Sunday, January 24, 2016

The "then" generation of leaders gives the "next" weapons to fight their war. What is this generation giving the next?

Its commonly said that the generation of current military leaders gives the next generation the weapons it will use in their war.  So what is the current generation giving the next to fight what I believe will be a major conventional fight?

US Army.




The Army is basically getting the short end.  No new equipment except for its light forces and is upgrading its equipment.  For the most part, they're living off the legacy of those that came before.  That will be a recurring theme.

USAF.




The F-35 is doing to the Air Force budget what its doing to everyone.  Its gobbling it up.  The KC-46 and LRSB might somehow make it thru but choices will have to be made.  Essentially they're the winners of the current round of budget battles.  Its the 1950's again.  Somehow, with the other services sitting on their hands, the USAF is/has won in the halls of congress.  They've made a serious bet on the F-35 and everyone is held hostage by the bogus claims being made for the plane.

USMC.





This has been two decades of the "ascendancy" of the wing.  The current guy sitting in the chair has prioritized aviation while chasing two failed concepts.  Forward presence and the fight against terrorists groups that have morphed into conventional like forces.  Instead of changing concepts to acknowledge the challenges, the USMC has stayed the course.  Aviation has been the big winner and the rest of the Corps is suffering because of it.  Videos of Company Landing Teams being cut off and then destroyed will be big hits on YouTube outside the US....censorship will be in style to prevent broadcast here, but they'll make it in.

USN.



Of all the services my heart breaks for the Navy.  They have been SHAFTED by the F-35 fever.  Additionally they've been held hostage by the small wars mafia and even ship building has suffered for it.  Name the new ships coming online.  They're dominated by amphibs, LCS and if you're being generous the Zumwalt. All are designed to fight the old concept of small wars/terrorist/piracy.  None are capable of helping with the blue water fight.

Summation.

The entire DoD is betting it all on the F-35.  You can look at procurement and see the truth of it.  Additionally if the F-35 is anything less than a dazzling success (and past performance indicates that it will continue to be troubled/maintenance hogging slug) then we can look at the past 20 years of leadership as laying the ground work for future defeat.

Desert Storm was won by the work done by the thinkers of the 70's and 80's.  The next war will be lost by the idiocy of the thinkers of the 2000's and 2010's.

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