USA planning to shrink armed forces

[mizeri]

they can save whole lot of money by just shutting down all the army bases in Germany and south korea any place that the US is stationed in Europe

[Skroe]

they can save whole lot of money by just shutting down all the army bases in Germany and south korea any place that the US is stationed in Europe

No.

And don't ask again.
http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...1#post25619558
http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...1#post25619777

[Kellhound]

So on Tuesday, Obama announced the US Military is building Iron Man. He was only lightly joking.





http://sploid.gizmodo.com/obama-says...-he-1532582334


http://defensetech.org/2014/02/11/ad...oming-in-june/



Of course the problem is going to be what it always has been (and is neatly sidestepped by Iron Man's 'arc reactor')... how are you going to power the suit.

Really, really long extension cords.

[Skroe]

Really, really long extension cords.

You may not be far off. This book I talked about before,
http://www.amazon.com/The-Next-100-Y.../dp/0767923057

The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century

written by the founder of STRATFOR is very interesting (and very speculative, some of it far more legitiamate than other parts. But the US Army of the mid 2050s comprised only several thousand to ten thousand combat troops, all of them in Iron Man-like armor. And the way he justified this reality is that in his speculative world, a key strategic resource in the mid 21st century would be electrical infrastructure... so when the US fought the Japan / Turkish alliance in World War III (I know...) the first thing the US army did was secure every Japanese / Turkish power station it could in order to be able to charge their suits in the field.

I know it sounds completely ridiculous (It's actually a very interesting book, despite it's ridiculous parts), but that is this STRATFOR guy's solution to the power problem.

While we're on the subject, spoilers. In this book World War III started when the US's three manned orbital bombardment / defense platforms, called BaseStars (yeah... I know...) were destroyed in a surprise attack by Japan from missiles launched from their lunar base, disguised as small space rocks / debris. World War III ends when the US gets a crew to the unfinished 4th BaseStar a couple of days later (no other country has them), and begins orbital bombardment on Japan and Turkey.

Anyway, fun and light before-bed reading with some interesting ideas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Next_100_Years

[Ahhdurr]

Let people retire and don't replace them. Fix the clusterfuck that is the VA and give our veterans what they've earned.

[Dakia]

I don't mind a reduction in forces. Eliminating the A-10 platform is a huge mistake though, in my opinion.

they can save whole lot of money by just shutting down all the army bases in Germany and south korea any place that the US is stationed in Europe

Shutting down bases in Germany would be a mistake. It is a central location for strikes anywhere in Europe, Russia, NE mid east and Northern Africa.

Shutting down bases in SK is just laughable given the NK threat.

[Masark]

Of course the problem is going to be what it always has been (and is neatly sidestepped by Iron Man's 'arc reactor')... how are you going to power the suit.

Maybe that's why the Navy is pouring money into Polywell.

[SodiumChloride]

If they dump the A-10. What are they going to use for air support. F-35 is still stuck in development hell and sure it has stealth, but that doesn't make them invisible to the naked eye - they can still be visually sighted and shot down; if you have seen the damage an A-10 takes in the course of it's duties ... That damn thing is a flying tank!

[Kellhound]

If they dump the A-10. What are they going to use for air support. F-35 is still stuck in development hell and sure it has stealth, but that doesn't make them invisible to the naked eye - they can still be visually sighted and shot down; if you have seen the damage an A-10 takes in the course of it's duties ... That damn thing is a flying tank!

The USAF does not WANT to do CAS, they only do it to keep the Army from getting permission to arm fixed wing aircraft for the CAS role.

[Mormolyce]

I'll take this opportunity to note that those shouting 'MAH FOUNDING FURTHERS!' are quite different than those who wish to, you know, move forward as a country and society and try to make it a better place.

I certainly agree with that.

FYI, the US Navy is at sea more than any other Navy, at any given time ~50% of all US warships are underway.

Well I didn't say those boats are stationary!

[Noomz]

Hagel is apparently planning to trim about 70,000 (out of 520,000) active duty personnel.

