President Trump warned Iran via a Tweet earlier this month that the U.S. had "spent Two Trillion Dollars on Military Equipment [sic]." But as ProPublica notes, this is "a mistake that military leaders have made for years: emphasizing weapons over the fitness of the men and women charged with firing them."
From here, we're shown a huge issue with the readiness of Navy and Marine forces in the Pacific Theater, including under-crewed ships, poor training, and a lack of routine maintenance. Sailors and officers in the Navy's 7th Fleet had been warning of various deficiencies for years, but nothing has been done. In December 2018, the GAO found that the Navy shipyards completed repairs on time in only 25% of cases. Earlier that year, the GAO had reported that Navy and Marine aircraft had repeatedly missed preparedness benchmarks. It added that, "Aviation readiness will take many years to recover."
This jives with what senior officers are saying. Vice Adm. Thomas Copeman told a symposium of Navy officers back in 2013 that readiness was in a "downward spiral," and that he foresaw a "hollow" force if things did not improve. He estimated that the Navy needed $3.5 billion just to address training deficiencies.
If things weren't great back in 2013, they're surely much poorer now, with the military festering from the top down. From this: “You’re all losers,” Trump said. “You don’t know how to win anymore.” Trump questioned why the United States couldn’t get some oil as payment for the troops stationed in the Persian Gulf. “We spent $7 trillion; they’re ripping us off,” Trump boomed. “Where is the f---ing oil?” ... Trump mused about removing General John Nicholson, the U.S. commander in charge of troops in Afghanistan. “I don’t think he knows how to win,” the president said, impugning Nicholson, who was not present at the meeting. Dunford tried to come to Nicholson’s defense, but the mild-mannered general struggled to convey his points to the irascible president. “Mr. President, that’s just not . . .,” Dunford started. “We’ve been under different orders.” Dunford sought to explain that he hadn’t been charged with annihilating the enemy in Afghanistan but was instead following a strategy started by the Obama administration to gradually reduce the military presence in the country in hopes of training locals to maintain a stable government so that eventually the United States could pull out. Trump shot back in more plain language. “I want to win,” he said. “We don’t win any wars anymore . . . We spend $7 trillion, everybody else got the oil and we’re not winning anymore.” Trump by now was in one of his rages. He was so angry that he wasn’t taking many breaths. All morning, he had been coarse and cavalier, but the next several things he bellowed went beyond that description. They stunned nearly everyone in the room, and some vowed that they would never repeat them. Indeed, they have not been reported until now. “I wouldn’t go to war with you people,” Trump told the assembled brass. Addressing the room, the commander in chief barked, “You’re a bunch of dopes and babies.” For a president known for verbiage he euphemistically called “locker room talk,” this was the gravest insult he could have delivered to these people, in this sacred space. The flag officers in the room were shocked. Some staff began looking down at their papers, rearranging folders, almost wishing themselves out of the room. A few considered walking out. They tried not to reveal their revulsion on their faces, but questions raced through their minds. “How does the commander in chief say that?” one thought. “What would our worst adversaries think if they knew he said this?” I don't disagree that we should reassess and possibly change our strategy in the middle east, but this treatment of senior military officers is unacceptable, and especially so, coming from an infamous Vietnam draft-dodger. j5, I was glad to hear that the pro-gun demonstration went well. Even if I don't really condone the message, seeing people behaving with civility is what this nation desperately needs right now. America is proving that almost each and every one of us is of a character superior to Trump's.Before they could debate the Iran deal, Trump erupted to revive another frequent complaint: the war in Afghanistan, which was now America’s longest war. He demanded an explanation for why the United States hadn’t won in Afghanistan yet, now 16 years after the nation began fighting there in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Trump unleashed his disdain, calling Afghanistan a “loser war.” That phrase hung in the air and disgusted not only the military leaders at the table but also the men and women in uniform sitting along the back wall behind their principals. They all were sworn to obey their commander in chief’s commands, and here he was calling the war they had been fighting a loser war.