Considerations
Defense Expenditures Considerations
In the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States, one of the purposes of establishing this governing document of the United States was to provide for the common defense. This common defense would rest mostly with the Federal government. In the discussions around the federal deficit and with the expenditures of our defense effort constituting 18% of those overall expenditures, those expenses must come down like any of the other areas of the Federal government. Here are some of the considerations in making those cuts.
1. Insure we spend more than enough monies on research and development to make sure that none of our potential adversaries ever gets the upper hand on new weapons or new weapon systems.
2. Preserve the triad of our nuclear deterrence: missiles, aircraft, and submarines. Insure that each area advances and keeps up to date.
3. Put additional resources into cyber warfare as it is one of the most critical parts of current and future warfare.
4. Preserve the capabilities of our elite forces; i.e., the US Marines, the Navy Seals, the Army Rangers, Green Berets, and Special Forces, the Air Force Red Horse Brigade, and the other quick strike forces to counter the threat of terrorism.
5. Add resources to intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
6. Insure that health, mental health, and housing resources are adequate and available for our warriors and their dependents.
7. Reshape and resize the armed forces to meet the expected future needs.
8. Freeze the defense budget in 2015 and lower it to the 2008 levels in 2016.
9. Cap defense expenses at 50% of inflation thru 2023.