US Military Power - 2021

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What is amazing is being there. I went on a dependence day cruise decades ago and the ship was attached to a Carrier group. The carrier group went through exercises and WOW it is intense. Really, really intense.
 
I didn't watch the video, I just think of the cost per day for our military. the nation's debt and how the military/industrial complex is sucking the country dry. I served and it's a good way to see how the Government does things, badly.
 
I didn't watch the video, I just think of the cost per day for our military. the nation's debt and how the military/industrial complex is sucking the country dry. I served and it's a good way to see how the Government does things, badly.

The primary duty of the US Military is the defense of national interests, which are economic interests in particular. Yes it does cost the nation a large amount of money but at the same time the freedom they are protecting is the economic freedom that all Americans get to enjoy and frankly take for granted more often than not. If the US Navy alone was not there to protect international shipping over the seas, the US and most other countries throughout the world would be gravely impacted.
 
The primary duty of the US Military is the defense of national interests, which are economic interests in particular. Yes it does cost the nation a large amount of money but at the same time the freedom they are protecting is the economic freedom that all Americans get to enjoy and frankly take for granted more often than not. If the US Navy alone was not there to protect international shipping over the seas, the US and most other countries throughout the world would be gravely impacted.
It's a racket. Imagine bringing a soldier from ww2 to our time and showing him the incredible firepower at our disposal and then explaining we have been fighting a twenty-year war against goat herders with rifles. and the goat herders won. That does show why we need the second amendment. I guess we just can't sit down with people and come to an agreement that benefits everyone? except the military is a racket in other countries also? Sorry to be negative on the Navy is great post. I'm not worried about the Russians and the Chinese seem to be able to beat us without firing a shot. I think our Commander and chief has been compromised by the Chicoms. NAFTA helped them crush us also with the help of U.S. corporations. Out of curiosity do you think the U.S. will actually defend Taiwan? I read many posts saying they don't think so.
 
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I didn't watch the video, I just think of the cost per day for our military. the nation's debt and how the military/industrial complex is sucking the country dry. I served and it's a good way to see how the Government does things, badly.
Before all the additional spending on stimulus and relief for the pandemic, which nearly doubled Federal spending, the entire US military budget was about 16% of the Federal budget.

16%.

The DOD isn’t the part of the budget that is “sucking us dry”.
 
It's a racket. Imagine bringing a soldier from ww2 to our time and showing him the incredible firepower at our disposal and then explaining we have been fighting a twenty-year war against goat herders with rifles. and the goat herders won. That does show why we need the second amendment. I guess we just can't sit down with people and come to an agreement that benefits everyone? except the military is a racket in other countries also? Sorry to be negative on the Navy is great post. I'm not worried about the Russians and the Chinese seem to be able to beat us without firing a shot. I think our Commander and chief has been compromised by the Chicoms. NAFTA helped them crush us also with the help of U.S. corporations. Out of curiosity do you think the U.S. will actually defend Taiwan? I read many posts saying they don't think so.
I don't know if we will defend Taiwan, but I think defense resources will be (hopefully) better spent elsewhere, especially with the thread of China/Russia.
 
The 2022 budget proposal of 6 trillion exceeds revenue by over 1.8 trillion. DOD at roughly 750 billion (that’s 0.75 trillion, for those who are not good with big numbers) puts the entire DOD at 12%.

And DOD is discretionary spending.

So, elimination of the entire DOD, would still leave us with over a trillion (that’s 1,000 billion, again, for those who can’t, or won’t, understand the big numbers) dollar shortfall in revenue (a deficit) and still adding to the national debt (money has to be borrowed to cover the difference between revenue and spending).

12% of the whole pie isn’t where the problem lies.

Sure, we can address cost vs. capabilities, and required force structure, to spend the right amount for what we need, but US military spending is now at its lowest level, as a percentage of Federal spending, in over a century.
 
Out of curiosity do you think the U.S. will actually defend Taiwan? I read many posts saying they don't think so.

