- Joined
- Feb 2, 2008
- Messages
- 3,059
Because sex sells- and the F35 is sexy. (Sure- it can't do the job as well as the formerly cool toys currently in the toy box (F16/F18/A10)- but the promise is breathtaking!) And the Army also loses because the country loves to hear that it can fight wars without risking its people- so technology that promises to fight wars from afar always is cooler than the ugly reality of real wars. Sadly- once the policy makers commit to wars- they discover that the promise of the technology and the cool toys are mostly pipe dreams- and winning the war means controlling the ground and the people that live on it. So the Army will sometime in the not too distant future get committed to actions with old and inadequate equipment and too few people so it will resort to expedients like involuntary tour extensions, back- to- back -to- back tours of duty, over-reliance on the reserve components, and huge enlistment bonuses to expand. But at least we will have the national pride of having fielded $200 million dollar fighter planes!"To be sure, the nation always reduces its military as wars wind down. Other services suffer reductions and shortages. But only the Army breaks. Someone please tell those of us who served why the service that does virtually all the dying and killing in war is the one least rewarded."
http://www.stripes.com/opinion/army-is-breaking-let-down-by-washington-1.361011