“I’m okay with downsizing our presence abroad and shrinking our bases where possible but it isn’t something that can be done in just a couple of terms.”
The US has some 800 bases on foreign soil; more bases on foreign soil than all the rest of the world combined. But a large number of those bases are tiny, consisting of a landing strip in a jungle or desert and probably a few service buildings. I doubt all of them are continuously manned. They are there for various reasons. For example, if it became necessary to launch a rescue mission into, say, Somalia, a base could be activated, manned and supplied in just hours. Men would fly in from next door as opposed to spending 18 hours on aircraft coming from the US or Europe. These bases give the US a spectacular reach that can’t be duplicated by any other country. If they were suddenly abandoned probably China or Russia or Iran would step in to fill the vacuum.
I agree - when you discount overseas ‘adventures’, our military footprint around the world is MUCH SMALLER than it has been at any time since World War 2. We can’t tell because we’re not there...but our active base count is way down, as are the number of US troops at those bases.
I don’t have an issue with stationing troops overseas (has advantages and disadvantages), but I have a HUGE PROBLEM with going into countries like Serbia (Kosovo) and Syria, just to support people that HATE AMERICANS - and with no absolutely no benefit to this country (rather just the opposite).