Are We Ready?

[swampgator]

Yesterday's news had a short comment about the possibility of another round of BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) which also includes reducing the troop force. Now from memory of my lifetime, Nixon had a Reduction In Force of troops before the end of the Viet Nam war as is attested by my DD Form 214. Then the Reagan administration along with the department of defense had 10 years and 5 rounds of BRAC. Implemented in 1985, the rounds occurred in 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1995. I was caught in the 1993 for Navy. Army and Air Force played nicely in the previous rounds. LOL The last round of BRAC that I can remember was in 2005. Now, we are over staffed and have too many bases that are unnecessary. According to what I can learn, we are more than ready. So much so, we can downsize due to all the new technology. Hmmmmmm!

[Hobbyman2]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzzRx5Z9uLc

[masonsailor2]

It is sad that mankind has not, and probably never will get beyond the reality of war. The United States has shown several times in history that we are capable of a rapid build up and deployment of the greatest military force this world has ever seen. We can and probably will be forced to do it again. Downsizing the miitary has occurred each time we end a war. Politicians are generally very poor students of history and from a military standpoint have made some colossal blunders. I was witness to one of the great blunders which was the untimely end of the Vietnam War. I served two tours in Vitnam, both with the Naval Field Medical Service attached to the USMC. First as a corpsman and second as a Medical Service Corps officer, both tours as part of Medevac teams. My last operation for Vietnam was the Saigon evacuation. After the war I was privileged to help create the Veterans Transition Center project which started at Fort Ord in Monterey CA. That era was witness to another great political blunder which was part and parcel to downsizing of the military bases themselves. Prior to that we had decommissioned bases but had for the most part held onto the real estate for potential future use. Suddenly the decision was made to sell off the real estate to private enterprise and the local governments. At the time the point was made that the decision to sell off the land would seriously slow down any future need for rapid build up and deployment of an armed force. Unfortunately it fell on the deaf ears of politicians who were focused on downsizing without regards to what most historians and people regard as an inevitability. We will have to fight for our right to exist.
Paul

[dusty]

Downsizing now, without the draft to bring strength levels back up rapidly, may be a serious mistake. Watching what NOKO is doing scares the hell out of me.

[Hobbyman2]

The thing that bothers me is how the world seems to be depending more and more on drones.

I seen a picture of the new driver less semi truck , it had wires hanging off the sensors , cant even imagine the safety issues these things will have, the first ice storm or bird or just the flapping in the wind .

Japan has robots that look like every thing from animals to humans. France has the most futuristic tank , Russia has the fastest and most agile fighter jet, China has one very large carrier and the list is growing by the day with North KO just like mentioned.


playing with toys is like playing on line games with some one who has a faster computer..

[Hobbyman2]

Germany has one fancy tank but looks are not every thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKdB0Ff6Q-A