Final Exam

                                                                    Final Exam

What are the various opinions regarding the future role of our military and how they defend the country?
The United States military plays a huge role in how our country stays safe and keeps the people worry free of attacks and of what could affect them in a drastic way. I asked this question because I would like to get a deeper understanding of the military and how it works as pieces and as a whole.

Military spending has been steadily increasing since 2001 because military size, force structure and spending were cut too deeply in the 1990's. Little of the money that is going to the U.S. military is is being put towards enhancing the U.S. military's cutting edge capabilities. There are very few who want to put our military in harm's way and when we are forced to, mostly every American wants our soldiers to win as fast as possible and with the least amount of casualties. The Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Army have not been able to move forward with technology at the pace they would like to due to the budget cuts that have been put in place.

The United States military has been through a lot of battles and crisis' dating back to the 1800's. The military has had to deal with battles on land, air, sea and nuclear and biological warfare. Some battles that really stand out are the battle of Midway, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam war. In the battle of Midway we were able to put out the Japanese attack by intercepting their radio messages and countering their offensive by deploying aircraft to destroy the Japanese fleet. The Cuban Missile Crisis showed that the United States had ready the best nuclear warfare in the whole world. The Vietnam war proved that the U.S. military could make an impact on a war even when it is told to have a limited role in the war.

The idea of a strong military in the United States is one that many Americans approve of. America needs to be one of the leading nations not only in productivity and education, but also when it comes to being able to protect and defend itself and other nations. Many Americans interpret the military as just a protective service, but it really is a service that helps to establish and keep us safe and provide safety for other nations. President Obama recently outlined a new defense strategy that deals with the crisis of  demanding  hundreds of billions of dollars in Pentagon budget cuts. The president wants to step up and enhance the the United States intelligence gathering and cyber warfare so that, "Our military will be leaner, but the world must know the United States is going to maintain our military superiority." The future of the military is very important to President Obama and he wants to get a smaller but more technically proficient military, especially when it comes to advanced technology. He is trying to work with the budget cuts to make the military more advanced and proficient.  He wants a future where the United States can avoid fighting worst case wars and if we are forced to, we will be able to handle it in the best way.

"American Enterprise Institute." The past Decade of Military Spending: What We Spent, What We Wasted, and What We Need. Web. 04 June 2012. <http://www.aei.org/article/the-past-decade-of-military-spending-what-we-spent-what-we-wasted-and-what-we-need/>.

"Military History." About.com. Web. 05 June 2012. <http://militaryhistory.about.com/>.

"Vietnam War." About.com 20th Century History. Web. 05 June 2012. <http://history1900s.about.com/od/vietnamwar/a/vietnamwar.htm>.

Landler, Mark. "President Approves Defense Bill, Modified." The New York Times. The New York Times, 01 Jan. 2012. Web. 05 June 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/us/politics/obama-signs-military-spending-bill.html>.