The Pentagon Must Learn to Do More With Less
The U.S. military is stronger than it was four years ago, but the country’s defense programs still need a lot of work.
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Photographer: Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images
Among the crises awaiting President-elect Joe Biden, the state of the U.S. military might not appear high on the list. Under President Donald Trump, defense spending increased by nearly 15%. The U.S. military budget isn’t just the biggest in the world — it’s bigger than those of the next 10 countries combined. The drawdown of U.S. forces in the Middle East and Afghanistan has provided relief to front-line troops and reduced strains on military supply chains. Combat-readiness levels in the Army are twice as high today as they were in 2017.
Even so, Biden and his nominee for defense secretary, retired Gen. Lloyd Austin, will face some hard choices. Clamor to downsize the defense budget can be expected from conservative deficit hawks and Democratic Party progressives. Even with current funding, the Pentagon lacks adequate capacity to manage the dual challenges of rising great-power competition and unconventional national-security threats, from pandemics to cyberattacks. To address those shortcomings, the Biden administration will need to rebuild alliances, embrace new technologies, and invest in soft-power tools — all of which will allow the military to do more with less.