Military P. W. SINGER 10 The author would like to thank the comments and suggestions of Colonel John Brush, USMC; Colonel Kenneth Dahl, U.S. Army; Terree Haidet; Colonel Gregory Lengyel, U.S. Air Force; Michael O’Hanlon, Brookings; Captain Brian Perkins, U.S. Coast Guard; Commander Christopher Robinson, U.S. Navy; and Ralph Wipfli, Brookings. A critical test of the next commander in chief will not just be on when and where to use force, but whether to take the actions necessary to ensure that the military does not become broken on his or her watch. The next president will have to face looming trends and ensure that the U.S. military remains both ready and capable, avoiding any of its post-Vietnam hardships. Specifically, the president should commission a plan of action to shore up the personnel and equipment challenges in the early days of his or her new administration. Measures to take include the following actions: —Formulate a national call to service to support recruiting for our military at war —Ensure recruiting standards are not lowered to maintain a highquality force —Restore funding of “temporary” troop levels —Expand the force only in a manner that addresses severe gaps and needs rather than provdes blanket numbers —Create a Joint Stabilization Command to better plan and support operations —Answer troops’ quality of life concerns and establish a Military Families Advisory Board to better support retention —End the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that puts social politics above national security —Reevaluate weapons acquisitions in terms of actual needs and the realities of the 9/11 world —End the abuse of supplemental budgets —Eliminate and punish waste and corruption, which undermines security —Reform the acquisition process to finally work the market rather than continue to be worked by it CONTEXT From a spent and broken force after Vietnam, the U.S. military has been built into the most professional, best-trained, and bestequipped military not just in the world but in human history. For all the challenges we face now in Afghanistan and Iraq, its combat capabilities are unmatched. Indeed, it is telling that the very threats we face come not from peer competitors but from foes that seek out weaknesses on other planes of battle. But this excellence is under siege. Our military has been at war for the last six years, but other than at our airports, our nation has not. There has been no call to service and no mobilization on a national scale. 134 P. W. SINGER [3.235.246.51] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 08:16 GMT) Instead, our leaders have made compromises and deferred the tough challenges . As the following sections explore, these are beginning to create serious crunches on both military personnel and equipment that no serious candidate for president can ignore. The U.S. military in general, and the Army in particular, is at a tipping point in terms of its ability to field sufficient forces of a high level of quality and equipment that ensure our security.1 It is certainly far from broken , but warning symptoms are becoming clear. Small compromises such as accepting gaps in personnel and equipment are beginning to have huge consequences. “What...