ERRATA: The quote below mistakenly lists the Admiral ranks. The correct order of rank is:
Vice Admiral = 3 stars
Rear Adm (upper half) = 2 stars
Rear Adm (lower half) = 1 star
This is a companion piece to If You Think The United States Is Ready For A Conventional War With Russia or China, Think Again.
The United States Navy continues to boast that it is a powerhouse, “with the largest navy in the world, with over 300,000 personnel”
So, how many admirals are currently in the US Navy? The answer is: a lot. As of June 2017, there are 944 active duty admirals in the US Navy. This includes the Vice Admiral (2-star), Rear Admiral (Upper Half) (1-star), and Rear Admiral (Lower Half) (1-star) ranks. The majority of these admirals are in the upper ranks, with only a handful in the lower ranks. The reason for this is simple: the higher ranks come with more responsibility. There are more flag officers (admirals and generals) in the Navy than any other service, and they are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the fleet.
https://www.ussjpkennedyjr.org/how-many-admirals-are-currently-in-the-us-navy/
Another data source, STATISTA, reports that there are only 229 Admirals. Let us go with the 229 figure.
So, how does “229 active duty admirals in the US Navy” today stack up with the number of flag officers in the US Navy in World War II? The answer is shocking — there were 256!
Consider the difference. By December 31, 1944, the United States Navy was conducting global combat operations in the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas with 6,084 ships and only 256 flag officers. That US Navy defeated the Imperial Fleet of Japan and helped the Brits end the threat of U-boats. How in the name of all that is Holy was the US able to achieve victory with only 256 flag officers?
Let us continue to bang on the numbers. Those 256 flag officers commanded a total of 1,923,910 enlisted personnel as of June 30, 1945. In other words, there was one flag officer for every 7,515 enlisted personnel. Compare that with today (again, using the 229 number) — 229 active duty admirals command 286,434 enlisted personnel. I will do the math for you. That means one admiral for every 1250 sailors. If we use the 944 active duty Admirals reported from an official US Navy site, the number is even more dramatic — one admiral for every 303 sailors.
Now do you begin to understand why the US Defense budget is approaching $800 billion dollars. It is basically a Lamborghini welfare program. These officers draw high salaries while on active duty and lucrative pensions after retirement.
I am not the first one to note the Top Heavy nature of the US Navy. James L. McClane and Kevin Eyer, writing for the National Interest, published an important piece on this subject in October 2019:
At least in the Surface Force, the growth of flag/SES numbers has been matched by a demonstrable and steady decline in readiness. This decline seems to have been relatively unnoticed and unremarked upon by leaders until very recently when many appeared to be taken by surprise that ships were poorly maintained, trained, and sailed without required certifications. . . .
It seems that “The Navy” has less and less to do with the active fleet and more to do with something else. A part of the problem of ineffectual leadership may lie in what criteria are being used for flag selection. Increasingly, and over many years, flag activities have less to do with actual fleet operations and more to do with extra-Navy relationships. The entering argument for flag-selection has moved (at least in the case of surface warfare) away from, “sustained, superior performance at sea” and toward the question of, “what can you do for us in Washington if we make you an admiral?”
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/does-us-navy-have-too-many-admirals-89416
Their key take away — the growth of flag/SES numbers has been matched by a demonstrable and steady decline in readiness. To paraphrase myself, if you that having a bloated general officer corps makes your military better, think again! In fact, this problem is not confined to the Navy. I think you will find that the Army, the Air Force and the Marine Corps are guilty of gilding the Lilly for General Officers. It is a case of too many doing too little for so few.
This problem is at the heart of the criticism and analysis you will find if you pick up one of Andrei Martyanov’s excellent books. He has been like the Prophet Jeremiah trying to awaken the American politicians, officers and public to the rot at the heart of the so-called greatest military in the world.
God forbid we get into a shooting war with the Russians or the Chinese. We will learn the hard way that we have too many Chiefs, too few Indians and unreliable arrows.
I would suggest that the pundits and politicians that are doing their grift on television and social media by disparaging the Russians and the Chinese in terms of military competence while insisting that the United States is still the biggest, baddest dude on the block, take a look in the mirror. They ain’t going to see Sleeping Beauty. Just ask the Taliban.
Whether the US is ready for another foreign military adventure or not is rather trivial at this point. IMO, one of the unintended consequences of Russia’s SMO is that it will be a long time before we see the US moving into another country like it did in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, and Syria. The reason I say this is because the US has been very vocal in saying that sovereignty and territorial integrity need to be respected, international law must be upheld, larger country cannot be allowed to use force against a smaller country, etc etc etc. The world remembers these statements. The US will risk looking like a fool the next time it tries to attack another “undesirable” country.
Watch the upcoming G20 meeting. Biden is meeting Xi. The latter will convey a “red-line” message (Taiwan, if you don’t know). Whatever Xi says will be published worldwide. The world will remember his statements, and will watch very closely what the Western countries (primarily USA) will be doing in Taiwan. Room for maneuver will be very slim here for the US to try another trick.
Now this is a REALLY important article! It identifies a fundamental problem in peacetime militaries with no existential challenges. Such militaries become top heavy with people whose main interest is socio-economic status and who gain position through patronage, birth, and a good supply of kneepads. This leads to misplaced priorities. If China wants Taiwan, it can take it. It is not deterred by American military “might” but rather by long-standing political policy which seems a Taiwan with a separate but conjoined economic system as beneficial to the country as a whole. Golden eggs. Don’t kill the goose. IF the US challenged China in the East China Sea, it would lose badly. As I write here:
https://julianmacfarlane.substack.com/p/china-wins-the-us-loses
But let us keep in mind that the US does not care about international law or consistency because it controls the “official narrative” in the only countries it thinks count – its vassals in Europe and the Anglosphere. If it wants to invade some small country, it will if it can do so easily – just changing the story line, as they do in TV series.
Disagree. China is deterred by the US and the fact US has militarised Taiwan. It’s not only the physical fight it’s basically war against West a d sanctions, loss of trade etc.
It can be Physically done but at what price. China does not need to prepare militarily to take Taiwan it needs to prepare economically and geo politically.
Right now Taiwan is contained and US influenced contained. So why would China rush into what will be a costly painful war I prepared? From watching Russia it can see exactly what the West would do and how that will impact it. So minimising loss of life and treasure and influence is complex. It’s hard and requires extensive preparation and difficult decisions.
