ADVERTISEMENT

Republican Rep. Gives Warning on Military Readiness

U.S. troops in Africa / AP

Rep. Rob Wittman (R., Va.) called on Congress to not shortchange the military as the United States enters a period of a defense drawdown in an opinion piece appearing in Real Clear Defense Tuesday morning.

Wittman, chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, pointed to the hollowing out of the military that occurred after the Vietnam War and the drawdown after the fall of the Soviet Union as two examples that should not be repeated because of the potential threats we face.

"Sustaining a high standard of readiness in the face of sequestration, reset, and troop withdrawals is not 'nice-to-have'; it is an absolute national security necessity and paramount to our defense posture," Wittman wrote.

The military must maintain its high state of readiness by giving our forces the training and equipment necessary to dominate in all domains: land, air, sea, and cyber space, the congressman writes.

The lynchpin to our all-volunteer military’s success in the next decade is how we reset our forces, formulate strategy, and maintain and sustain ships, submarines, tanks, planes, and gear after a decade of cyclic combat operations. We must get this right. Not only is it imperative for our future national security, but it is also imperative for and well-deserved by those who volunteer to serve this nation.

Wittman urges Congress to use the upcoming review of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2014 to lay out the strategy that should be used so the military can maintain its "overwhelming superiority" in the battle space.

Published under: Congress