Defense Budget

Time To Put The Pentagon Into Chapter 11

July 10, 2014- Daniel Gouré, Ph.D. When a private company finds itself with a crushing weight of debt, a dysfunctional organization, overly restrictive labor agreements and operating rules that make it impossible to alter its cost structure, it can declare bankruptcy. Most companies file under what [Read More...]

The U.S. Requires A Military Large Enough To Withstand Strategic Surprises

June 30, 2014- Daniel Gouré, Ph.D. The three week blitzkrieg that has taken the extremist group that goes by the name of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) almost to the gates of Baghdad should be enough to convince any reasonable observer that this [Read More...]

If America Treated Its World Cup Soccer Team As Badly As It Does Its Military

June 27, 2014- Daniel Gouré, Ph.D. The country has caught football fever – that’s soccer to you unreconstructed, tunnel-visioned fans of American football. The U.S. World Cup Soccer Team has shown determination, good team work, great heart and even occasional flashes of brilliance. While losing to [Read More...]

Measuring The Risk To The U.S. Military Of Asking It To Do More With Less

June 25, 2014- Daniel Gouré, Ph.D. Yesterday, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James Amos, gave a presentation at one of the Nation’s premier foreign and defense policy think tanks, the American Enterprise Institute. General Amos provided a far-ranging, enlightening commentary on global security, U.S. [Read More...]

Defining The Right Military For A New Era Requires An Enduring Analytic Yardstick

June 16, 2014- Daniel Gouré, Ph.D. The United States is a global power with worldwide interests, investments, relationships and concerns. It is also the leader, primus inter pares if you like, of a community of like-minded nations, a set of alliance structures and security relationships and [Read More...]

HASC Republicans Are Right: Better A Larger Force Than A Ready One

May 9, 2014- Daniel Gouré, Ph.D. Late Wednesday night, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) made a fateful and strategic choice. Almost without exception, the committee rejected the Pentagon’s plans to pay for readiness with cuts to force structure. Remaining in the force, at least for [Read More...]

Army Aviation Debate Pits Emotions Against Facts

April 21, 2014- Daniel Gouré, Ph.D. There is an old joke in academia to the effect that faculty disputes are particularly vicious because the stakes are so small. They are usually disputes driven by matters of ego, feelings, prestige or status. The same can sometimes be [Read More...]

If Congress Wants A-10s, CVNs And Bases, It Must Repeal Sequestration

April 14, 2014- Daniel Gouré, Ph.D. Congressional conservatives cannot have it both ways. They cannot, on the one hand, complain about waste in the defense budget and support the $1 trillion in defense budget reductions imposed by the 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA) and, on the [Read More...]

The U.S. Will Not Be Able To Fight Two Wars

April 11, 2014- Daniel Gouré, Ph.D. A little over a month ago, the Obama Administration rolled out its 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). Required by law, the purpose of a QDR is to assess the adequacy of U.S. military forces to achieve the missions they are [Read More...]

Why Is It “Easier” For DoD To Cut Forces But Not Overhead?

April 10, 2014- Daniel Gouré, Ph.D. A trillion dollar reduction in projected defense budgets over the next decade is forcing the Department of Defense (DoD) to propose some very painful decisions. For example, the Army has already cancelled the planned procurement of its signature Ground Combat [Read More...]