Chinese assets abroad will be stolen like Russian assets, Chinese people will be blocked from account access and kicked out, it is an incredibly ruthless and racist response the West gave Russia. Chinese with their distinctive looks will be physical targets all over the West. The Russians at least can hide by blending in largely. It would be horrific for Chinese people in the West and that is well over a million people. So how do you prepare and protect them?
We are going back to very dark days. Idiot’s in the West topple statues of colonialists and slave traders and fail to understand that the wars of the past are done and they are complicit on the evils done today.
The US can only sanction China so much before it wrecks even faster what is left of its own economy. The Chinese can simply blockage Taiwan and if any navy tries to test that, it will get ships sunk. However, it is not in China’s interest to turn Taiwan into Ukraine – better to have a second Hong Kong and it can probably get that done through diplomacy if it can keep the US influence at bay. If Taiwan sees the West as impotent, and it’s presented with reasonable alternatives with the PRC, it will go back to the PRC.
The US has been shown to be faltering. The minute Putin recognized the LDNR as independent, it was over for the West – the West just doesn’t know it yet.
True, but don’t you think there is a limit to everything? At some point, someone will say enough is enough. I mean, you can only tolerate BS for so long before you get absolutely sick of it. Considering that the world outside the West is growing in strength and influence, while the collective West is declining in relative terms, their voice will be more difficult to ignore in the coming years.
There is an immense way to go before the growth in the financial influence of countries outside US control is at parity. The US control of the financial world was almost all encompassing. To match this will require a lot of work and patience. Fundamentally the key attribute needed is to be corruption free. That’s a tremendous hurdle for most countries.
The USA owns the world franchise in “do as I say, not as I do.” If the US backs off from any more foreign adventures it’s going to be because it has exposed itself as somewhat of a paper tiger.
🤣🤣 US already started HUGE proxy war in DRC Congo Africa, the richest country in resources in the world, they are finding Rwanda army to steal minerals for them in Congo and of ourse giving a cut.
They have 5 new military bases in East Africa including one in Somalia after overthrowing a very good Somali president for a US puppet Pakistan style (see Imran).
America is not deterred anything. It’s accelerating occupation and control of what it can get.
It has with the UK colonised Diego Garcia base off Mauritius despite UK and International court orders to vacate the colony.
This idea US is short of weapons and proxies and can’t fight wars only holds if you don’t understand what US does with their many many bases and proxies.
US can’t win against China and Russia as they have similar waepons destruction capacity and nukes. But that’s nothing new. That was ALWAYS the case.
What they can do is erode Chinese and Russia sphere of influence and economic capacity and they CAN do that and HAVE done it.
Understimating the US is done very flippantly. This is an extraordinarily dangerous and violent country with no ethics and integrity or controls on it. They are very capable of completely destroying any semblance of life on this planet. That has not changed. They continue unabated working their evil ways in many regions that get less attention than Ukraine. Ukraine is one of over 25 ongoing US conflicts. And quite frankly they are having fun in Ukraine.
You’re delusional to think that the US can continue what they used to do all over the world in Africa.
The Russian military has increased its presence in Africa. Having the Wagner Group in Africa means that they can counter the US with plausible deniability.
US or the NATO can’t do anything with bullying. Most African countries have already chosen China and Russia over the US ans the US bullying would only worsen their own situation.
African countries have massive dollar debt and IMF debt. US has passed a law to sanction African countries dealing with Russia on minerals and oil. Eg.
Wagner may be in Africa in a very limited sense but unlike China Russia hasn’t really cultivated African country relationships since Putin. In fact I can’t remember him visiting any. Unfortunately you can’t ignore your primary money lender which is the IMF, world Bank and West for Africa. Remittances from West are the largest foreign exchange earner for most of Africa.
…turn off your TV set/ smartphone for a year AT LEAST, please. 😉
“The US will risk looking like a fool the next time it tries to attack another “undesirable” country.”
The US already looks like a fool as Russia kicks ass.
That won’t stop it from invading & destroying other countries. In fact, it may temporarily push it into doing so. Our fearless, immoral, vicious, narcissistic, bully self-appointed leaders will just pick weaker targets to restore their self-image as they lovingly gaze into their ever-present mirrors.
China will not do shit. They only exist by selling us their second-tier crap. We put up a blockade and shut their oil and gas off and they die in a month. And China knows it. That is why they have ate shit every time we provoke them. Russia has things we HAVE to have. Like oil and gas and rare minerals. China is an assembler and source of cheap labor. Which as we speak is being relocated. China had a chance. They could have supported Russia. But once they showed their chickenshit nature? Ther are doomed.
China owns 70% ish of African mineral wealth and now excavating rare metals and minerals in Afghanistan.
How are you going to blockade flow of oil and gas from Russia to China? Or other neighbors to China? They have common borders. US and EU don’t. EU blockade easier.
Their second-tier crap ran past our third-tier crap I believe a half-dozen years back.
I think China is being smart in not openly supporting Russia. Not too many countries want to do this, understandably. China is no longer the sweat shop of the world we are accustomed to knowing 2 decades back. Else, why is Huawei causing so much anxiety in the US? Plus, its trend in infrastructure quality is exactly the inverse of the US (China going up in the last decades, USA going down). China has the longest high speed train network in the world, the US has none to speak of. Heck, even Indonesia will open its first high speed train line next year. USA doesn’t know how to build infrastructure anymore, which is weird. China is the main beneficiary of the Ukraine conflict, and they know it. Alas, the US knows it too, that’s why they’re playing games in Taiwan now.
The US has been ‘very vocal’ in stating that it is ‘bringing democracy’ to other countries, while also supporting regime change. Openly, for all the world to hear and see. The Russian situation in Ukraine will not deter the US from continuing this behavior elsewhere. What may deter it is the fact that its military is now substandard. And if you think that the US worries about looking like a fool on the global stage, please take a look at the man that was ‘selected’ to represent us. I imagine that makes us look quite ridiculous.
“. . . the US has been very vocal in saying that sovereignty and territorial integrity need to be respected . . . .”
I gather that what you are saying is: “No country can make any claims of sovereignty without secure borders.” Fine. I accept this. Except look at the borders of the United States. They don’t exist, on purpose. Because the US Government wants it that way.
What’s that all about? “Open Borders?” This level of hypocrisy here at home is suicidal.
> one of the unintended consequences of Russia’s SMO is that it will be a long time before we see the US moving into another country
Unintended by whom???
Russia surely did intend
Russia’s intention is to halt NATO from absorbing Ukraine. That’s it. Plus putting an end to Ukraine’s discriminatory policies and persecution of Russian minorities (by means of land-grabbing). Possibility of US invasion of another small country in the future is not on their minds (not in any prominent way at least). I still believe that in the foreseeable future, another another Iraq episode is not likely.
