Warfare and technology have changed: large forward-deployed forces and naval squadrons are now vulnerable and can be rapidly destroyed in a high-end conflict.
The top priority should be defending the Western Hemisphere and U.S. territory; large-scale overseas expeditionary assaults (moving hundreds of thousands of troops) are effectively obsolete.
Scale back unnecessary overseas bases (the ~800 count) and shift to a mix of defense and diplomacy — even engaging adversaries or sanctioned states pragmatically to avoid conflict.
Five pillars for a new national military strategy:
- Defend America first (protect borders, coastal waters, airspace; avoid force unless directly attacked).
- Preserve core capabilities to maintain freedom of action, with a reduced set of overseas bases for critical lines of communication.
- Declare a no-first-use nuclear doctrine while retaining deterrent industrial capacity.
- Create a national operational defense staff and a powerful, accountable chief of defense; move to merit- and exam-based promotion/selection.
- Build new 21st-century forces through protected experimentation rather than incremental retrofitting of old structures.
Investment priorities should shift toward ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) from seabed to space, long/medium-range strike, and integrated air defenses for North America; maneuver (ground forces) should operate under the ISR-strike umbrella rather than as massed formations.
The Russia–Ukraine fighting validates the ISR-strike model: assembled forces are exposed to relentless surveillance and strikes, and AI/robotics will accelerate that trend.
Institutional resistance (“presentism” / service-centric conservatism) must be managed so experimentation can produce real, lasting change.
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