Yesterda's War 5 - Untimely Conflicts, page 30
“Now, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, especially the Republicans, have strongly expressed the need to address the issue with improving our national defense without busting our budget or making our neighbors overly nervous. The Joint Chiefs of Staff have given me a request to increase our military manpower by over thirty percent. For the most part, I can see why they feel that they need this. We had drastically reduced our military during the more than twenty years since the end of the Pacific War.
The war between Argentina and Brazil really shook up a lot of people in the Pentagon and Capitol Hill. It not only spotlighted the inadequacies of the older military equipment that we still largely rely upon, but also how other nations around the world have been significantly upgrading their militaries, both in quality and in quantity.
The problem is going to be the cost of adding all of that manpower in addition to the new weapons. Each active-duty soldier, sailor or airman is very expensive, especially throughout the length of a twenty-year or more career. I realize that we went away from a mandatory draft to an all-volunteer force over a decade ago, but I still don’t know how we are going to recruit and retain that many more personnel without a substantial increase in pay at the same time.”
“Everything that you are saying is true, Charles. But if we are going to get the Republicans to support us with our agenda, we have to find some way to give something back to them. We also have to address the traditional American discomfort with a large standing army. Historically, so many nations have ended up being subservient to their military, rather than the other way around like it has normally been in the American tradition.” President Kennedy was all too familiar with what it was like to serve in uniform. He had been a pilot during the Second World War and had personally flown dozens of combat missions. Since then, he remained very well informed on military matters, both foreign and domestic.
“So how do we deal with this, Mister President?”
“I think that the solution is fairly simple. The tradition of the citizen-soldier has always been at the core of the American national identity. So we increase the National Guard and Reserve components significantly to absorb all of these new men and women in uniform. A fairly small active-duty force, backed up by a large reserve force of citizen-soldiers has worked well for nations like Switzerland and Israel. There is no reason why it can’t work for us as well.
We have such a large nation, that it would be difficult for any adversary to overwhelm us before our being able to mobilize our reserves. So time should not be a factor there. I know that the service chiefs will disagree with the level of a reservist or guardsman's training compared to that of a full-time soldier. I will propose that we will increase the annual training period for our reservists and guardsmen from two weeks to three. That will help improve their proficiency and speed their preparation in case of a national emergency.
For the fiscal penny-pinchers, they will be happy because someone in the reserve component only costs pennies on the dollar compared to someone on active duty.
There is one other factor that we have to consider as well. By spreading out the duty of defending our nation far beyond a tiny military elite, we will have a true citizens’ military. So the American people will be true stakeholders in our national defense. That will once again be an important element of our society’s fabric. We haven’t had that in a long while.
Our active-duty force will still be an elite force, the razor-sharp point of a long spearhead. But when America needs to wage war, it will mean that our entire nation is committed to our goal, whatever that is. Our political leaders will then not decide to go to war lightly. They won’t have a choice.”
“Mister President that is a powerful statement of national service and responsibility. If we are going to increase government assistance programs, we have to make them earned in some manner.”
“Any new social programs that we create must emphasize responsibility, education and the work ethic, this could very but without the negative elements of a coercive national draft. In combination of this with the new democratization of our military structure well be what this nation has been looking for.”
Increased military spending is still going to garner a lot of opposition from some in our party, Mister President.
“I know, but recapitalization of the military would not only improve our national defense but also employ tens of thousands of American workers, many of whom belong to a labor union. But the Defense Department also wants to increase the available manpower as well. That will cost the American taxpayer even more. A much larger American military will spur worldwide concerns that we are arming to become an aggressor.
This will also require new technologies being developed so that we will not be caught unprepared, facing our enemies with inferior weapons. Our scientific talents need to be brought to bear for this to be successful.
Perhaps we can combine this with more funding for our space exploration programs? I, for one, am tired of other nations taking the lead in this field.” President Kennedy explained.
“That does sound like something that might work together well. Sir. We will need the American people to support it though if we are going to succeed here.”
“One of the favorite things that the Republicans would say was that ‘a rising tide lifts all boats.’ If we can expand the economy to the point that we can pay for all of our domestic programs and build up the military, then I am more than willing to steal a Republican staple to do it. Reducing unemployment at the same time will help us actually cut the number of people on public assistance at the same time. We don’t need to envy the guy who is doing better if we believe that with hard work and good choices, we will still live the American Dream in full measure.”
“There are still going to be people from the progressive wing of our party who are going to complain that the rich are not paying enough taxes, Sir.”