Yeah, I like the one about not changing borders too – oh the horror the horror of it! War crimes! UN Charter! It cannot stand! No treading on the Rules-based order! No civilized country would ever…!
Then I remember UNSC Res 1244 and I laugh, then shed a tear that I’ve come to the point of laughing at my own country’s unadulterated hypocrisy.
Then I remember that ‘state sponsor of terrorism’ thing and I do the whole routine all over again.
“We will learn the hard way that we have too many Chiefs, too few braves, and unreliable arrows.”
We will need to put the old and lame to pasture and find some decent horses.
https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/us-ddgx-type055-340percent
War surface combat ships the Zumwalt Class destroyer and Freedom and Independence Classes of Littoral Combat Ship all considered near complete failures.
Salving a (late) guilty conscience?
What? I don’t understand your comment.
I see you as a BC operative….and were now living in a AD world…..it would be interesting to study at what point that changed…..when did real patriots that cared about this country and had ethics and morals give way to the course and self serving base morality of today? (In the intelligence and military services)
As you can see by that comment, they’re trying to bulk you up together deliberately, or they don’t see the difference…or they don’t want to see the difference….
Thanks for your service, in the past…and for what you’re doing now….
I did and it’s uncalled for. Moving mountains with a shovel is not for the weak of heart. Pay him no mind. He’d rather sit in a hole and pout.
the US Empire’s navy seems to be perfectly fit for purpose – posturing and bullying small defenceless nations.
To go beyond this requires national scale political integrity and coherence .. ie. a thorough regime change is needed.
Yep!
The Biden junta’s botched and humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan was bad enough on the domestic and world stage. When Putin achieves the three SMO objectives, optics will be the least of Biden, MIC, and NATO’s innumerable and daunting problems.
Destabilising and leaving Afghanistan in a mess also created problems for China and Russia and risk of extremist contagion in Stan areas. The US continues to fund extremists and will use those Afghan proxies to destabilise the region as and when needed. After all, they have their money and Afghans need money.
China now has a mission to try to stabilise Afghanistan and prevent it becoming a threat.
US has a base in Pakistan – right next to Iran and Afghanistan – after overthrow of Imran Khan. US has NOT left that region and retains extensive influence there and will use it.
All these admirals also need jobs in DC think-tanks, or defense-industry boards, or in K-street lobbying firms.
And of course, they are all genius strategic thinkers, and must be respected and listened to in the media – so everything they do lines us up for the permanent warfare and security state.
Where do I start with this one??!! Field day time.
The number of Flags has gone up for at least three reasons:
1. This is probably the biggest cause… civilian and contractor positions on staffs has exploded. For example, CINCLANTFLT, one of the few 4-stars back in the mid-nineties, had a fairly small staff. We had about 20 people in our N8 org. Today, CINCLANTFLT is now basically Commander Fleet Forces Command. Massive staff, full of SES, GS, and contractors. It’s gotten to the point where civilians, many quite clueless, simply run too much of the teaspoons full of rice bowls.
2. Inter-Service rivalry. One Service turns a 2-star Command into a 3-star Command to increase the size of rice bowl pots. The other Services are then compelled to do the same. And then the staffs get bloated.
3. Levels of responsibility keep getting higher and higher up the staff levels. This is insanity.
Last comment… many of these bloated staffs could not survive without contractor support. They’re basically paperwork mercenaries while many active duty staff close to retirement go on the Retired On Active Duty (ROAD) program. The decent officers never get PCS’d to many of these Commands and Centers… they go off to do joint tours or become aids to various flags and “bigwigs” where they get bought. I went to Navy schools with the current NAVSURFOR and interviewed with ADM Boorda to be his aid… so fairly familiar with what happens. BTW, no way Boorda killed himself!
What was Boorda doing? Whose feathers was he ruffling that he “killed” himself?….by what you write, it seems like the loooong list of Clinton’s workers that have either committed “suicide” or been killed in a rural car accident….please expand…
Thank you for your articles. I am not a US person – but am interested (for the safety of all of us) in what goes on in the world. You mention the Navy (and I know that naval warfare is Andrey Martyanov’s area, too). Are your comments on the US Navy reflective of the position in its other services as well? Your last sentence suggests so, Afghanistan being landlocked and all (suggesting that the USN wasn’t responsible there)…
BTW, that ussjpkennedy site is bogus/wrong/ no idea what they/he/it is talking about.
Navies are obsolete except for wars against vassals without any real military. With hypersonics and drones, the entire Pacific fleet will be gone in 30 seconds (ok, 30 days at most, 30 hours is possible)
The vast majority of US generals and admirals have never been in a real war or any war.
Guess how many hypersonics are needed to take out one carrier and how powerful they need to be.
Also US carriers move on groups also with subs so if one is attacked others can fire nukes. Hence US first strike nuclear law is largely I think designed for these ships.
This means you have to take out EVERYTHING on that area plus all other nuclear or ballistic capable US ships and subs which means you have to take our ALL US, UK, French navy plus they will then fire from land and space….so you better have a good attack strategy, and incredible defence system.
This is a no go right now for that reason. To counter US everything has to be taken out, including nuclear capable bases and that is a huge huge ask as attacking US carrier is treated like attack on US soil.
I believe that is what Russia’s Poseidon is for.
You’re another delusional idiot who still believes in US military superiority, which is an illusion.
The Russians started the SMO in Ukraine knowing that they might have to face NATO one one. Most probably, they already have sufficient amounts of hypersonic missiles that can take out multiple US CSGs. Keep in mind that it’s much easier to build hypersonic missiles than to build ships let alone carriers.
I’ll ignore your name calling as you are already called Big Dick.
You haven’t countered my point. How can any attacker be sure US won’t get nukes through their defenses if they attack a carrier? And by the way US is making advances in hypersonics too. And does have the superior Navy.
lets remember the “unsinkable Titanic Rule”the Greeks,Persians,Chinese,Spainyards,British,Japanese.All are at the bottom of the sea somewhere.If it floats it sinks.The US is 10 years be hind in missle tech.The US will at some point be added to the previous list of all powerful navies.
USmaking “advances”in hypersonics.Russia has 4 variants and the only known anti-hypersonic missle system.David Copperfield could learn alot from the anglo fog machine.
You gotta get your medication adjusted. Or re read Larry’s articles and absorb the information.
The fact speak louder than fantasy.
