Military properly adapting to times

Earle Malkin, Las Vegas

Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012 | 2:01 a.m.

Back in the “brown shoe” Army, the concept was being able to fight 2 1/2 wars, such as World War II and cover a small emergency if one popped up. After Vietnam, when we faced a totally different armed enemy, and our concept changed from large maneuver elements and a base of fire to one of small, highly trained combat/assistance elements. From what I’ve read and observed about the budget cuts in the Defense Department, those military items that are rarely used in present-day combat will be cut.

Since the political situation today requires spending cuts and little concomitant revenue increase, a halt in manufacturing and selling those items to the Defense Department is our only option. The large intercontinental bombers and many battleships seem to be marginally useful in the “war against terrorism.” I do find fault in wanting to reduce the numbers of Army and Marine personnel, i.e., the boots on the ground, unless the reduction is in the tail and not the tooth.

I have confidence in our Defense Department leaders to tailor our forces to meet the contingencies that arise in the world as we know it today.