Other items on the chopping block are the U-2 and the A-10.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-26326969

It's time to move away from conventional armies and into the surgical warfare of the future.

[Skroe]

If they dump the A-10. What are they going to use for air support. F-35 is still stuck in development hell and sure it has stealth, but that doesn't make them invisible to the naked eye - they can still be visually sighted and shot down; if you have seen the damage an A-10 takes in the course of it's duties ... That damn thing is a flying tank!

The F-35 isn't just stuck in development hell. It's actually terraforming an underused level of hell into something so nightmarish, the devil himself would not touch it for fear of spreading corruption. You can say, it's making new hell.

The Budget Plan makes specific reference to investing into new engine technology. After reading around the net the last two days, the consensus in defense circles that this program has two purposes.

The Long Term pupose, is to lay the ground work for the engine for the Sixth Generation Fighter, the F-22 successor, the F/A-XX, which will start early development around 2018 for late 2020s activation.

The Nearer Term purpose is to develop an engine to replace every single F135 in the F-35 fleet one day, to actually give it the range and performance that was promised in 2004.

So you could in some way, chalk it up to another being billion dollars laid upon the F-35's blood sucking altar. It's essentially the F-35's heart transplant.

[Kellhound]

I certainly agree with that.



Well I didn't say those boats are stationary!

A ship underway does not have many sailors just lounging about.

[Tasttey]

If they dump the A-10. What are they going to use for air support. F-35 is still stuck in development hell and sure it has stealth, but that doesn't make them invisible to the naked eye - they can still be visually sighted and shot down; if you have seen the damage an A-10 takes in the course of it's duties ... That damn thing is a flying tank!

No other plane was designed to still be airborne with no hydraulics, only 1 engine, half a tail, and having lost half a wing. No other plane was actually designed to engage enemy ground forces from 75ft off the deck either or rain hell itself down upon them from a 30mm GAU-8 Gatling Cannon.

[Deleted]

No.

And don't ask again.
http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...1#post25619558
http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...1#post25619777

well the Germany argument isn't inherently stupid, (south korea is) the flip side of that thou is that the logical consequent would be to smack up a few bases in Poland and in the Baltic.

[Jackmoves]

And we don't have that aspect of it. Your collection of paranoid delusions about having your twinkies confiscated and being forced to hit the treadmill at gunpoint simply don't exist outside of your head.

Sales taxes on smokes and booze is really high here, no fat tax yet though. Lol

[Wildtree]

well the Germany argument isn't inherently stupid, (south korea is) the flip side of that thou is that the logical consequent would be to smack up a few bases in Poland and in the Baltic.

Don't get thrown off your initial idea that easy.
Fact of the matter is, that you are as much right as he is. Yet I'd give you the advantage, regarding Germany/Western Europe.
There is absolutely no need for more than maybe 5K troops - and those under the NATO helmet - maintained in Germany for one reason only. To basically protect NATO's Strategic HQ.
It's almost always argued how these bases are needed for strategic mobility and flexibility. Only the uninformed simple minded buys into this anymore. All these bases are established decades ago. Some as soon as 1945.... Mobility, Infrastructure, Technology, Logistics, all of this changed since. While it was once crucial to have troops present and ready in place. That's not the case anymore today. One could defend Europe from the Antarctica.
Technology is that advanced, that one can push a button within the USA, and a short while later Putin's (or any other target on Earth) couch gets shot out from his living room.
From a strategic standpoint, there's absolutely zero reason to keep these troops in Germany.
Leaves the economic standpoint. X amount of people, influence the national economy of Germany, and impact greatly the local economy where the bases reside.
One is tempted to buy into this argument. I call bullshit on it.
My hometowns metro harbored various US bases.... How many? Well, here's a nice link for summary:
http://www.nbg-mil-com.de/
In Fuerth, the army concentration was so high and established that the US Forces areal was literally an own city within the city.
The total troop count for the metro region was in the 6 figures range. All those troops are gone.
Did it bring the economy down to it's knees when they left? Fuck no.
Did it cause an impact? Slightly and temporary. The metro flourishes and thrives just as much as it did before.