The military’s job is to do what its civilian leadership asks of it. Today, that simply isn’t possible. One can argue that the military shouldn’t be being asked to do several of the things it does, and that’s a legitimate topic of debate. One can argue that there’s a lot of fraud, waste, and abuse going on in Defense spending, and that too is true. Much of that waste has been eliminated given that the Defense Department, responsible for 16% of US Government outlays, has shouldered 50% of government budget cuts over the last several years, while entitlements, which account for 65% of outlays, have only been marginally impacted, because most of their spending is considered mandatory. But neither of these objections address the fact that the military can’t do its job unless it gets the funding it needs.
In fact, many argue that recent increased demands on the military are a result of decreased deterrent capability, tied directly to recent Defense cuts.
We only get two choices: cheap, fast, or good. When it comes to national defense, fast and good aren’t optional.
