Does the United States really need a standing army?

[odanny]

We currently have 1.3 million, active duty service members. Of these, there are 171,000 stationed abroad. How about all of those troops overseas redeploy from their active duty stations for either reassignment or be part of a drawdown that took place when I got out of the Army 1992 under George H.W. Bush, when base realignment meant a lot of folks were no longer needed and bases closed down. Specifically, those U.S. Army troops overseas.

Japan, Germany, and S. Korea make up the bulk of those troops. Troops also in Italy, U.K., along with Bahrain, Spain, Turkey, and who knows where else. Bring them all home. Keep troop levels there same in the AF and Navy. Possibly expand levels for readiness.

The Army can be now a true citizen soldier army, for national defense and training, with an emphasis on increasing troop levels in existing National Guard units nationwide.

2024 Current State of the Union: US Military & Defense

How many people are in the US military? How much aid has the US given Ukraine and Israel? Get nonpartisan data about the US military, defense, and foreign affairs with the State of the Union in Numbers.

usafacts.org

 

[Godboy]

We currently have 1.3 million, active duty service members. Of these, there are 171,000 stationed abroad. How about all of those troops overseas redeploy from their active duty stations for either reassignment or be part of a drawdown that took place when I got out of the Army 1992 under George H.W. Bush, when base realignment meant a lot of folks were no longer needed and bases closed down.

Japan, Germany, and S. Korea make up the bulk of those troops. Troops also in Italy, U.K., along with Bahrain, Spain, Turkey, and who knows where else. Bring them all home. Keep troop levels there same in the AF and Navy. Possibly expand levels for readiness.

The Army can be now a true citizen soldier army, for national defense and training, with an emphasis on increasing troop levels in existing National Guard units nationwide.

2024 Current State of the Union: US Military & Defense

How many people are in the US military? How much aid has the US given Ukraine and Israel? Get nonpartisan data about the US military, defense, and foreign affairs with the State of the Union in Numbers.

usafacts.org

Our standing army is the reason why we rarely see land grabs like Russia is doing now. Leaders fear the US response.

 

[odanny]

Our standing army is the reason why we rarely see land grabs like Russia is doing now. Leaders fear the US response.

Not from a land war, more from America's wonder weapons. And it's especially bad after the endings in both Iraq and Afghanistan. We accomplished absolutely nothing in either location.

 

[BackAgain]

Does the United States really need a standing army?​

Almost certainly. If we had no “standing” army, and then an enemy chose to attack us and our interests, it would take time (very precious and severely limited available time) to conscript an army and train them effectively.

That time could easily run out before the conscription and training had a chance of providing us with an army at all.

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

Does the United States really need a standing army?​

If they stand too long, they'll get tired. We should let them sit for a while.

 

[OhPleaseJustQuit]

Does the United States really need a standing army?​

Almost certainly. If we had no “standing” army, and then an enemy chose to attack us and our interests, it would take time (very precious and severely limited available time) to conscript an army and train them effectively.

That time could easily run out before the conscription and training had a chance of providing us with an army at all.

.

Especially with the amount of training that it would take to get today's wokeists in shape to actually be some sort of a military. That is if they could catch any of them before they made it to Canada.

.

 

[rightwinger]

Do we need a Standing Army to defend Continental US?
No
We haven’t been invaded in 150 years

Do we need a Standing Army to extend our military power around the globe?
Yes

 

[odanny]

Do we need a Standing Army to extend our military power around the globe?
Yes

Not so sure of that. And since we pumped 20,000 troops into Poland and Romania, could they not have been National Guard troops?

 

[Baron Von Murderpaws]

I'm sure they're allowed to sit if they wanna.

 

[JustAGuy1]

Not from a land war, more from America's wonder weapons. And it's especially bad after the endings in both Iraq and Afghanistan. We accomplished absolutely nothing in either location.

Blame the "Rules of Engagement " bullshit that started in Nam.

 

[Donald H]

Blame the "Rules of Engagement " bullshit that started in Nam.

What rules of engagement are you referring to?