After what happened to Soleimani I would not trust the United States to do anything if I were a foreign country. Taiwan is in the same position as North Korea is in, in a sense. China would be best suited to maintain the status quo on the Korean peninsula indefinitely due to how stong of an economic partner South Korea is and North Korea knows that they can be crushed by either side on a whim.

Taiwan is in a similar precarious position, they can be crushed by China whether or not the US would seek to intervene. I suppose the question would be is what interests does the United States have in Taiwan, beyond their historic defense treaty? The United States would be best suited by maintaining the current status quo.
 
The primary duty of the US Military is the defense of national interests, which are economic interests in particular. Yes it does cost the nation a large amount of money but at the same time the freedom they are protecting is the economic freedom that all Americans get to enjoy and frankly take for granted more often than not. If the US Navy alone was not there to protect international shipping over the seas, the US and most other countries throughout the world would be gravely impacted.
Huh? If you mean exporting our inflation to the rest of the world which artificially decreases our cost of living then ya you'd be correct.
 
The 2022 budget proposal of 6 trillion exceeds revenue by over 1.8 trillion. DOD at roughly 750 billion (that’s 0.75 trillion, for those who are not good with big numbers) puts the entire DOD at 12%.

And DOD is discretionary spending.

So, elimination of the entire DOD, would still leave us with over a trillion (that’s 1,000 billion, again, for those who can’t, or won’t, understand the big numbers) dollar shortfall in revenue (a deficit) and still adding to the national debt (money has to be borrowed to cover the difference between revenue and spending).

12% of the whole pie isn’t where the problem lies.

Sure, we can address cost vs. capabilities, and required force structure, to spend the right amount for what we need, but US military spending is now at its lowest level, as a percentage of Federal spending, in over a century.
From 2016-17 military spending was up 5.5% and 2017-18 it was up 7.2% which outpaced inflation quite a bit. Also since covid the overall budgets of most countries have expanded alot which hopefully will be ending sooner than later, so the relative slice of the "normal" budget pie may still be increasing again. That said, I'd rather have the US be the big kid on the block than the other options!
 
Regarding Taiwan, the US will not be alone in that regard. Japan is boosting their military especially their naval fleet to counter the China intrusion. Australia also has a interest in protecting Taiwan.

The Quad Alliance is still intact on this regard.
 
It's a racket. Imagine bringing a soldier from ww2 to our time and showing him the incredible firepower at our disposal and then explaining we have been fighting a twenty-year war against goat herders with rifles. and the goat herders won. That does show why we need the second amendment. I guess we just can't sit down with people and come to an agreement that benefits everyone? except the military is a racket in other countries also? Sorry to be negative on the Navy is great post. I'm not worried about the Russians and the Chinese seem to be able to beat us without firing a shot. I think our Commander and chief has been compromised by the Chicoms. NAFTA helped them crush us also with the help of U.S. corporations. Out of curiosity do you think the U.S. will actually defend Taiwan? I read many posts saying they don't think so.
There is no way in hell the U.S. will go nose to nose with China in their back yard.
 
I agree with many, now fully disillusioned and cynical. War seems to enrich the elite, at the expense of the individuals and nation.

WW2: In under 4 years we swiftly defeated a 3-prong Axis that had the best trained militaries with among the most sophisticated equipment in the world with Germany and Italy controlling most of Europe and north Africa and dominating the seas with subs, Japan controlling most of the western Pacific even into the US Aleutian islands.

Modern "warfare" means lots of elite profit while Americans suffer and die and otherwise lose Constitutional rights for 20 years while we slowly lose to and surrender to goat herders with AK47s and some pipe bombs in 1 or 2 nations the size of Texas. Really trying to not make this political but Americans need to wake up!

Oh, and I should mention I'm a former US Army officer and multiple combat deployed veteran, and we lost good people on my deployments. Such a waste.
 
We just left 90 BILLION dollars worth of arms and equipment in Afghanistan in our hurry to leave.....to people that hate us.....UNBELIEVABLE....what an insult to us taxpayers too...
To clarify we spent that 90 billion to equip and train Afghan military. It was handed over to them.

We left some of our own equipment behind and demilitarized most of and the figure is significantly less.
 
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