America does not have any hypersonic missiles let alone mass produced missiles. If they did they would be testing them globally on wedding parties and cars looking for parks in Airports.
The mob is still waiting with baited breath for your naming of which Army rapes women AND children. Own goal will be accepted, the Uki dept of propaganda fakes not so.
And Russia has the superior nukes, so I guess it’s a wash at this stage.
One hypersonics hit will mess up all gender neutral bathrooms on a carrier, and render it completely useless.
Once you fire first nuke all the carriers will be useless, just like everything else on the planet. If you find that acceptable, than you should buy suicide vest for home defense.
That’s gotta hurt!
Just read the Salt Bear.
Somebody may have fucked up in Turkey big time. Also the US+ NATO are desperate for Christmas holidays from November to July 2023 by the sound of it.
The Old Salty Bear can get a little toe-ee at times. But he knows how to strike a nail square on the head.
Ie. The Pentagon appears to have had a chat with the “Arts graduates” with active Tweeter accounts in the State Department. The narrative meets reality!
The real war starts to role in late November. The slaughter and total collapse of the 404 country will be unstoppable.
Putin has proven one thing only, he delegates authority to what he calls the “experts,” then let’s them do their stuff unhindered. It’s a winner!
SMO has been a huge success. Total control / occupation and integration of strategic goals with minimum civilian casualties. Then a momentary pause for reflection. How refreshing, the first civilised war in history.
But….then again when General Armageddon steps into the ring he don’t wear the gloves , just ask Syria.
Forsure.
“That means one admiral for every 1250 sailors. If we use the 944 active duty Admirals reported from an official US Navy site, the number is even more dramatic — one admiral for every 303 sailors.”
I believe it’s called “title inflation”.
It seems as though the average admiral is something akin to a high school principal or a retail district manager.
WRONG it’s only 943 or 228
Admiral Paperclip-Kirby don’t count. Other than that everything else’s is horrifying.
No wonder the Arts graduates in the State Department froth at the mouth about nuclear war.
Will not happen ! The new “Sig Sauer XM17,” will come a knocking if push comes to shove : or squeeze as the case maybe.
There’s also a huge number of gays, lesbians, trans etc. active within various ranks of the US military establishment, not to mention a very large army of female soldiers, too. Wonder if such a mixture of officers/soldiers could still make the US Army the strongest in the world, if not the weakest/weirdest. May be we should ask Ramazan Ghadirov about that. I think, frankly, the best war strategy for the US’ future wars against Russia, Iran or China is to drop nukes right away then take cover in some safe place and just pray to god.
easier and faster for you to use a rope and a tree
Also female soldiers went to the Gulf War in 1990-1991 … that war ended victorious for the US military …
Both Alexander the Great and B. Montgomery were into men -at least part-time…
The US military lost in Viet-Nam: an all male army…
Don’t talk about Alexander as if you know. The men of ancient Greece where behaving differently than today. That they were in a close relationship with another man does not mean they were gay.
I do not talk about Alexander as “if I know”… Ancient sources do.
I thought 90-91 ended when the ammunition ran out and the US had to withdraw?
Statistics show presence of female soldiers reduces rape of women and children in combat zones and does not impede mission effectiveness. Let’s talk facts not insecurities.
Ash…..
Have you served in the Army with female soldiers? Statistics are made to order.
My experience they expected and received special treatment. Very quick off the mark when challenged.
Best ever example in Afghanistan. British Female solder being interviewed on a watch tower, saying she was a tough as the men. When asked what happened when the post was attacked . “ l duck down under here and let the lads sort it” or words to that effect.( YouTube)
From the mouth of babes. LOL
Who’s army does all this raping of women AND children?
Let’s publish facts, references etc and not jump to accusations.
PS.
I’ve seen some published photos of a delightful female soldier holding a dog on a leash terrorising a bound Iraqi prisoner. Posing for photo opportunities inside a military prison from hell, no less.
Just saying and a tad bored with the chick thingy.
Yes I have. I think some jobs need men (biological not Biden definition) as they need physical focused mentally clear units. But there are some tough strategic women who shoot well and think smart and have a role. Some sqaddies are literally thick as two planks. But there are some jobs women just can’t do as well as men.
Can be distracting having opposite sex in camp.
Agree this idea women are all gentle and good is not correct. See also Hilary, Ursula, Harris…maternal instincts of a hyena
Where to start on this one?
Why does your anecdotal observations trump the actual experiences of thousands of women that serve?
Several women very close to me have served in the Army and Navy, including one that retired as an LTC after multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
ALL of then were subject to sexual harassment that was never reported. They dealt with it they way they saw fit (including threatening the perpetrator with violence in front of other soldiers), and did not feel like reporting it would have made any difference.
Your post sounds eerily similar to those who believe it’s too woke and oppressive to refrain from calling fellow soldiers racial slurs or commenting on a woman’s chest size or even grabbing her buttocks.
What other fantasies do you indulge in? That America is not a racist country? Or that our military is/was defending our freedoms in Iraq or Afghanistan?
Since when was the military defending our freedoms in Iraq and Afghanistan???
When nasty push comes to nasty shove in a do or die situation, the guy is hardwired to protect the woman and the woman to seek protection from the man. It’s called preservation of species. More complex (& advanced) forms of the behavior manifest themselves in say, ant colonies. Bottom line, men are expendable and in general, women (who can bear multiple children and replenish the species), are not. It’s not rocket science. It’s the way nature set the human race up. Fiddling with it too much can yield unpredictable consequences.
Chivalry worked just fine for millenia. Call it toxic or call its disappearance toxic, that’s your option. Or, we could just all be turned into hermaphroditic cyborgs.
Then of course, there’s the planet sustainablity and overpopulation thingy looming in the corner that might just decide to pay us a surprise visit one day.
you are totally myopic.100 yrs ago Sam Clemmons observed”There are Lies,Damn Lies,andStatistics”.
I’d fancy the odds of the Kurdish Women Army units against be hardened soldiers and pretty much any no combat troop. You only have to look at their record to assess female combat be units.
Historically, Mai Bhago of the Sikhs (Army leader, bodyguard to Guru Gobind Singh and strategist), Cleopatra of Egypt, Queen Sheena.
Mother’s fight for their children like to no one else ever will. Bunch of middle aged men protecting beer versus bunch of women protecting their kids,both equally trained, I back the moms.
My dad told me that when his unit was in Trieste in 1945, facing off against Tito’s partisan army, the Yugoslav women soldiers were the scariest sight of the whole war for him. I looked up the ethnicity and it turns out his (Tito’s) army were predominantly Serbs with the next largest group being Croats.
