Posted on 06/12/2017 9:45:31 PM PDT by blueplum
WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Jim Mattis declared Monday that he was "shocked" upon his return to the Pentagon by the poor state of the U.S. military's readiness for combat.
He put most of the blame on Congress for its inability to approve budgets on time or repeal a law that strictly limits defense spending.
Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, Mattis said Congress has "sidelined itself from its active constitutional oversight role" by failing to deliver a steady stream of funding to pay for new weapons and other critical gear.
"It has blocked new programs, prevented service growth, stalled industry initiative and placed troops at greater risk," Mattis said as he urged
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
Mattis also proposed a new round of base closings, beginning in 2021.
...and who was Commander in Chief during those years? That is correct, Barrack Hussein Obama.
A video has surfaced of Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama talking on his plans for strategic issues such as nuclear weapons and missile defense.
The full text from the video, as released, reads as follows:
Thanks so much for the Caucus4Priorities, for the great work you've been doing. As president, I will end misguided defense policies and stand with Caucus4Priorities in fighting special interests in Washington.
First, I'll stop spending $9 billion a month in Iraq. I'm the only major candidate who opposed this war from the beginning. And as president I will end it.[i.e. not win it]
Second, I will cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending.
I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems.
I will not weaponize space.
I will slow our development of future combat systems.
And I will institute an independent "Defense Priorities Board" to ensure that the Quadrennial Defense Review is not used to justify unnecessary spending.
Third, I will set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons. To seek that goal, I will not develop new nuclear weapons; I will seek a global ban on the production of fissile material; and I will negotiate with Russia to take our ICBMs off hair-trigger alert, and to achieve deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals.
You know where I stand. I've fought for open, ethical and accountable government my entire public life. I don't switch positions or make promises that can't be kept. I don't posture on defense policy and I don't take money from federal lobbyists for powerful defense contractors. As president, my sole priority for defense spending will be protecting the American people. Thanks so much.
Article: Obama Pledges Cuts in Missile Defense, Space, and Nuclear Weapons Programs:
http://web.archive.org/web/20090412030633/http://missilethreat.com/archives/id.7086/detail.asp
"MissileThreat.com is a project of The Claremont Institute devoted to understanding and promoting the requirements for the strategic defense of the United States."
These are he guys who actually do the work for the big guys who act as integrators.
They were wiped out by the 1990s defense cuts and the supplier network was rebuilt and carefully nurtured after 9/11
Most had big debt loads from capitol spending to invest in the production equipment meet the DOD requirements for the war on terror. They were close to 100% dependent on government DOD contracts, all of which were canceled overnight by the sequester.
Many did not survive and went Chapter 11 soon after.
I’m not a big fan of further base closings.
We’ve cut enough. Get to work and build up our military.
Quit downsizing and calling it something else.
Global Zero
Are those closings in districts where local congress has them open for votes and they’re just depleting resources? Like non working food stamp collectors?
I’m shocked that a general and now Defense Secretary thinks the world needs to know about our combat readiness.
From the article:
“During the wide-ranging hearing, Mattis sought congressional approval to shutter excess military bases — a move the Pentagon concludes will save billions of dollars but one that lawmakers have previously rejected.”
Why would you not want unused facilities shuttered? From the rest of Mattis’ testimony I get the impression that he wants to seriously build up our services. The fact of the matter is that Congress has always stood in the way of base closures because they mean jobs for their constituents, and federal bucks going into local communities. But that is a chickenshit attitude that works against the county’s military readiness. The last time they closed bases, they had to set up a “Commission on Base Closures,” and even then Congress diddled it. It’s way, way past time for this crap to stop, and the RINOs are just as guilty as the RATs here.
I’m sorry if some retired military have their favorite officer’s club, golf course or base shopping shut down for the good of the country. The current troops are the only one’s that should be considered here.
If something like that were going on, then sure.
We’ve cut back a massive number of bases.
If the type of thing is going on that you touch on, then we’ve been lied to in that we were supposed to be paying to support our military.
Use the bases for what they were intended. Get back up to speed.
We agree to cut them now, and in five years they come back for another round, and in five more they do it again.
Where does it end?
Enough! Get to work!
We need more active military and the bases we have.
I don’t think we’re plush in any department at the present.
This is being sold as a great way to save money.
You close up these bases and malls spring up. The next thing you know, you don’t have the infrastructure you used to.
Are we going to build up our military, or are we going to downsize more?
This is a tip-off moment IMO.
If you have troops, you need bases. If you have fewer troops you don’t need bases.
When we’re talking billions of dollars, that’s pocket change in the overall scheme of things.
I’d like to think we have a robust military but closing more bases every five years sure doesn’t impress me we’re moving in that direction.
I think we are way ‘plush’ in some areas in the military and I think Matt is thinks so too. I don’t know of course
But there has been a lot of lying from the government. Come on. And they have certainly misused the military. Of course some areas of the military got too much funding.
Agreed. They need to do something about this. Many bases were closed in the SF Bay Area.
Usually that’s the case. Congressman are more interested in money being spent in their own district than funding militarily necessities that aren’t.
I don’t think we could put together a Desert Storm level operation these days.
We’ve gone from a two theater level of military preparedness, to a one theater level military preparedness, and I question of we’re even capable of launching a substantial one theater operation at this time. (Large scale)
I like Mattis. I’m just not buying into more downsizing.
This “S” stops here!
We need to beef up, and this isn’t the way to do it.
We need our bases, and them to be in top shape and thriving.
Yes, I remember.
They said we’d be in top shape then. Now here we go again.
Something stinks!
We know what the military has been doing.
“Armed forces plan to celebrate LGBT Pride Month”
http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jun/5/armed-forces-plan-to-celebrate-lgbt-pride-month/
Not me.
Ft. Ord, in Monterey, CA opened in 1917 and closed in 1994. In that time frame, it was a major training facility for the Army. Owing to the clean up of unexploded ordinance, a large part of it still isn’t available for civilian use, but there is a shopping center there and a state college, and Laguna Seca Raceway has been turned over to the county and expanded as a recreation area ( camping and a shooting range).
The fact of the matter is that we will never fight wars with hundreds of thousands of troops as we did in the World Wars again. Modern technology has changed the requirements and we don’t need a massive troop training facility like Ft Ord any longer. But it was a bitch to get it closed even though it just sat there with little or nothing going on there after Vietnam. Hamilton AFB and NAS Alameda are long gone too, because the kinds of A/C we use need different kinds of facilities. I see no correlation between the number of base we have scattered around and either the size or the readiness of our military. If Mattis can save $10 billion and make our military better, good for him!
7II, Korea and Vietnam, Ft. Ord was a major training base. It’s been closed since 1994
Hey! They all got their transgender troops training on time! They are ready!
And some receive special anti American indoctrination training at one of the most expensive training facilities in the country. Exhibit A: Reality Winner.
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