In Better Shape for War

Even if you happen to be the biggest economy in the world, a $13 trillion mountain of debt eventually becomes a real burden. The word around Washington these days is “save,” and the Pentagon is also expected to do its bit to the tune of $450 billion, albeit spread out over 10 years. This is something new for the generals, accustomed to seeing their budgets increase every year to the point that they have doubled since 2001 to over $700 billion annually. The United States spends nearly as much as the rest of the world combined on defense. The target reductions will also be affected by the withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan, which will result in substantial savings. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also plans significant reductions in health care and pension costs. In the health care arena alone, expenditures will be reduced from the current $50 billion to $19 billion.

Naturally, the various branches will also have to do without some of the new weapons systems they want. But why spend, for example, $400 billion for 2,400 F-35 fighter jets at a time when the strategy is switching toward the unmanned drone aircraft that will see dramatic increases in use? Plans are already underway to train more drone pilots than pilots of traditional aircraft. The bottom line is the military capability of the force to secure national interests. Panetta said that in the future the U.S. wanted to go to war with a “smaller, lighter, more agile, flexible joint force.”