The US Is Unprepared to Mobilize for Great Power Conflict

[rangerrebew]

 The US Is Unprepared to Mobilize for Great Power Conflict

    By Elsa B. Kania

    Emma Moore

July 21, 2019


In an era of lightning wars and easy-to-reach civilian populations, U.S. planners are giving mobilization far less attention than it requires.

The “fully mobilized Joint Force,” the National Defense Strategy tells us, will be capable of “defeating aggression by a major power; deterring opportunistic aggression elsewhere; and disrupting imminent terrorist and WMD threats.” Yet neither that document, nor U.S. planners in general, are sufficiently grappling with certain mobilization challenges that could prove decisive in a future great power conflict.

There are a few reasons for this shortfall. While U.S. strategists have in the past tended to assume that overmatch will flow from military-technological superiority, this may be no longer feasible, given advances in Chinese military innovation. Tomorrow’s conflicts are also likely to begin far more quickly than wars of the past, allowing little time to shift from a peacetime to a wartime posture and thus necessitating greater concern for competitive mobilization. In addition, efforts to disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure and sow disinformation among the American population to undermine national resolve may be prominent features of future geopolitical competition.

https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2019/07/us-unprepared-mobilize-great-power-conflict/158560/?oref=d-mostread

[Fishrrman]

Is this a surprise to anyone?

We've pretty much dismantled our industrial capacity to build an arsenal.

We've "PC'd" our services to the point where in some cases they're no longer an effective fighting force.

But worst of all -- there will never be "the national will" at home to unite and fight again. That's gone -- along with the ethnic/cultural cohesiveness we once had (prior to the immigration act of 1965).

We could decimate a country like Iran if needed, largely by air power and remote weapons.

But a land confrontation with China...?

[Bigun]

Is this a surprise to anyone?

We've pretty much dismantled our industrial capacity to build an arsenal.

We've "PC'd" our services to the point where in some cases they're no longer an effective fighting force.

But worst of all -- there will never be "the national will" at home to unite and fight again. That's gone -- along with the ethnic/cultural cohesiveness we once had (prior to the immigration act of 1965).

We could decimate a country like Iran if needed, largely by air power and remote weapons.

But a land confrontation with China...?

Their land or ours?  Makes a big difference I think.