This question of whether an army is needed just can't be answered with any certainty because it hinges on the question of nuclear war and MAD.

I would only suggest that no country's large and powerful navy will be of ny use against an enemy that has the capability to sink literally all of it in a matter of a few days. Just look at how easily Russia's missile cruiser was sunk!

And so, this may be calling up the question on rules of engagement?

The other big factor to consider is the question of whether a country's army is going to be deployed in an aggressive role of defeating an enemy.

Of course, if nuclear war is a part of the question, there's really no question to begin with.

 

[luiza]

Do we need a Standing Army to extend our military power around the globe?
Yes

if you had one which ever won anything , I could understand your quaint idea even if disagreeing .
But you are so hopeless that you now have to resort to proxy losing .

 

[JustAnotherNut]

I would only suggest that no country's large and powerful navy will be of ny use against an enemy that has the capability to sink literally all of it in a matter of a few days. Just look at how easily Russia's missile cruiser was sunk!

Take a better look into Pearl Harbor where much of the Navy was taken out in a matter of hours.


Luckily we had a much larger navy fleet than what was bombed in Hawaii that became instrumental in ending that war ...........so YES, we really do need a large and strong military with smaller groups stationed around the world and at home as well.

Our interests worldwide need to be protected.

 

[odanny]

if you had one which ever won anything , I could understand your quaint idea even if disagreeing .
But you are so hopeless that you now have to resort to proxy losing .

How's your army doing in Ukraine? Wagner still emptying the prisons for fighters?

 

[whitehall]

In the preamble to the Constitution, the Founders listed only two duties of the federal government, "to provide for the common defense" and "promote the general welfare". Centuries of twisted logic turned the latter into "to provide the general welfare" and now they want to get rid of the former. No surprises here.

 

[rightwinger]

In the preamble to the Constitution, the Founders listed only two duties of the federal government, "to provide for the common defense" and "promote the general welfare". Centuries of twisted logic turned the latter into "to provide the general welfare" and now they want to get rid of the former. No surprises here.

Our Government has always done both

Article I, Section 8, Clause 1:

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States;

 

[para bellum]

How's your army doing in Ukraine? Wagner still emptying the prisons for fighters?

Yes, and women's prisons too.

Russia Behind Bars:

"Five new PMCs and women's she-wolves on the front line with the prisoners. “Resetting” mercenaries by the “security department” of PMC “Wagner” as a punishment for surrendering"

Another captured Wagner mercenary, in addition to stories of monstrous losses, told how the command staffed the rapidly thinning Wagner assault squads with mercenaries from other PMCs, including women. The Ministry of Defense is also starting to get involved with the mercenaries. In addition, he claims that in his “contract” with the PMC, a condition was spelled out - in no case should he be taken prisoner, otherwise, after the exchange, a punishment will follow in the form of a “zeroing” procedure, which is carried out by the “security department” of the Wagner PMC.

“The losses are very large, 100-200 people can be even in a day. A lot of people from other detachments are transferred to our detachment - assault detachments are connected to each other. Yesterday, an order came from the command that now the so-called “wolves” will work with us at our positions - these are women and five more PMCs, plus the Ministry of Defense will work with us. I have not yet seen these new PMCs, but we were told not to talk to them, not to maintain any contact with them. They will just work with us on our line of defense.”

““Wagnerites” who were in Ukrainian captivity are “reset” after the exchange. It is written in my contract that if we are taken prisoner, then after the exchange there is a “zeroing”. We were told not to surrender under any circumstances. The guys who were returning from captivity never reached their parents - they disappeared without a trace, and no one knows anything about them. They were simply taken away by the "Wagner security department" in an unknown direction - this structure is responsible for security in the Wagner PMC.

Data of the prisoner: Galyaka Vasily Alexandrovich, born in 1990, convicted in 2018 under Art. 228 h. 3 for 8 years of strict regime, served his sentence in IK-15 of Norilsk. On January 24, 2023, he was recruited into the PMC "Wagner" in the 17th assault detachment, call sign "Doliman", badge K 295-292. Captured by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on April 18, 2023 near the village of Khromovoe, Donetsk region.