“I know. That is one of the worst aspects of the Democrat Party since I can remember. There are just too many of our politicians who want to preach from the cult of envy. The irony is that there are just as many wealthy Democrats as Republicans, if not more. Quite a few of them also engage in class warfare, just as long as they can secure enough tax breaks to ensure that their wealth remains untouched, of course.”
“That is part of the reason why we need support from the other side of the aisle so badly. Some on the left-wing of the Democrat Party will vote against any legislation that they feel favors businesses or by extension anyone that they consider ‘wealthy’. We may have to write off their votes on key aspects of our agenda. If we can make those votes up with an even larger number of moderate or even conservative Republicans, then we can succeed in doing what we feel is best for America as a whole.”
“Whatever we do, we must be honest to the American people. Our being here can’t be able simply about obtaining power or getting ourselves put on monuments. We have to truly work for the best interests of the American people and in accordance with the principles laid out by the men who wrote the Constitution. If that means reducing the size of the Federal bureaucracy, shrinking the standing American military and giving the American people back the money that they earned rather than spending it on some pipedream fantasy that they didn’t specifically ask for, then that is exactly what we do, nothing more or less.”
“There are going to be a lot of progressives in our party who are not going to like that at all. I think that there are probably going to be some Republicans who won’t like it either if we don’t spend a lot of taxpayer money in their districts.”
“I know. But we have a responsibility to wisely employ the power and resources that we have been entrusted with.”
“I understand, Mister President.”
“Now I have to talk to the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the CIA and the National Security Advisor in a few minutes, though I still want you to sit in, Charles. We have to present the new defense budget to the new Congress soon. I know that Secretary Nitze is going to push for another three of the new President-class large armored aircraft carriers to replace the last of the modernized Essex-class ships along with new classes of guided-missile armed warships to support the new aircraft carriers. That is just for the Navy. There is also what the Army and the Air Force both want as well. Naturally, we only have a limited number of dollars available to share among the various armed services.”
“I can see how Secretary Nitze has a lot of requirements that he is responsible for. But, Paul is proving to be a very capable Secretary of Defense, I have to say.”
“He needs to be. It is very easy to get overwhelmed by the job, especially today.” President Kennedy replied.
There was a quick knock on the door before it opened, Secretary of Defense Paul Nitze, CIA Director Richard Helms and National Security Advisor McGeorge ‘Mac’ Bundy then walked in and took seats on the couch next to the President’s political advisor. Helms had replaced Admiral Raborn a few months earlier after a failed CIA operation in the Middle East left relations damaged with several Muslim states.
“Good morning, gentlemen. We have a lot to go over today. Now that the election is over, the next four years are going to be critical for our nation. The world is changing. In some ways, America is falling behind the rest of the world. It is vitally important that we do something positive to change that.
Some of our funding priorities are going to have to change to achieve this. We need to invest more money in developing technologies so that we can keep up, if not surpass, the rest of the world.”
“What exactly do you have in mind in how you are going to get the funding for these initiatives, Mister President?”
“I am going to actually propose that we cut the active-duty military force by at least ten percent within the next four years. We will also be ending peacetime conscription at the same time.” President Kennedy said, much to the shock of both the Secretary of Defense and National Security Advisor.
Both of them started to speak, but the President held up his hand to signal that he wasn’t finished just yet.
“I know that the generals and admirals are not going to like this, but this decision has already been made. It will also be presented to the Congress next month when we present our budget. But I am going to make some other changes as well. We are going to increase the reserve component of our military by approximately forty percent, with a budget increase for training them to increase by at least fifty percent so that they will be more prepared in the event of a national emergency.
There are also political benefits towards focusing more on a citizen-soldier force. There will be a lot more good men and women who might not be interested in serving if it means leaving their hometown for years on end, being forced to move to a new base or post every few years. But a lot of these patriots would not mind nearly as much if they got to return to their homes while continuing to serve on a part-time basis.”
Admiral Yamamoto feared invading the United States because he felt that there would be an American with a rifle behind every blade of grass. I want all of our enemies to be utterly terrified to attack us for fear of dealing with a trained American with a rifle behind every blade of grass. We can also reinvigorate our sense of patriotism as well with the creation of a new generation of modern American minutemen and, of course, women.” The President said with a confident smile.
“The flag officers are not going to like losing any active-duty personnel. They want as many people ready to deploy and fight on the first day of a conflict as possible. Also, what about our military procurement plans, Sir? You already know that much of our military equipment is obsolescent if not completely obsolete.” Secretary Nitze asked.
“The Pentagon will just have to make the best use of the active-duty personnel that they have. The Marine Corps prides itself as being an elite force where every Marine is first a rifleman. The other services will have to focus on training their people to become an equally elite force that can hold the line until we have the masses of the Reserves and National Guard available to reinforce the active-duty force to overwhelm any adversary.