Statistics show that most of staticistic are complete nonsense.
Hello from Tehran. I sometimes get very angry. I don’t understand what the hell is going on, with sexes in the west, you know. It’s more than obvious that a man is physically more robust and has way more stamina. He can lift a lot more weight while at the same time possess unsurpassed mental power. In our culture which dates back thousand years, the women place is believed firmly to be at home, doing house chores. Of course a lot has happened since then, but it’s just futile expecting changes in a man’s behavior happen so quickly, overnight. It takes long long time for that to transpire, also it might never happen, sorry. If the US military male or female personnel had some success fighting poor, defenseless, clueless people in Iraq, Afghanistan, Burkina Faso… in the past, it won’t be the case fighting real – professional armies of Russia, Iran or China in the future. Those lgbtq-type combatants won’t work against such adversaries therefore they better stay wherever they are. Thanks.
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1492/women-in-ancient-persia/
Do they teach pre-Islamic Persian history in school on iran? Alot of women had higher or equal rank to you in Persia, when you actually had an.empire and did cool things like invent chess. Now you are reduced to copying Western drones. Coincidence?
What’s going on is called divide an conquer. Rich people control the poor by making them fight each other about some nosense (LGBT, race, religion, whatever). As long as there is some conflict between common people, those in power will be able to exploit them as much as they want without fear of revolution of some sort.
I personally was ok with don’t ask don’t tell and certain military roles for women
Standards were the same, focus on job not politics. I am not ok with trans nonsense I would never join woke army or fight for woke gov. I am no longer proud of what I was once proud of and the legacy of so many is tainted our work in dust and values torn apart, I don’t see anything I recognize. I see friends suffering mental illness trying to reconcile who they are with what they’ve done and desperate for that sweet cocktail of drugs they got in Iraq or just unthinking robots carrying on.
When after the end of the GDR in the FRG the experience accumulated: “It’s like before” (sometimes with the addition of “only worse”) I remembered the “ingenious” sentence: “Hierarchies work the same everywhere, the “ideological” foundations are completely irrelevant there.”
And the more money there is, the worse it gets …
(Well, we have also read the “Peter principle” before 89).
One could perhaps still think of Clausewitz, who probably meant, that an army tends to degenerate in times of peace …
The illusion of omnipotence after 1990 probably had a similar effect.
Decades ago in Canada there was a cartoon that captured it well, a commentary on the bulging/bloated officer class. The cartoon was of the march-by of the last enlisted man, showing a lone enlisted man marching past stands filled with thousands of officers.
Larry, the worst part of the top-heavy mess is that decisions are now all by committee as everyone is in CYA mode. It’s axiomatic that a system working that way cannot be battle-ready.
i concur.lets not forget group think.
And all that brass has to justify their existence by foisting new requirements, paperwork, etc., on everyone below.
Very useful words Larry as always but my comment is more “technical”. Whenever you are guest at a YouTube program, your voice invariably starts getting very robotic and it becomes difficult to follow you. Unfortunately this seems to happen irrespective of whose guest you are so I suspect there may be a problems with your internet connection. Greetings from Italy.
Thanks. I’ve tried to boost the signal.
Hey Larry, I would run an ethernet cable from your router to your computer and avoid WiFi. Since I did that in my case all my problems went away when live streaming video. Give it a try.
Thanks. Problem is the router is in another room. I just got a booster. We’ll see if that helps.
Not unique to the US. I expect you would find a similar pattern in other Western militaries. I think the Royal Navy now has more admirals than operational warships and at one point the British Army halved the number of generals.
I remember a few years ago reading about the royal navy (UK), that hey have more admirals than actual ships.
CORRECT
But it gets better than that? UK vid on HMS ship in the Gulf. The boarding party were all volunteers ie cooks and bottle washers. Non of them trainer marines.
No wonder the Iranian commando’s picked a bunch of um up easy prezzy.
All was not lost, the mighty Persian Navy served the pride of Global Britain pizza.
Oh ! and a navy Chaplin followed the camera crew around and inserted himself in to scene a couple of times. The officers got dress up for drinks.
Rum, Bum and the Lash as Churchill once said.
“TOO MANY CHIEFS, NOT ENOUGH INDIANS”
Culling does give rise to “unexpected outcomes” as does “We the people hold these truths to be self-evident”.
Mr. Napoleon like many was a joker.
One of his punch lines was “Every soldier carries a Marshall’s baton in his rucksack” to encourage his soldiers being motivated by hope rather than caution.
“We the people held these truths to be self-evident”.
“Every soldier carries a Marshall’s baton in his rucksack”
Forms and forms of motivation are functions and reflections of the social relations which they facilitate until we the people don’t hold these truths to be self-evident and concentrate on purposes instead.
Once upon a time a patient had a rash and consulted “an expert”.
The “expert” prescribed ointment for the rash.
The patient died of smallpox.
It’s worse than you are reporting. US Code limits the total number of GOs on active duty. Sounds like a good idea. Army is 231, USMC is 62, AF is 198 and the Navy is 162. All have to be approved by Congress. Well, a provision of the War on Terror laws has allowed the military to frock as many temporary Generals as they think they need. There are lots of lots of these needs. Unless something has changed, frocked officers don’t get the pay of their higher rank, so I guess we save a little money. The DoD has set no limits on the number of frocked GOs. They also don’t report the number anywhere, so the “number of GOs” is a floating number.
How in God‘s name does a tiny force like the Marines need 62 Generals ?
Christ – the Marines only have 3 active Divisions plus 1 reserve division. That’s ~12 brigades. 5 GOs per brigade ??????
Well the Marines actually have more units than that…in addition to the Divisions cited in your comment the Marines also have 3 active and 1 reserve Air Wings plus 3 active and 1 reserve Force Logistics units (supporting each geographically co-located Wing and Division). There’s also Headquarters plus Joint and Training commands (Paris Island, Quantico etc) so 62 Generals may be about right. I think the force is about 180,000 Marines nowadays so thats about 1 General per 2,900 Marines. Bit leaner than the other Services.
Pyramid. A navy where command is top centred is easier to control and corrupt for politicians and industry. You don’t want to many questions, public statements or resignations when you do bad stuff.
Who can forget this?
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/malaysian-contractor-involved-in-35m-us-navy-bribery-scam-flees-house-arrest/2678262
How many of those admirals started their careers “before the mast” or by “running away to sea”?
I’m thinking of the comparison with Admiral Pellew or Admiral Jervis of Napoleonic times. From Ship’s Boy to Able Seaman to Admiral and a seat in the House of Lords.
