Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel went out today to talk about the defense budget and the huge cuts it will make.
From cutting troop levels to pre-WW2 numbers to cutting the number of A-10’s, this budget could place our military in a very vulnerable state. Not only that, but place our ability to provide a strong national defense in peril.
So what are we looking at?
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shrinking American forces from 520,000 active duty troops to between 440,000 and 450,000
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reduce the size of the Army National Guard from 355,000 to 335,000
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decrease the number of Army Reservists from 205,000 to 195,000
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Marine Corps would shrink from about 190,000 to 182,000
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elite special operations forces will be increased to 69,700 — up from 66,000 currently
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scrapping the Air Force’s entire fleet of A-10 “tank killer” aircraft and retiring the storied U-2 spy plane
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basic pay raises will be held to 1 percent in 2015 under the budget, general and flag officers would see a pay freeze
It’s crazy to think that this proposed budget would be a good thing. It’s also easy to worked up when talking about making cuts to defense spending. But there are places in the budget that can be cut without putting a financial burden on those in the military.
If we really want to make budget cuts, we would first take a look at welfare reform and cutting back ‘entitlements.’ We could also look at shutting down the Department of Education. We could also reform the tax code. Lastly, we could even take a look at Obama’s prize possession: Obamacare.
We’ve got some serious problems that need to be addressed. Working a budget that gets us in a fiscally strong position is one thing. This proposed budget is very damaging and frightening.