US military budget: How would you change it?

[Jon Miller]

Currently we spend:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_budget_of_the_United_States#Budget_for_2010

By service, which is one thing to look at, we spend primarily on the Army, Air Force, and Navy... with some given to the Marines, Intelligence, and Military Wide parts.

Note that a large portion of NASA, DOE, FBI, Homeland Security, and International Affairs budgets could be considered 'military spending'.

I think that cutting back on the Army and Air Force are good ideas. I don't think cutting back on NASA is a good idea, unless we think that Private Military contractors can do satellites better?

JM

[Docfeelgood]

Gotta do some thinking on this topic. I'm too tunnel visioned with Japan right now. I would like to comment later if that is ok?

[Lonestar]

Slash the hell out of the size of the army and the Marines. In fact, the USMC shouldn't be anything other than offshore troubleshooters and rent-a-cops for the Navy nukes. The Army would be an training cadre in the unlikely event we need a draft.

Kill the F-35B.

Expand the size of the Navy, and increase the number of F-22s being allocated to the USAF. Build a new long range(as in, can fly from the Continental US) heavy bomber. Build a expanded and more comprehensive air and missile defense network for the US.

Exit from most of our installations in Europe. Continue to draw down from South Korea and Japan.

[Jon Miller]

So you are saying maybe:

4B for Marines (from 29B)
10B for Army (from 244B)
240B for Navy (from 150B)
220B for Air Force (from 171B)
50B for Intelligence (from 50B)
130B for general Defense (from 119B)
= 654B

versus the ~763B we pay now.

I guess that is some cost savings, I would want more though.

JM

[giblets]

Eliminate the Marines. Waste of space.

[Felch]

Keep the Corps at current spending levels. Marines are psychos, and it's best to keep them busy in foreign lands.

Cut the Army to 100 billion. The Army should be a training cadre like Lonestar said, and America's security is best guaranteed by rednecks with hunting rifles. For that reason, firearms and ammunition would be exempt from any consumption taxes we raise to replace the silly ass income tax. That'll cost money, but I don't know how much.

The Air Force needs to quit their ridiculous notions about manned aircraft. UAVs don't need life support, can make aerobatic maneuvers that would kill a human being, and can be lost by the thousands without losing trained pilots. As it is now, a fighter plane has to be nigh invulnerable to every conceivable threat. With UAVs we could just swamp enemy air defenses with cheap drones. The key is to make the drones cheap and to get past the Cadillac mentality of military procurement. They need to start thinking Honda or Toyota - reliable, cheap, and bland. They could do everything we need them to do at about 100 billion.

The Navy has similar procurement problems. There's no reason why the LCS is coming in at 600-700 million a ship. I'd keep Navy funding at 150, but I'd be ruthless with this sort of waste. They're better off with a big fleet of Hondas than a handful of overpriced prototypes.

Intelligence should be kept at its current levels, I suppose. We should withdraw from Western Europe, Afghanistan and the Middle East, and focus on keeping forward garrisons in Eastern Europe (Especially Poland and the Baltic) and Japan/RoK.

[Asher]

1) Kill the Marines
2) Kill the Navy as a whole. Mind your own ****ing business, stay in your own coastal waters.
3) Reduce the Army
4) Reduce the Air Force



From Jon's numbers:

0B for Marines (from 29B)
100B for Army (from 244B)
0B for Navy (from 150B)
100B for Air Force (from 171B)
50B for Intelligence (from 50B)
50B for general Defense (from 119B)
= 300B, vs the 763B you pay now

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Triple everything raid and plunder.

[Hauldren Collider]

Ignore Asher, because he's an idiot. Save money on consultants

[Asher]

My advice is sound. "Mind your own ****ing business" is the way to go. It makes the world stop hating you for ****ing with everyone, it saves you trillions of dollars, it saves American lives as they're not sent overseas to fight other peoples' wars...

Imagine how much better America would be if they spent $700B more a year on education and domestic services.

[Cort Haus]

Imagine how much better America would be if they spent $700B more a year on education and domestic services.

I expect $700B of tax cuts for the rich would be more popular on here.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

My advice is sound. "Mind your own ****ing business" is the way to go. It makes the world stop hating you for ****ing with everyone, it saves you trillions of dollars, it saves American lives as they're not sent overseas to fight other peoples' wars...

Imagine how much better America would be if they spent $700B more a year on education and domestic services.

'

Screw that go viking.

[Al B. Sure!]

Really? How many threads are we really going to have about eliminating the Marine Corps?

I realize that was not Jon Miller's intention but that's all that's going to be posted and look, Lonestar, gribbler, and Asher have already obliged.


What makes it even funnier is how much of a pittance the Corps even gets out of the military budget. Yes, a lot of the support (such as medical) comes from the Navy and so that doesn't give a full picture but per man the Corps is still cheaper than all the other service branches. Gee, the best fighting force on the planet plus it's pretty cheap and yall think it needs to go?


If you all think we don't need all this stuff, why the hell not just cut the Army? The Navy and Air Force can secure our borders and prevent an enemy from getting here and the Marine Corps can be our strike force/peace-keeping force, etc. since it is a light branch that specializes in rapid deployment. A Marine Expeditionary Unit can deploy anywhere in the world within 48 hours. We don't need an Army, if anything.

[Al B. Sure!]

As General Amos said a few months back before the House Armed Services Committee:

For approximately 8.5% of the annual Defense budget, the Marine Corps provides 31% of its ground operating forces, 12% of its fixed wing tactical aircraft, and 19% of its attack helicopters

Wikipedia says 4% so I'm assuming General Amos is including the cost of support from the Navy in that 8.5%.

The US gets its most bang for its buck with the Corps.

31% of ground forces for 8.5% of the budget? How the hell do you not think the Corps is a veritable budget steal?

[Asher]

The Marines are hardly the best fighting force on the planet.

The Canadian Forces are more elite. THEY DO CROSSFIT.