Do they make ’em like that any more?
Rosja jest słaba i nie jest to przeciwnik dla Usa
O? ya, ya.
Poland strong!
Poland – gegemon of the plumbing.
Zginela Polska smoktalo….
The US military is not there to win wars. It’s to keep the wars going for as long as possible so that defense contractors, weapons manufacturers, politicians, lobbyists, high ranking officers in the military, think-tanks and others can make as much money as possible. The Military Industrial Complex. Just as Smedley Butler and Dwight D. Eisenhower has said in the past and Julian Assange has said more recently. Your thoughts?
Russia’s recent actions are certainly much to their own benefit in better use of resources. Coincidentally, however, those actions in the Kherson region have given encouragement to Ukraine, certainly in the eyes of the media. Biden has just praised Ukraine and vowed more military aid. The US keeps sinking its economy into a hellhole. It will be a long winter with unexpected surprises from the Russian military.
Zelensky will not negotiate anything, probably, and Ukraine is in for more suffering.
Turkey on recent terrorist attack:-
“We have understood the message that they are trying to convey to us. Allies who seem like friends to us, who either hide all terrorists in their own countries, or give life to terrorists in the territories they occupy, in the territories they control, and send them money officially from their own senates. We do not accept the condolences of the American Embassy. We know from where and how the preparations for the terrorist attack were coordinated. We will deliver a very strong response to this attack”
Who’s a busy bunny?
Hmmm. Sweden and Finland’s NATO aspirations are now toast, since as far as Turkey is concerned those are two places that “hide all terrorists in their own countries”.
I suppose Washington can just change the rules and admit them over Turkey’s objections, but then Turkey would simply leave NATO.
Looks like the swamp creatures got too cocky after Germany wimped out over the Nord Stream pipeline attacks and thought that Turkey would do the same.
Apparently not.
WOW,did they really say that?
https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.timesofindia.com/world/europe/turkey-rejects-us-condolences-over-istanbul-attack-interior-minister/amp_articleshow/95505670.cms
The US ceased the notion of ‘winning’ wars in 1945 – in the traditional sense anyways. But, it was not till Vietnam that the futility of outright territorial control finally dawned on them.
Why win/control territorial dirt with blood and boots on the ground, when causing chaos thru proxies while delivering weapons/tools will do????????
Causing chaos requires lots of senior people to think about what will cause just enough chaos to achieve the objective of control.
Once you perfect causing chaos in a targeted country the “fear signal’ sent to other watching recalcitrant’s will do your magic!
….until someone says no! Russia calling.
The military is now altering its’ chaos theory. Now it is branching out to create alphabet soup/skittle color change chaos – good Christians still fear the Devil’s work!
Chaos, chaos and more chaos…..what could go wrong?
Andrei M. is like what?
Our correspondent
May be the most amusing Floridian
Since Dr Hugo Hackenbush.
Maybe a bloated military isn’t the only sign of a bloated and washed up empire.
Have seen the Nimitz and Carl Vinson off Freo.
Beautiful and hugely impressive
But their days are gone
As were the Knights before
Archers or missiles
What does, works.
Very American.
Every org has a high level manager for “jerking off with the left hand” and another manager for jerking off with the right. Then there is a third manager to make sure the other two are staying in their lanes. Where’s the surprise?
Going off message for a moment, I think your readership would enjoy this Scott-Ritter think piece – “Russia’s soft landing”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GxxEdB3dAw&t=2058s
There are some far-reaching considerations here on America’s motives, the future for Germany and Poland and NATO and Odessa.
However, as a ‘former naval person’ I can recognise that if you want sufficient paid thinkers then you have to promote them to the appropriate salary level, hoping you haven’t created too many sycophants.
I have and I don’t contest that not all jobs are for women as some are just too physically demanding and better done by a team of men. Sorry of that sounds sexist but contrary to Bidens belief men are different and there just a physical dimension women can’t match. That said there were some excellent female soldiers on strategic and other military roles who could shoot and outthink alot of men. So I think it’s about meeting standards and what role is taken.
Yes not all women are angels. I look at Hilary, Ursula, Harris…women in politics caalso be
Fabius Maximus pointed this out 10 years ago:
https://fabiusmaximus.com/2012/09/10/american-military-force-changed-43153/
> What our generals cannot do is win modern wars, as our defeats in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan prove beyond doubt. Despite great efforts, 4GW (brought to maturity at the close of WWII by Mao) remains an unsolved mystery to our generals.
> But there are many things they can do at home in America. See the military’s increased role in disaster relief and patrolling the borders. And there are vistas beyond those small projects. History shows that generals often feel well-suited to lead their nations in many ways beyond defending the State against external foes. We may be ready for their leadership, especially if tough times arrive. Polls show that the military are the only agency of government in which modern America has confidence (followed by their cousins in the security services).
> It’s the prussian-ization of America. It’s a pre-fascist trait, one of many appearing in America today.
Reminds me of Star Trek: The Next Generation, where not a single crewman could be found among the crew. But you could bet that every single Starfleet Officer had 12 doctorate degrees.
The Federation is of course the ideal society for these Fabian (different Fabius) nerds. No one knows how food gets to the table, how starships are built, or how dilithium is mined. It just magically shows up out of thin air. A woke society free from the working class, forever.
Randolorian, fabiusmaximus.com is still a wonderful archive. Prior to that he posted on DNI.com (Defense and National Interest). That archive is also still accessible. Both are still good sources to revisit.
Beste.
A top-heavy US military with a bloated budget isunable to face a peer competitor or two? Say it ain’t so…
But what are we, you and I, fighting for? As far as I can see, we’re just blind men feeling up a political elephant. Left vs. right, class warfare, democracy, autocracy… But none of these describe our actual political paradigm. And that is…
The battle for centralized political control, a strong central state, versus more decentralized forms of political control is over (and has been for some time) — the strong central state won. But there are two distinct forms of strong central states and, at present, we are witness to conflict between them.
And that essential difference?
The first form of strong central state is dominated by the wealthy elites. And in the second, the wealthy elites are dominated by the state.
Your criticism is correct, but the only question is: Are those points so bad that a war will be lost, or is this not the case?
My answer is: Nobody knows this, even the military strategist don’t know it.
I just wonder whether the Russian strategy, to play slowly, will really erode the western military. The West will not stop the military. It may get angry population, but if you expect a kind of French Revolution, forget it. The French Revolution was not done by the angry folks. Angry folks will not change the power holders. They will continue to work for the system, they will not stop the machine.
