Despite Pandemic, The U.S. Army Is In Its Best Shape In A Generation. Here’s Why.
I would not have thought to make that statement prior to reading the article. But I am 4 years retired so am out of the loop. And I still think the Army of the Desert Shield / Storm period was top notch- although we did not have the tech the Soldiers have today. But I still prefer iron sights.
When President Trump took office in 2017, the U.S. Army was in bad shape. Only two of its 50+ brigades were in a high state of readiness. Many of its top modernization priorities had faltered, wasting tens of billions of dollars. And the force was stretched thin fighting wars in Southwest Asia that showed little sign of ever ending.
Today, despite a global pandemic that has impeded training and demanded the services of over 40,000 soldiers on the home front, the nation’s oldest military service is a transformed institution. Half of its brigades, 27, are at a high state of readiness and the goal is that two-thirds will be by 2022. Its plan to modernize equipment is progressing steadily. And the Army is gradually extricating itself from what the president has called endless overseas wars.What explains this transformation? Conventional wisdom has it that big institutions change only gradually, but the state of the Army has improved markedly in less than four years. Many factors have fed the progress, but five stand out as decisive.
1. Teamwork at the top during the Trump years
2. Money better spent during the increased Trump budgets
3. Trump kept his promise of fewer wars, better waged
4. Better equipment [certainly true compared to my infantry days]
5. Better Soldiers [I will not comment on this one]
Loren Thompson
I focus on the strategic, economic and business implications of defense spending as the Chief Operating Officer of the non-profit Lexington Institute and Chief Executive Officer of Source Associates. Prior to holding my present positions, I was Deputy Director of the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University and taught graduate-level courses in strategy, technology and media affairs at Georgetown. I have also taught at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. I hold doctoral and masters degrees in government from Georgetown University and a bachelor of science degree in political science from Northeastern University. Disclosure: The Lexington Institute receives funding from many of the nation’s leading defense contractors, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and United Technologies.