"Cutting Military Healthcare Benfits"
"Cutting 100,000 Ground Force Troops"
and in the meantime we are building a 3/4 Million Dollar "Soccer Feild at Guantanamo Bay"
I know that it's pennies compared to cuts that need to be made but they need a farkin
soccer field!>>???
I'm OK with the troop and budget cuts- so long as we stay out of places that really, really aren't our problem, I don't see the need for all the men on the ground. I'm absolutely unqualified to have an educated opinion there.
ReplyDeleteNaval issues are another matter. Our carriers are a good investment. Our shipping is not. Naval ships are overpriced and overspecialized. We are building marine amphibious carriers at the amazing rate of 1 a year, each about 70% of the cost of an aircraft carrier, even though there hasn't been an amphibious assault since WWII. On top of that, support-level ships that are being built for $20 million each by the brits and europeans cost more than aircraft carriers to build. A fucking destroyer with a 4-inch gun and some defensive missile racks shouldn't cost over 3 billion. Add a bunch of one trick ponies like the Littoral Combat ship and Joint High Speed Vessel (each based on a hull that is available commercially for a few million and yet runs 50x that when sold to the navy).
The military is run by guys stuck in the cold war and guys who are reinventing the wheel. It's hard not to be critical.
I'm OK with the troop and budget cuts- so long as we stay out of places that really, really aren't our problem, I don't see the need for all the men on the ground. I'm absolutely unqualified to have an educated opinion there.
ReplyDeleteNaval issues are another matter. Our carriers are a good investment. Our shipping is not. Naval ships are overpriced and overspecialized. We are building marine amphibious carriers at the amazing rate of 1 a year, each about 70% of the cost of an aircraft carrier, even though there hasn't been an amphibious assault since WWII. On top of that, support-level ships that are being built for $20 million each by the brits and europeans cost more than aircraft carriers to build. A fucking destroyer with a 4-inch gun and some defensive missile racks shouldn't cost over 3 billion. Add a bunch of one trick ponies like the Littoral Combat ship and Joint High Speed Vessel (each based on a hull that is available commercially for a few million and yet runs 50x that when sold to the navy).
The military is run by guys stuck in the cold war and guys who are reinventing the wheel. It's hard not to be critical.