The U.S. Military: Ready or Not?

In a September 7th speech, then-candidate Donald Trump described his vision for the future of the American military. “As soon as I take office, I will ask Congress to fully eliminate the defense sequester and will submit a new budget to rebuild our military. This will increase certainty in the defense community as to funding and will allow military leaders to plan for our future defense needs.”

The President-elect’s vision of expanding the U.S. armed forces aligns with what many military planners and think tank analysts agree are the forces necessary to meet U.S. security needs and a state of readiness for all branches of the armed forces. However, the issue of readiness cannot be solved simply by expanding force numbers and funding. Each branch of the armed forces has different benchmarks and different challenges that determines its state of readiness. In the first of two features on U.S. military readiness, we examine the U.S. Army and Air Force.

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