Bull in a China shop

    

              With 3 million people serving around the world, the US Department of Defense is the largest,and most visible, part of the federal government. But the 2025 Project would have us believe it is in bad shape. A military that wears masks during a pandemic, and requires Covid vaccinations,  looks weak and risk adverse.  the authors say.  Evidently they forgot that the last great  pandemic was spread by WWI soldiers from the US who took it to Europe where it killed more than bombs and bullets combined.

       The second section in Project 2025's "Mandate for Leadership" demands a strong military, free of such precautions as vaccines or prissy "discrimination, equity and inclusion" training.

    To rebuild the military,  the Mandate recommends an almost wartime recruitment policy, just shy of a draft, with all public school students required to take the military entrance exam. ROTC programs would be increased at high schools and congressmen would be encouraged to have military recruiters at their town halls.

     Although the Mandate wants to expand the ranks, there's no room for transgender soldiers, no matter how capable an individual may be. On the other hand, the Mandate says anyone who was dismissed for refusing to take a COVID vaccine should be returned to the ranks -- with back pay.   

      I do agree with the recommendation to increase wages and family allowances for enlisted soldiers.       "No uniformed personnel should ever have to rely on social benefits like as food stamps or public housing assistance," the Mandate says.

    The Mandate also wants to step up foreign military sales by designing more export friendly armaments,  streamlining the congressional review process, reducing trade restrictions and expanding contracting   Although the Mandate stresses "warfighting" is the primary focus of defense, it does recognize "irregular warfare" including counter terrorism, cyber attacks, misinformation and economic plots. 

       China is "by far" the most serious threat to U.S. security, the Mandate says. That's hardly new. When I was a kid somebody told me there were so many people in China that if they started marching against the USA, the line would never end. Every time we had a bomb drill in school,  I imagined an unending line of Chinese soldiers was at the door. 

       That was 70 years ago and the long line never appeared. I visited China a few years back and was amazed that it wasn't that much different from all the other countries I've visited. 

        When Donald Trump was president, he called former president Jimmy Carter for his input on the source of China's strength. 

           "Since 1979, do you know how many times China has been at war with anybody? None," Carter was reported as having told Trump.  During the same time, the US was involved in one war after another. "China has not wasted a single penny on war," Carter explained. "and that's why they're ahead of us. In almost every way."

        It's like we've built this big, bad bull for the battlefield but instead he's breaking things in a China shop.