You could ask Afghan goathereders. They might know few thing about winning a war.
They didn’t win the war. They got rid of the occupation. To win the war, they would have to occupy the USA.
Are you trying to redefine victory the way recession was recently redefined. I guess constantly moving goalposts and using double standards is what USA worldview is all about.
I guess both Afghanistan and Vietnam lost the war, because USA won by running away. Clear sign of victory are men clinging onto helicopters and planes. The more of them fall to their death, the bigger the win of the USA. All those generals deserve more medals, and more asskissers like yourself.
It is a big difference whether Russia will win the war by making Ukraine surrender, or win the war by actually defeat and conquer the USA.
The war will not be over when Ukraine surrenders. Russia claimed that also NATO should retreat from the borders of Russia. This is what we should not forget. This war has a small, and a very big dimension.
I feel like I’m talking to a wall. Why would you think that Russia/Afghanistan/Vietnam/Elbonia ever wanted to conquer USA. You made that stuff up so that you could say that they did not win, just like USA redefined recession in order not to be in a recession.
The war will never be over, because big empires fight each other all the time. The Roman Empire of our time is on the decline, and redefining meaning of
victory/recession/depression/sex/gender/left/right won’t stop it. All those generals “that never lost a war” are just speeding up the process, with all thier glorious victories.
Cheap Tricks Never Last: The Donkey of Guizhou
“Thousands of years ago, donkeys were not found in Guizhou province. But meddlers were always allured by anything. So they shipped one into this area.
“One day, a tiger was walking around to find something to eat, when he saw the strange animal. The huge newcomer frightened him quite a bit. He hid between the bushes to study the donkey watchfully. It seemed all right. So the tiger came near to the donkey to have a close look. ‘Hawhee!’—a loud noise burst upon, which sent the tiger running away as fast as he could. He could not have any time to think before he settled himself home. The humiliation stung in him. He must come back to that strange thing to see it through, even though he was still haunted by the terrible noise.
“The donkey was enraged when the tiger got too close. So the donkey brought his unique skill to bear on the offender—to kick with his hooves. After several bouts, it became very clear that the donkey’s power was too much. The tiger jumped upon the donkey in time and cut its throat.”
People are usually told the story to illustrate the limitations of tricks and trickery.
A bit OT, but perhaps relevant to the globohomo empire in general- the “too many chiefs, not enough indians” trope is entirely applicable to our nations, our corporations, etc. many indians are walking away looking to start a different tribe. let us pray for them.
This quote doesn’t give me a lot of confidence that we could fight the Salvation Army, much less the Russians and Chinese:
“The nation requires our army to fight and win its wars, said Major General Mark Simerly. “And for that, we have to have a high quality, DIVERSE, INCLUSIVE workforce in the army.”
https://www.nbc12.com/2022/11/11/military-leaders-addressing-low-recruitment-crisis-us-army/
Between the bloat at the top and a bunch of pampered snowflakes who don’t even know what sex they are in the ranks, we’re going to have a tough time against anyone who can really fight back.
I can see it all now…
General Nincompoop: “We need to take that hill from the Russkies, boys!”
Snowflake #1: “What’s a boy?”
Snowflake #2: “I’m reporting you for bigotry and failure to use my preferred pronouns!”
Snowflake #3: “I’m so upset! Where’s my safe space?”
The U.S. Army appointed only ten Four Star Generals from Ulysses S. Grant through to George C. Marshall (over a 73-year period), then another 14 during World War II, and 217 since then:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Army_four-star_generals
A quick scan of Four Star ranked officers in the other branches shows a similar post-WWII “rank inflation”.
Moon of Alabama:-
“In the last month, the volley of calls for negotiation from Putin has intensified. On September 30, Putin called on Kiev “to return back to the negotiating table.” On October 11, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia “was willing to engage with the United States or with Turkey on ways to end the war.” Two days later, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow is “open to negotiations to achieve our objectives.” On October 26, Putin sent a message to Zelensky through President Umaro Mokhtar Sissoco Embalo of Guinea Bissau, saying that “He wishes and thinks that a direct dialogue should happen between your two countries.” On October 30, Lavrov said that Russia is “ready to listen to our Western colleagues if they make another request to organize a conversation” as long as Russia’s security needs were considered. And on November 1, Putin said that “necessary conditions” could arise that would be a catalyst to talks.
On the U.S. side only one voice had recently publicly urged to start negotiations:
….so, why push for these negotiations now if Russia is planning to steam roller Ukrainie in winter… One last chance out of kindness…yeah right.
I’ve noticed you are repatedly shitposting in here. What the f are you trying to achive?
Truth maybe?
Truth is rarely to anyone’s liking. So much so that the messenger is often shot.
There should be no illegal earnest and reasonable questioning of narratives.
Nope. Shitposting is low effort activity, while achieving truth is very high effort.
Truth indeed is rarely to anyone’s liking, but it is not achieved just by writing stuff that will be disliked by others.
There are people who label saying that a man in a dress in not a woman, as shitposting
Yup, exactly Eric, not buying into anyone’s narrative. Especially not any government. Only a fool censors information to twist reality. As grown ups we should know better, truth is more complex than one sided narratives.
Came back to re-read “the truth”. Now it seems like even bigger pile of crap. Who, in their right mind, would belive that Putin is publicly sending a secret message to Cokhead of Kiev (not to mention using some random politician instead of Erdogan)? I thought that it was obvious from the start that the green screen man is just reading the script (except for his nuclear war attempts).
I have noticed you are shitthinking and unable to objectively process information. Which part of the above is false? Don’t you find it odd that all of a sudden there are negotiations with ‘non agreement capable’ West in Putin’s words. Aren’t you curious as to why now?
It’s the job of diplomats to talk to each other, just like it’s the job of actors to read the script and snort coke. Making a fuss about Lavrov meeting someone is like making a fuss about Zelenski doing a line after asking for more money. Both things have been happening all the time, and will be happening in the future. Pushing it as an extraordinary thing (along with some made up stuff) is nothing more than a pile of MSM bullshit, and that’s why i called it (bull)shitposting. The only thing missing is Lavrov being in hospital, and Puting having cancer.
The Cannon-Equiped Sailing Ship displaced the Rowed Ramship and Marines. The Armored Steam-Powered Battleship with Breachloading Rifles displaced the Sail-Powered Ship of the Line. the Aircraft (NOT the Carrier) displaced the Battleship. The Nuclear-Powered Submarine, and now, the Hypersonic Missile, have displaced the Aircraft Carrier (and its supporting Fleet).
