What to do with the defense budget

Two outgoing members of the Chief of Staff recently put their two cents in with regard to the defense budget.

The question is: Does the budget need to be expanded, cut or both?

Air Force Gen. David Golfein, at one point several years ago, wanted to increase the number of squadrons from 312 to 386, which also would include reserve and guard units.

That idea has gone by the wayside, according to Michael E. O’Hanlon and James Steinberg of the Brookings Institute.

 ‘’Now, he says he has “plenty of trucks” — that is, plenty of planes — but not enough “highway,” they wrote. "By the latter, he means command and control networks that withstand future efforts of China or Russia to jam our electronics, hack cyber systems, cut undersea communications cables, and jam or shoot down U.S. satellites.’’ 

Golfein is now advocating reducing the size of some of the 312 squadrons. The savings would be in the tens of billions and it would give the military a chance to modernize their force even more, O'Hanlon and Steinberg wrote.

General Joseph Lengyel, the head of the National Guard Bureau, also had some ideas that could save some money for the military.

‘’Today’s military includes about 2.1 million uniformed personnel: 1.3 million and 800,000 reserve component (including Guard and Reserve)," they wrote. " If the Guard and Reserve grew from 800,000 to 1,000,000 personnel, with corresponding cuts to the active-duty forces, annual savings might reach $30 billion or so.’’