Military Priorities

In our last couple of e-mails, we were discussing how we would restructure the U.S. military if we were in charge of such things. Of course, we're not in charge, and those who are in charge are unlikely to act upon our suggestions, but just saying.

I think that we both agree that there is entirely too much military activity going on in the world, but we may differ on what to do about it. I would keep the military budget about the same size as it is now, at first. I don't think that cutting a certain percentage across the board, like they did with that sequester thing is a good idea. If you reduce the funding without changing the mission you are essentially expecting them to do more with less, and that's not going to work.

My own military experience did not involve actual combat, and there certainly was a lot of screwing off going on, but I doubt that soldiers in real combat situations screw off like we did. Even where I was, we took out tactical combat training exercises seriously. The screwing off was done back at the barracks in between such assignments.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were won a long time ago. Isn't it about time that our guys declared victory and came home? Funny thing, the Korean War was initially called a "police action" but, of course, it was really a war. What they're currently doing in Afghanistan and Iraq really is a police action, yet they're still calling it a war. Why do you suppose that is?

From what I have read and seen on the TV news, most of the units deployed in the Middle East are National Guard units. Isn't the National Guard supposed to be guarding the nation? I mean our nation, not somebody else's. Bring these guys home and put them to work guarding our own borders. This has got to be cheaper than maintaining then overseas and rotating them in and out of there every six or twelve months. Once our own borders have been secured, it may be possible to reduce the military presence there, with the understanding that, if things flare up again, the troops will be coming right back. They won't have as far to go to this time, so money will surely be saved. Once all the savings start piling up, then we can talk about reducing the size of the military and its budget.

We have discussed how Switzerland doesn't really have an army, but they've got one hell of a national guard, and Switzerland hasn't been invaded in centuries. What make a national guard cheaper to run than an army is that, when you don't need them right now, you can send them home and let them screw off on their own time. Of course Switzerland doesn't try to feed and defend the whole rest of the world and meddle in their affairs, which might have something to do with it. It's like one of my old army buddies used to say: "Don't start no shit, and there won't be none!"