Military Officer - October 2008 - (Page 55) Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) Q. Current wartime requirements have placed tremendous stresses on active duty, Guard, and Reserve forces and families. Whether or not we reduce American forces in Iraq, do you believe we need a larger force to be better prepared for future contingencies? A. Yes. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have demonstrated the consequences of underestimating the number of troops required to fight two wars and defend our homeland. I support plans to increase the size of the Army by 65,000 troops and the Marines by 27,000 troops. Increasing our end strength will allow units to retrain and re-equip properly between deployments and decrease the strain on military families. I will also invest in an equipment reset for the armed services, including the National Guard, which has seen its readiness for homeland security missions decrease significantly. Q. Today’s defense budget is about 4 percent of the GDP. In the past 50 years, in peacetime alone, it averaged 5.7 percent of the GDP. With larger forces planned and the need to replace and modernize hardware worn out by six years of war, won’t defense have to stay at least at 4 percent of the GDP to meet those needs? A. We need to maintain a defense system that is second to none. Today, our forces are overstretched, inadequately equipped, and in need of additional support. To meet their needs, I am prepared to invest more, if necessary, but we must invest the taxpayers’ resources wisely. That means investing based on our defense needs, rather than having the level of our investment be predetermined by the rate of growth of the GDP. Moreover, we must spend our resources wisely on the military we need for the 21st century, not the 20th. As president, I will order the reevaluation of all weapons programs to make sure that what we buy remains relevant to our military’s needs today and tomorrow. In keeping with this commitment, I support plans to increase the size of our ground forces by 92,000 troops. This will give us the capacity to meet a wide array of global challenges, reduce the demand on the National Guard for overseas deployments, and maintain a strong and ready strategic reserve. Our military commanders have requested this increase in the size of our force, and as commander in chief, I will take their recommendations under advisement in my effort to support the troops. One of the painful lessons we’ve learned anew over the last several years is that there is no substitute for an adequately sized ground force. Q. Years of war have reminded Americans of the extraordinary sacrifices inherent in a 20- to 30-year military career. Multiple commissions have identified shortfalls in compensation and health care for wounded/disabled servicemembers, families, and survivors, but others have sought to shift more costs to retired military families. To what extent do you believe decades of military service and sacrifice constitute up-front, in-kind premiums that earn lifetime health and retirement benefits? A. As president, I will ensure that America keeps the sacred trust we make with the men and women who devote their careers to military service. Military retirees have made a special sacrifice [CONTINUES ON PAGE 79] PHOTO: JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES OCTOBER 2008 MILITARY OFFICER 55
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