highsea
10-14-2004, 02:28 PM
Kerry is calling for 2 new active duty divisions (one combat and one support), and an additional 10,000 reserve forces as part of his defense plan. His rationale is that US forces are overstretched in Iraq.
According to the CBO, the up-front investment costs for 2 new divisions would be just shy of $20bn. Maintenance costs for stateside deployment would be about $6.5Bn./yr. It would take 5 years to add and train these 80,000 new troops.
Now, I am not against increasing our troop strength, but Kerry has promised that these increases will be "budget neutral". In other words, something has to be cut to finance the new additions.
Based on Kerry's statements and record, this is what I think will be cut first.
#1. The National Missile Defense Program. Kerry has been a long time opponent of this program, and Bush increased funding for NMD to about $6.7Bn/yr., IIRC. The program is partially deployed now, with components in Alaska, the Sea of Japan, and Radar installations in Australia. This is a purely defensive program designed primarily to counter the threat of a Nuclear Missile attack from North Korea or Iran (both of whom are rapidly developing ICBM capabilities).
#2. The F/A-22 and F-35 JSF 5th. Generation fighter jet programs. Kerry has also consistently opposed these programs. The F/A-22 has been scaled back from the original 600 plane requirement to about 225. There are 2 squadrons formed up now, with one active. That's 48 planes. The JSF program will start producing planes in 2008. The F/A-22 is designed to replace the F-15, and the JSF is designed to replace the F-16. Both the F-16 and the F-15 are very old platforms, and not competitive against current fighters like the Saab JAS-39 Gripen, French Rafale, Russian SU-27 series, the Eurofighter EF-2000, and the Chinese J-10 and J-11. The Chinese have 280 SU-27's and license to build an additional 400 (The J-11). Also the airframes of the F-15's and F-16's are approaching the end of their lifespans. F/A-22's will not be exported, but the JSF is scheduled to go to the UK and Australia to replace older F-18's, Tornados, and Harriers. The F/A-22 is vital to the US's ability to maintain air superiority in the battlespace, and the JSF is vital for air to air and ground support roles for the US and our allies.
#3. The Virginia Class Fast Attack Sumbarine program. After the cold war ended, the US canceled the Seawolf Fast Attack Submarines. The original requirement was for 30 boats, and was stopped at 3. 2 of these are in service, and the 3rd., the USS Jimmy Carter, will be commissioned by the end of this year, after undergoing some extensive modifications to make it a multi-role platform. The Virginia Class is the replacement for the Seawolf Class. They are quieter and more advanced electronocally, and are more stealthy acoustically and magnetically. These boats are primarily designed for littoral operations in support of US Carrier Battle Groups, and for track and kill operations against hostile subs and skimmers. They are also designed for insertion of SOF squads and covert Specops support operations. The Chinese, Russians, and French are all building new generation subs, and the Chinese in particular are in the process of a massive buildup of new generation subs designed to effectively target US CBG's. Without the Virginia Class boats, our CBG's will be defenseless against the new Chinese subs in places like the Straits of Taiwan. The current requirement for the Virginia Class is 29 boats, one is built (SSN 774 Virginia), and will be commissioned by the end of this year.
Two of these three programs are "force multipliers", that is they increase the effectiveness of our troops in a wartime scenario. The first, NMD is strictly defensive.
This is just part of what Kerry will have to cut in order to be "budget neutral". I'm sure that Kerry has plans to cut other systems as well, but these are the "big three" in terms of expense, and so most likely the first to get the ax. The excuse will be that none of these are "anti-terrorist" programs.
Cheers.
According to the CBO, the up-front investment costs for 2 new divisions would be just shy of $20bn. Maintenance costs for stateside deployment would be about $6.5Bn./yr. It would take 5 years to add and train these 80,000 new troops.
Now, I am not against increasing our troop strength, but Kerry has promised that these increases will be "budget neutral". In other words, something has to be cut to finance the new additions.
Based on Kerry's statements and record, this is what I think will be cut first.
#1. The National Missile Defense Program. Kerry has been a long time opponent of this program, and Bush increased funding for NMD to about $6.7Bn/yr., IIRC. The program is partially deployed now, with components in Alaska, the Sea of Japan, and Radar installations in Australia. This is a purely defensive program designed primarily to counter the threat of a Nuclear Missile attack from North Korea or Iran (both of whom are rapidly developing ICBM capabilities).
#2. The F/A-22 and F-35 JSF 5th. Generation fighter jet programs. Kerry has also consistently opposed these programs. The F/A-22 has been scaled back from the original 600 plane requirement to about 225. There are 2 squadrons formed up now, with one active. That's 48 planes. The JSF program will start producing planes in 2008. The F/A-22 is designed to replace the F-15, and the JSF is designed to replace the F-16. Both the F-16 and the F-15 are very old platforms, and not competitive against current fighters like the Saab JAS-39 Gripen, French Rafale, Russian SU-27 series, the Eurofighter EF-2000, and the Chinese J-10 and J-11. The Chinese have 280 SU-27's and license to build an additional 400 (The J-11). Also the airframes of the F-15's and F-16's are approaching the end of their lifespans. F/A-22's will not be exported, but the JSF is scheduled to go to the UK and Australia to replace older F-18's, Tornados, and Harriers. The F/A-22 is vital to the US's ability to maintain air superiority in the battlespace, and the JSF is vital for air to air and ground support roles for the US and our allies.
#3. The Virginia Class Fast Attack Sumbarine program. After the cold war ended, the US canceled the Seawolf Fast Attack Submarines. The original requirement was for 30 boats, and was stopped at 3. 2 of these are in service, and the 3rd., the USS Jimmy Carter, will be commissioned by the end of this year, after undergoing some extensive modifications to make it a multi-role platform. The Virginia Class is the replacement for the Seawolf Class. They are quieter and more advanced electronocally, and are more stealthy acoustically and magnetically. These boats are primarily designed for littoral operations in support of US Carrier Battle Groups, and for track and kill operations against hostile subs and skimmers. They are also designed for insertion of SOF squads and covert Specops support operations. The Chinese, Russians, and French are all building new generation subs, and the Chinese in particular are in the process of a massive buildup of new generation subs designed to effectively target US CBG's. Without the Virginia Class boats, our CBG's will be defenseless against the new Chinese subs in places like the Straits of Taiwan. The current requirement for the Virginia Class is 29 boats, one is built (SSN 774 Virginia), and will be commissioned by the end of this year.
Two of these three programs are "force multipliers", that is they increase the effectiveness of our troops in a wartime scenario. The first, NMD is strictly defensive.
This is just part of what Kerry will have to cut in order to be "budget neutral". I'm sure that Kerry has plans to cut other systems as well, but these are the "big three" in terms of expense, and so most likely the first to get the ax. The excuse will be that none of these are "anti-terrorist" programs.
Cheers.