When the Secretary of Defense announced budget cuts, he knew hew would be taking political heat from Congress, but now is getting resistance from senior level generals and admirals who are opposed to reducing their numbers.
The military for decades has been top heavy and only continues to get worse. Today, there are 40 four-star generals and admirals--one more than in 1971, during the Vietnam War, even though then number of active-duty troops has shrunk by almost half. The number of active-duty generals and admirals of all rank, meanwhile, has increased by about 13 percent since 1996.
The planned cut backs in the upper ranks have hit like a tsunami at the Pentagon and civilian leadership. The time of unlimited budgets has ended! The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has repeatedly commented that the national debt is a grave national security threat.
The monumental debt incurred by the United States if left unchecked will impede the security situation of this nation. The Defense Department is not immune from budget realignment and if we don't start now Congress will begin to make the cut for us. Congressman Barney Franks of Massachusetts is advocating reducing the Pentagon budget by a trillion dollars over ten years, and if we don't decide where the reductions come from then it will be forced upon us.
We can fight the reductions but it would only starve off the inevitable. Defense reductions are coming! The real culprit of over spending at the Pentagon is Congress itself. Until they get a handle on spending and not treat the Defense Department as a cash cow for their states or districts, the country will continue to pay the price.
The Defense Department needs an overhaul on how it spends the taxpayer's money; now is the time to do it!
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