I was looking through the President's agenda posted on The White House web site. I found his section on Defense somewhat different than I would have expected (certainly more different than what the far left is thinking I think):
A few of the items caught my attention:
Interesting that he plans to increase troops, not just on the ground but in overall military size. While this mentions nothing about a 'surge' strategy it made me wonder if additional troops means an expected increase in US presence in the middle east. There is mention of a full withdrawal of US forces from Iraq by 2010, but with Iraq out of the picture aren't we likely to a freeing up of troops?
I say this because of how the agenda mentions the deployment tempo. It would be my expectation that if the President were expecting a US withdrawal from Iraq he would not worry about troop levels and deployment cycles as we would be at peace or at least fighting only in Afghanistan.
There have been many rumors regarding possible changes in the acquisition of new airplanes (specifically delaying the roll out of the F-35 or significant reductions in the number of aircraft purchased). Much of what I have read seems to be more speculation rather than reporting on what the President said in his campaign. To my knowledge the President never talked about cutting the JSF or shrinking the program.
Expanded LCS program? Steering away from a carrier centric force? Obviously you cant abandon the carriers, but does this mean their role has been hedged a little bit?
I definitely am not trying to begin a political fire storm, rather just wanted to see if others saw what I saw in the Presidents agenda.
If this post is completely incoherent I apologize in advance, its late and the benadryl that I took for allergies just kicked in.
A few of the items caught my attention:
Expand to Meet Military Needs on the Ground: Obama and Biden support plans to increase the size of the Army by 65,000 soldiers and the Marine Corps by 27,000 Marines. Increasing our end strength will help units retrain and re-equip properly between deployments and decrease the strain on military families.
Interesting that he plans to increase troops, not just on the ground but in overall military size. While this mentions nothing about a 'surge' strategy it made me wonder if additional troops means an expected increase in US presence in the middle east. There is mention of a full withdrawal of US forces from Iraq by 2010, but with Iraq out of the picture aren't we likely to a freeing up of troops?
I say this because of how the agenda mentions the deployment tempo. It would be my expectation that if the President were expecting a US withdrawal from Iraq he would not worry about troop levels and deployment cycles as we would be at peace or at least fighting only in Afghanistan.
Preserve Global Reach in the Air: We must preserve our unparalleled airpower capabilities to deter and defeat any conventional competitors, swiftly respond to crises across the globe, and support our ground forces. We need greater investment in advanced technology ranging from the revolutionary, like Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and electronic warfare capabilities, to essential systems like the C-17 cargo and KC-X air refueling aircraft, which provide the backbone of our ability to extend global power.
There have been many rumors regarding possible changes in the acquisition of new airplanes (specifically delaying the roll out of the F-35 or significant reductions in the number of aircraft purchased). Much of what I have read seems to be more speculation rather than reporting on what the President said in his campaign. To my knowledge the President never talked about cutting the JSF or shrinking the program.
Maintain Power Projection at Sea: We must recapitalize our naval forces, replacing aging ships and modernizing existing platforms, while adapting them to the 21st century. Obama and Biden will add to the Maritime Pre-Positioning Force Squadrons to support operations ashore and invest in smaller, more capable ships, providing the agility to operate close to shore and the reach to rapidly deploy Marines to global crises
Expanded LCS program? Steering away from a carrier centric force? Obviously you cant abandon the carriers, but does this mean their role has been hedged a little bit?
I definitely am not trying to begin a political fire storm, rather just wanted to see if others saw what I saw in the Presidents agenda.
If this post is completely incoherent I apologize in advance, its late and the benadryl that I took for allergies just kicked in.