Military Budget Cuts
Military Budget Cuts The United States military has a major presence worldwide. We have the most dominant force and by far are the most advanced. There are soldiers and troops in over 150 countries across six continents. That does not count for all of the soldiers based on naval ships that constantly travel the oceans going country to country. With all of the soldiers, military equipment, testing, and research and development, the military’s cost has been averaging over 500 billion dollars annually. There has been an ongoing debate on whether or not to cut the military’s budget. On August 2, 2011, The Budget Control Act was signed into law to try and decrease our national debt by 2 trillion. Starting on January 2, 2012, the military will cut spending by 54.7 billion for the next nine years. Gary Bass is the founder of OMB, and has a doctorate in psychology and education from Michigan University. Baker Spring has a master’s degree in national security from Georgetown University. He specializes in examining the threat of ballistic missiles. There is a lot of speculation if the budget should be cut or not. It would reduce the current number of soldiers, number of naval ships, and the military’s spending. Secretary Gates has announced that the proposal will reduce the Army personnel by 27,000 positions and the Marine Corps anywhere from 15,000 to 20,000 positions. This is a 5% reduction for the Army and nearly a 10% reduction for the Marine Corps. Naval ships will be confined to only 254 ships compared to the 284 ships that are active now. This will also take away two Air Force tactical air wings. All the reductions and decrease in size will lead to smaller structures internally and externally. Our military fights as one big unit, if positions start getting pulled; troops will start fighting with numbers that will require more individual tasks. If we do not have the force and size that we have now, that may lead to vulnerability. This will not only put citizens