Wasn’t the same sort of thing said before we were dragged into WWI and WWII?
Can you imagine the type of soldier that would be in an army with SHRILLARY! as CIC?
I took an aviation history class in college. One of the topics discussed was how each time we entered a major war we were completely unprepared, and then when those wars ended we forgot that lesson and neglected our military, thinking we would never have to do that again.
Going into WWI, our pilots had to fly French airplanes for a while. Entering WWII, we were still flying biplanes while the Germans had already developed monoplanes and laminar flow airfoils. Incidentally, they advanced their aeronautical knowledge by flying gliders during the interwar years, as the Treaty of Versailles severely limited their ability to produce and fly powered aircraft. No one seemed to notice that what was thought to be just recreational flying was actually the perfect test bed for refining wing designs to be used later in fighter aircraft.
Each time we managed to belatedly gather the necessary resolve and catch up, but in today's world the consequences of being caught yet again with our pants down would be "unacceptable." If ("when", please God) Trump is elected, he must press Congress hard to launch a serious military rebuilding effort, including resumption of nuclear testing (the only way to know for sure if existing weapons are still reliable) and modernization of the nuclear arsenal.
With the development of nuclear weapons, delivery systems, and an aggressive strategy by the Soviets, the US resolved to avoid the need for nuclear war by maintaining its conventional military forces and not getting caught unprepared. This more or less continued for the next five decades and led to victory in the Cold War.
Having an edge in military technology and weapons systems is an important element of US national strength. Such advantages help to deter adversaries and strengthen our alliance system. In the international marketplace, American weapons are the most expensive but also the most effective and reliable.
In consequence, the side with American weapons, American military technology, and American support usually wins. When the right kind of people are in charge, that helps make the US a preferred ally and a feared enemy.