In a lengthy 11th-hour memo to President Barack Obama, outgoing Defense Secretary Ash Carter laid out an argument that the U.S. military is in better shape than it was eight years ago, but will require continued investment in modernization to maintain its superiority.
“While the next Administration will continue to be challenged by an evolving security environment, I am confident that our military is up to the task of protecting our nation in the years ahead,” Carter wrote in the memo published Jan. 5. His fellow cabinet members likewise sent state-of-the-department essays to Obama on Thursday complete with suggested directives for the incoming Trump administration to pursue.
“The President-elect can count on them to continue to execute all their duties with the excellence our citizens know they can expect,” Carter wrote.
Instead of focusing on his two years as secretary of defense, Carter offered a narrative history of the military’s eight-year struggle to do more with less under Obama. During much of that period the services were forced to balance near-term readiness and modernization within ever tighter budgets.
Over the past eight years, because of the 2011 Budget Control Act and a year of automatic sequestration cuts, the Defense Department suffered an $800 billion reduction in the funding it planned to have in future years.
“The combination of these two circumstances has led to the pursuit of a smaller yet more technologically advanced and capable military that is ready for the threats of today and the challenges of tomorrow,” Carter said.
Nowhere is that ideal ore visible than the budget for Special Operations, which increased by $1.7 billion and added 15,000 troops – a 25-percent increase – since fiscal 2008.
The Defense Department also removed the blinders it wore for nearly 15 years fighting counterinsurgency wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and began to refocus on traditional military tactics necessary for conflicts with near-peer nation states.
“In the years since [2009], this administration effectively adjusted its defense strategy, shifting from a focus on irregular warfare and counterterrorism to a return to full-spectrum combat readiness and directing a responsive and versatile military that can prevail across the full spectrum of operations,” Carter wrote.
Asia-Pacific
Carter doubled down on the Obama administration’s commitment to move as much as 60 percent of Navy and Air Force resources to the Asia-Pacific region.
In the past eight years, that has included the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery to Guam, ballistic missile-defense ships to Japan, replacing Marine Corps CH-46 helicopters in Okinawa with the more-capable V-22 Osprey, and an increased strategic bomber presence in the region. The Defense Department also launched a five-year, $425 million Maritime Security Initiative to improve allied training exercises and support in the South China Sea. At least $14 billion in foreign military sales to Taiwan was compounded by a strengthened military cooperation and technological agreement with India.
“Our investments must continue to protect our competitive edge in the region by extending the technological military superiority the U.S. and the world have relied upon for decades,” Carter said. “The next Administration should continue to promote high-standards trade and investment, which will deepen partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region and underscore our strategic advantage in the region.”
South Korea also has agreed to host a U.S. THAAD battery to protect it and U.S. troops stationed there from North Korean ballistic missiles. The system and attendant personnel should be in place by the end of 2017.
Europe
The pivot to Asia had competition for funding, troops and weapons from a renewed focus on supporting NATO against Russian aggression in Eastern Europe.
Carter oversaw implementation of the European Reassurance Initiative, which poured $800 million into U.S. military presence on the continent in fiscal 2016 alone. That figure ballooned to $3.4 billion the following year and included the rotational deployment of an armored brigade that is scheduled to arrive with tanks and 4,000 troops this weekend.
NATO allies have also agreed to pony up more of their gross domestic products to provide for collective defense. Each pledged to spend at least 2 percent of GDP, a goal which 24 NATO allies now meet or are on a path to meet.
“The United States must remain engaged with NATO — an alliance of principled and like-minded members backed by strength — to ensure continued progress and to deter and defend against Russian aggression in Europe,” Carter wrote.
Middle East
While it continues to be a locus of conflict and U.S. military involvement, the Middle East has also been a hot spot for arms sales. More than $100 billion worth of weapons has been sold to Gulf-region allies since Obama took office, Carter said.
That includes the sale of Boeing [BA] F/A-18 Hornets to Kuwait and F-15 fighters to Qatar, deals worth a total $30 billion.
Israel
The U.S. government continues to supply more military aid to Israel than any other nation in the world. Since fiscal 2010, at least $21 billion in foreign military financing has gone to the Israeli Defense Forces. On top of that, the United States has invested $3 billion in joint development and procurement of missile defense systems, including $1 billion alone or the Iron Dome batteries that protect Israel from enemy rocket fire.
This year, the two nations signed a historic $38 billion, 10-year security pact that includes a further $5 billion in missile defense assistance, Carter wrote. Israel also became the first nation outside the United States to receive an operational Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Nuclear forces
The Trump administration will inherit the dire need to modernize the nation’s nuclear enterprise and the three legs of the weapon-delivery triad, which Carter said will come in at a total $270 billion.
“The nuclear enterprise will continue to require sustained focus, attention, and resources from the next administration,” he said. “Because many of these programs were deferred, recapitalization of all three legs of the Triad must take place nearly simultaneously.”
During his tenure, Carter greenlit several of those nuclear programs, but they will be in development and production for decades. Initial contracts have been awarded for the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, the B-21 long-range strike bomber, the ground-based strategic deterrent (GBSD) replacement for existing Minuteman ICBMs and the long-range standoff cruise missile.
Missile Defense
Carter called for continuation to expand the nation’s missile defense capabilities, including boosting ground-based interceptors in Alaska from 30 to 44 and deployment of an early-warning radar to Japan. He also applauded the increased fielding of DDG-51 Aegis missile-defense destroyers, and procuring the PAC-3/MSE interceptor to increase the range of the Patriot air defense system.
Legacy of Reform
Carter’s fingerprints will be left most clearly on his efforts to reform Defense Department acquisition of commercially-available technologies and his quest for better a better relationship between the government and the companies that make that gear. He only briefly explained the ongoing utility of the Defense Innovation Unit-Experimental (DIUx), which seeks to fast track emerging commercial technologies to military use.
He has overseen the founding of three DIUx offices and several million dollars’ worth of contracts in the first six months of their operation. He also directed the founding of service-specific rapid capability acquisition offices for the Army and Navy and the Strategic Capabilities Office, which is tasked with finding new and innovative uses for existing weapons and equipment.
“It’s no longer just a matter of what we buy; what also matters is how we buy things, how quickly we buy them, whom we buy them from, and how quickly and creatively we’re able to upgrade them and repurpose them to be used in different and innovative ways to stay ahead of future threats,” Carter said in his memo.