In the FUSSA Navy, the programs to build Destroyers and Frigates equipped with Fast, Long-Range Missiles resulted in Billions of $hekel$ of Waste and Fraud,while ‘producing’ Useless Junk. Even the Carrier-Building program has foundered under oversold ‘high-tech’ nonsense like the “Electromagnetic Launcher” for Aircraft. Don’t get me started ( as an Aviation Mechanic) about the lack of new Carrier-Capable Airplanes… and the F-35 Flying (sometimes) Abortion.
A “navy” with more Admirals than Ships (even counting Oilers and Harbor Tugs) is some kind of a Welfare/Grifting program, Not a useful National Defense Force, as specified in the Constitution.
We are faced with a Political Problem, not a Technical one of building Subs and Missile-Carrying Ships in sufficient numbers to have a Navy to Defend the Nation.
Yves Smith weighs in on the Russian abandonment of Kherson bridgehead, believes it was the proper thing to do given the circumstances.
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/11/kherson-cognitive-dissonance-and-the-under-the-radar-electrical-war.html
She also asks some pertinent questions (as she always does), such as, what the hell happened to the Russian campaign to degrade the electrical grid of their Existential Enemy? A sudden news blackout has descended upon the world regarding this topic, and the best she can discern from her very limited sources,* is the Russians are continuing the attacks, albeit at a much reduced pace, more a long the lines of bi-weekly strikes.
But to what purpose? Yves Smith:
” … given the relative silence about this campaign, it’s hard to see what Russia’s aims are. Will these 2x a week attacks keep the Ukraine grid at a reduction of 40% of capacity, or is it intended to keep degrading it from there?”
Who knows, or even cares to opine on the subject? Apparently, there are more imortant aspects to this particular war to the death would it seem, that the actual war itself.
Left unsaid, however, is my question, which is, if you wanted to end this war quickly, and thereby shorten the duration of the pain and suffering of all those involved, mightn’t be a good idea to knock out the grid of your Existential Enemy in its entirety, and thereby make it nearly impossible for them to continue to wage war against you – assuming of course, you had the requisite missile and drone stocks, to accomplish such a task?
*Limited sources. In the Age of Darknes in which we live, is there other kind?
I mean, are there really such things as satellites up there? I’m starting to question the veracity of such a notion. In fact, I think we might all be victims of what I would call, a Satellite Hoax!
As an engineer, I think that Russians intend to keep the grid at the edge for the time being. Once needed, it would be easy to push it off of it over night. Destroying it now would result in humanitarian catastrophy, which is a thing that USA does.
This war can not be ended quickly. Plan accordingly.
Moon is a satellite too.
“Moon is a satellite too.”
Lmao … It is indeed. Although Moon can’t provide us with satellite recon photos of every square inch of the greater battlezone, much of which is freely available on-line. What intrigues me is, although I can see from space which bridges have been blown out over the Dnieper, and exactly what the fortifications the Russians left behind in Kherson look like, and many other secretive military war time doings I would normally not be privy to, nobody is showing me any evidence whatsoever for the build-up for the Russian Winter Offensive(s).
Now maybe there is a reason for this, and a good one, neither the Russians or the Americans want this information to be made available, which is all good, but it is the lack inquistiveness about these massive, impossible to hide build-ups which I find so puzzling.
Everyone seems to be content to just accept that it is a riddle wrapped inside an enigma/mystery, just a part Fog of War that cannot lift by universal decree until the Winter Offensive(s) begin.
Which leads me to the other point, about the precision grid reduction to 40%:
“Once needed, it would be easy to push it off of it over night.”
That makes sense. Just before the Winter Offensive(s) begin, that’s the time you push the grid of your Existential Enemy over the edge.
But not until then, as you don’t want your Existential Enemy to be in a state of chaos during the lead up phase.
There is no buildup for Russian Winter Offensive(s) to show. Russia is still in the defensive phase.
There is not much of a riddle here, for now. Russia has moved to a war of attrition many moons ago. Minimizing losses, and (slowly) grinding enemy manpower/equipment/infrastructure. If and when that will change, only Surovikin can tell (but he won’t). Since freshly mobilized troops won’t be rushed into battle Ukrainian style, the potential offensive may have to wait for Ded Moroz to come and go.
I cannot speak in detail about the Navy, but the Army’s readiness has been in a constant state of decline for a while. Discipline, Esprit décor, physical training, mental toughness, and ethics have slowly declined like a frog in boiling water. Now the frog is boiling and it appears that the only thing that will wake up the nation is an ass kicking from a peer power. At least we have 750,000+ DOD civilians who will take up the sword when things get hairy. /s
Wilkinson Sword.
Larry: great article, but a small correction is needed. It is not “shooting war against the Russians OR the Chinese” but “shooting war against the Russians AND the Chinese”. Russian and Chinese militaries are working closely together, even conducting joint patrolling. Which makes the challenges before America’s bloated officer corps even worse.
Proof that the US is not prepared for a conventional war with Russia or China is in full view today in Ukraine. No more account needed. In the way they desperately seek a ceasefire with no ammunition to supply Ukraine through the winter.
And to the expense you still have to add almost 1000 military bases and nobody knows how many prisons around the world. In a world where soft power is no longer what it was in the 60s. I don’t know how it is in Russia or China but in Europe all countries that had colonies suffer from the same problem on a much smaller scale. Because it is faster to stop recruiting recruits than to reform high ranks. But that’s not why they are almost militarily insignificant! They are insignificant because they see no need for large military bodies. And neither do I. I am much more concerned about school, public health care, public social security and public pension funds than military might. In short, with the welfare state that neoliberalism has coveted and tried to destroy for decades in Europe! Because I believe that goods like school, health, housing and good jobs contribute much more to the happiness of each one of us than a savage consumer society on credit with financial crashes as a routine.
And I end with another example. I believe that in Europe the biggest nuclear threat is American nuclear warheads. There is no record that Russia has ever launched a nuclear warhead on a nuclear-free nation. NATO itself is today the greatest threat to European security as is being seen in Ukraine. Europe militarily needs at most a rapid intervention force with soldiers from all nation states. Most of the time for civil conflicts like migratory crises or more or less natural incidents like fires and floods.
Never met a flag officer that was even worth the suspicious awards on his uniform
Just the Navy? Hardly. Just take a peek into the US Army’s INSCOM. A pasture for 0-4 and above. The US Military has become a top heavy, overly corporate mental institution where combat proficiency takes a back seat to mandatory CBT courses. Where officers lead from the rear and bide their time to collect their pensions.