The Army Is the Smallest It Has Been Since Before World War II, And Other Signs of the Military’s Decline

[Geee]

Heritage Foundation:

The state of our military isn’t good.

The Heritage Foundation released its 2016 Index of U.S. Military Strength today, and its findings are cause for concern. While potential adversaries have either grown more threatening or maintained their levels of aggressiveness, U.S. military strength continues to atrophy due to budget cuts and lack of prioritization from the Obama administration.

>>> Read the full 2016 Index of U.S. Military Strength

 

To give a couple of key examples: the current size of the Marine Corps is 184,100, which is smaller than the Corps was during the Korean War, and the Navy’s battle force ships is the smallest since before World War I.

But the world needs the U.S. to maintain a strong military. Though some of America’s allies have begun to take their own security more seriously, the U.S. remains the primary underwriter of maintaining global stability.

Since the first Index was published last February, there have been new signs of instability, including:

• Russia has forayed more blatantly into its occupation of Ukraine while asserting its position in the Middle East through its support of the Assad regime.
• ISIS controls territory across Iraq and Syria and continues recruitment efforts around the globe.