[Pan_Yan]

I don't know much about tanks but here's a good year to year comparison of force strength:

US Ship Force Levels

In 1987 we had 594 active ships in the Navy (high mark).
In 1992 we had 471 active ships in the Navy (Clinton takes office).
In 2000 we had 318 active ships in the Navy.

[AppyPappy]

In 1987, we were still in the Cold War and needed more transports and escort ships for the Atlantic Crossing. By 1992(Bush was President in 1992, Clinton took office in Jan 1993), that had shifted.