Hard Power and Soft Power

[Randy Daytona]

The part that caught my eye, and had me nodding in approval, was the 'prevent war with China.' Maintain a Navy large enough to deter conflict and make sure that there's freedom of navigation, but be okay with the fact that China is going to have a major sphere of influence in Asia. Take economic steps to rebalance trade.

And throw out the 'rules based order' finger pointing in order to defuse the situation.

It's actually a *gasp* whole of government approach.

Interesting news from the Army. Wonder what other force structures changes are next?

Army stands up Western Hemisphere Command in major force restructure

The new command, headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will combine U.S. Army North, U.S. Army South and Army Forces Command.

www.armytimes.com

Also, the NYT just started a series on whether or not the US military is overmatched. Will be an interesting read.

Opinion | Overmatched: Why the U.S. Military Must Reinvent Itself

Investing in the old ways of war leaves America at risk.

www.nytimes.com

Traditional weapons — such as artillery shells, ships and aircraft — will still be crucial to future wars, but the U.S. defense industry has lost the ability to produce them at scale and speed. In the event of a war with China, the United States would rapidly run out of essential munitions, as Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser in the Biden administration, has warned.

 

[Flash]

If we’re only going to focus on the western hemisphere, with zero strategic threats, I think that’s a good argument to half the size of our Navy

And with only Mexico and Canada in the top ten of trading partners. I think our relatively benign attitude towards our neighbors to the south since the end of the Cold War has been a decently good one by previous administrations, the juice really ain't worth the squeeze when it comes to trying to involve ourselves too deeply there.