Besides, you already know about the traditional American distaste for getting involved in foreign military operations. This force structure will make future American leaders far less likely to get involved in foreign adventures in the future when such conflicts will have to draw from the American people as a whole, not merely the ‘centurions’ on active duty.
In any event, the active-duty forces are going to get some new equipment. Any of the older equipment that is still serviceable will be transferred to the reserve component, though we will want to try to establish as much commonality as possible still within both the active and reserve components.” The President confidently explained.
The concepts that President Kennedy supported was something that he had broadly hinted at in the past. But with the mandate of a second term, he was determined to truly reform both the US military and the Federal government as a whole.
The defense contractors are going to be hurt by a lot of this. They rely on continued production contracts to stay in business and keep employed the skilled workers that build our ships, tanks and aircraft. Those workers vote too.” Charles reminded the President.
“I am fully aware of that. If we get Congress to enact all of my agenda, our workers will have a lot more work available than simply making weapons for our military. We also have to think beyond the political campaign contributions of the defense contractors and major labor unions as well. We need to look at what is best for the American people and what will most effectively protect our nation. That includes significantly improving our border security with effective border walls so that our border patrol agents can more easily protect our borders from illegal migration and smuggling of contraband.
We also need for our military to become lighter, faster and yet even harder hitting. That will mean innovative thinking and the continuing exploitation of developing technology. Even our infantry will need to be able to stop a much heavier force if they are equipped with the right mix of weapons and supported by highly mobile, deadly forces. I am confident that we can do this. If you have any question of this, go look at the example of how an Australian militia force was able to hurl back a heavy Japanese invasion force during the war.”
“I have heard rumors about plans to significantly reduce the size of the Navy. Is this true, Sir? If so, isn’t this going to seriously affect our ability to secure the sea lanes?” The National Security Advisor asked.
The Navy will be expected to eliminate two older ships for every new vessel commissioned on a class for class basis. So, for example, in order to get those three new President-class sixty-thousand ton attack carriers to double the force of those warships, the Navy is going to have to mothball, sell or scrap all six of its remaining Essex-class fleet carriers.
We will be doing the same thing with our battleships, cruisers and smaller combatants. The battleships will not be disposed of nor will new replacements be constructed. The battleships will be put into mothballs instead so that we will retain their big guns for contingencies.
Replacements for our older cruisers and smaller combatants will still be done on a two for one ratio. I am sure that the replacement ships will be somewhat larger and much more capable than the ships that they will be replacing, especially with the incorporation of new guided missile technologies. This is what we will need to be competitive in future conflicts. The lessons of the Argentina-Brazil conflict need to be understood and absorbed by our military planners.
The Reserve fleet will mostly consist of smaller combatants. They are far less expensive to maintain at a higher level of readiness to start with. We will need them for patrol and escort missions in the event of wartime mobilization. But I am confident that we will have sufficient warships available to secure the sea lanes of communication, no matter what happens, Mac.
The Army and Air Force are going to be doing similar things concerning the recapitalization of their equipment also. The compositions of their new unit structures will be different. But those will be based on an evolving mission and available technologies. Our bombers will have to be able to employ a new generation of guided munitions to allow a small force of strategic bombers to be able to destroy point targets that previously required hundreds of aircraft to destroy. Our jet fighters will have to be faster, more maneuverable and capable of operating in all weather conditions. They must be able to employ guided and unguided air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons as well.
Because the Navy and Air Force are so focused on the platforms that they employ, their reserve components will have to retain more hardware to train with and maintain in preparation for contingencies. Much of this equipment will be older systems that are no longer in service with their active-duty components. But I would hope that the older systems be updated to the extent possible to extend their combat effectiveness in a cost-effective manner.” The President explained. Like many of the other people in the room, President Kennedy had been also a combat veteran from the Second World War. So he made his decision based largely upon his personal experience in uniform.
“You are going to see a lot of opposition to this plan from a lot of the flag officers, Sir. But it is daring and innovative. My staff and I will do everything that we can to promote and eventually implement your ideas here, I promise you.” Secretary Nitze responded.
“Paul, advancing technologies are going to help you achieve what I am asking of our military. I expect you to continue to increase the military’s cooperation with the people running our space program.”
“I agree, Sir. Many of the same technologies that are being used by the engineers of the space program can easily be employed to significantly improve the capabilities of the various types of ballistic and guided missiles that we are developing. But we still need new tanks, artillery and other equipment to replace materiel that had been manufactured during the war.”
