Over the past few years, the U.S. armed forces have faced numerous challenges. Many of the air, land, and sea-based platforms are aging, resulting in increased periods spent on maintenance, while modernized platforms aren’t being produced quickly enough. Moreover, in certain cases, training standards have been watered down and many deployments have been lengthier.
The Trump administration hopes to rectify these large challenges, but it will demand heavy lifting to reverse course. What are some steps that can be taken to make improvements to the U.S. military?
Next, bureaucratic hurdles should be overcome in order to speed up the process of acquisition at the Pentagon, similar to how the Defense Innovation Unit operates as it contracts with private sector tech companies. Creative methods to eliminate redundant procedures can reduce the abuse and waste that exist in any large organization. In other words, wisely spend appropriated funding from Congress.
Third, the Defense Department can move closer to a model of coordination with private sector entities that assist with the design, prototype, testing, and production of military platforms according to specifications. Certainly, there will be some lines of demarcation between companies and the Pentagon, but communication must be clear and open to ensure that the entire process leads to production success.
Fourth, replace an obsession with the quantity of aircraft and ships with an emphasis on quality. Consequently, update current and newly manufactured aircraft and ships with modernized avionics, computers, Starlink, navigation, and propulsion systems to better operate in contested environments. Also, upgrade the air-to-air, air-to-surface, subsurface-to-surface, and surface-to-air defensive and offensive missile systems.
Fifth, restore rigorous mental and physical training standards across the board to make sure that readiness is the primary objective. Training can also be ongoing on deployments so that experience is built in operations, as well as during simulated training exercises preparing for deployment.
Encourage continuous problem-solving skills and reading. It’s also important that both enlisted members and officers strive to maintain physical fitness to increase clarity and situational awareness, as well as set an example for all servicemembers. Healthy units are more effective on missions.
Sixth, evict the toxic identity politics apparatus from the armed forces. Its obsession with color, gender, and race is not only divisive, but it rewards mediocrity and punishes experience, merit, and qualifications. It turns the level playing field on its head, which can erode military cohesion, degrade discipline, and lead to serious accidents. Promotions must be based on experience and proven qualifications for any specialty. The Department of Defense must restore the timeless tradition of equality of opportunity for our warfighters. As a result, it’s likely that all branches will meet their enlistment targets and retentions could increase.
Seventh, while it is important to keep pace with developments in cyberspace, GPS, hypersonic designs, lasers, and machine learning, among other advances, it is also critical to rely on backup traditional methods in the event that there are breakdowns in modern systems. For example, servicemembers ought to be trained on proven navigation methods such as celestial, dead reckoning, and landmarks.
Eighth, projecting power outward—peace through strength—by enforcing the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea is essential for global commerce and a rules-based order. However, equally important is the aspect of national security that relates to the homeland. The Department of Defense must do a better job of protecting our land and sea borders as well as the skies from malign non-state and state actors.
Additionally, the United States could use a persuasive yet voluntary civil-military fusion (unlike the coerced fusion utilized by the Chinese Communist Party) to protect our communication networks, pipelines, ports, power grid, and water systems from a cyber-attack from one of our adversaries. Gen. Omar Bradley once noted, “Wars are won by the great strength of a nation, the soldier and the civilian working together.”
China is the pacing threat of the 21st century, and it might attempt a simultaneous kinetic strike against Taiwan and a hacking of our critical infrastructure, which could include military facilities. We must prepare for both conventional and asymmetric conflicts.
Ninth, an Iron Dome antimissile defense system should be explored. In the 1980s, President Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative, otherwise known as Star Wars, to shoot down incoming missiles. Israel currently has a many-layered defensive missile system to knock out incoming missiles and rockets. Although the United States has a much larger land area to defend, the concept of an antimissile defense might be feasible if the system was positioned in regions likely to be targeted.
Finally, increase joint military training exercises across our own armed forces as well as with our global partners. This will lead to more effective interoperability in times of natural crises and regional armed flashpoints. It’s far better to have experienced teams when entering unpredictable conflict scenarios. We must restore our proud military traditions.
