Dakota Beacon

We live in a dangerous world. For the U.S. military who would secure us, things do not go well. Recently, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) identified several reasons why the U.S. military is in serious trouble. These reasons are directly due to the foolish support of sequestration by North Dakota Senators John Hoeven (R) and Heidi Heitkamp (D) together with other like-minded senators.

Here is Thornberry’s rationale. Guidance is given by the President to the Department of Defense (DoD) in a document known as Defense Strategic Guidance. The Secretary of Defense breaks down this guidance into missions assigned to each of the military services. How well these missions may be accomplished relates directly to readiness of each service.

Three measures of readiness rate the preparedness of the military. They include equipment readiness, personnel readiness and training readiness all of which are explicitly measureable. Thornberry expressed alarm at the reduced state of military readiness. He goes on to give examples of the military’s decline. Senator Hoeven, Senator Heitkamp, you have access to the same information if your staffs will do their job and provide it to you.

The focus of the issue is the budget sequestration of 2013 and automatic budget cuts throughout the federal government. As unfair and risky as congress acted, a 50% cut was imposed on the DoD. The other 50% was spread across all other domestic federal departments with exemptions granted to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security (the biggest of the big spenders which, when combined, are larger than the DoD budget which is only 3% of GDP). The result has been a reduction in military defense readiness reaching pre-World War II levels. While federal domestic budget cuts were doable, that the DoD should bear a full 50% of all sequestration was foolhardy.

The Air Force is short 4,000 maintenance personnel and over 700 pilots. It makes no difference how many aircraft are in the inventory or how technically modern they might be. If the aircraft cannot be maintained and if there are no pilots to fly them, then the quantity and quality of the aircraft make no difference.

In 2015 the Navy had a maintenance backlog of 11 aircraft. In 2017 the maintenance backlog will be 278 aircraft. The lack of maintenance crews forces the few available crews to work much longer hours. Overworked crews and lack of funding perpetuates the negative impact on recruiting, retention and training.

Only one third of the Army is prepared to meet the requirements specified in the Defense Strategic Guidance mentioned above. The minimum acceptable standard is that the Army meets no less than two-thirds of the requirement. The Army is already at pre-World War II levels. What remains of the Army is simply not combat ready.

Marine Corps aviators require on average 10 hours of flight time per month. Currently they receive about 4 hours per month. Pilots who do not practice their skills will make many more mistakes endangering both lives and equipment. Funding cuts reduce flying hours resulting in reduced skill capability.

Fewer than half of Air Force combat units are prepared to face their Chinese and Russian counterparts. While the Air Force is facing a readiness crisis, China and Russia are building their Air Forces.

Space precludes the listing of other readiness issues. These issues stem from years of defense spending cuts on top of the foolishness of sequestration. Our armed forces are weak and getting weaker in the face of a rising tide of threats from abroad.

In jeopardy are the highly successful recruitment and retention programs of the all-volunteer military. When the U.S. cuts military compensation so that serving years of rigorous service is no longer worth the sacrifice, retention and recruitment suffer.

Military personnel observe the way they are funded, equipped and trained by congress and the president. Retirees in particular have been the best recruiters for the next generation of military volunteers. No more. In recent years the perception of treatment of military service by our congress and president has been “...and don’t let the door hit you in butt on the way out.” The nation’s defense will incur a greater penalty in personnel, equipment and training readiness if sequestration is not corrected.

Please, Senator Hoeven. Please Senator Heitkamp. Get off your duff and address the declining military readiness situation before the 114th Congress comes to a close and you pass the buck to the 115th Congress.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at P. O. Box 337, Stanley, ND 58784 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).