The Fleet, and Marine Fleet Force, in the 21st Century by LtCol John Quinn (USMCR Ret.), Proceedings.
As the nation withdraws from the war in Afghanistan and begins to rebalance its military forces toward the Pacific, the services are being forced to undertake a rigorous assessment of what is necessary in the new security environment. This assessment must be comprehensive: They must take stock not just of their fiscal position but also their physical and political ones. They must realistically assess strengths and weaknesses and prepare a range of affordable responses.
Even if a compromise is reached that avoids the worst effects of sequestration, the Department of Defense will be faced with deep cuts to capabilities and capacities. With DOD’s heavy bias toward long-range strike, special-operations forces, and space and cyberspace capabilities, its quest for a “next” military built around these capabilities will rule the day. A greater cut in end strength—more than 100,000 military personnel, with most coming from broadly described “ground” forces—is seen as one of the few realistic budget options. In the name of preserving modernization, older ships and aircraft will also be on the chopping block…