Remember
last summer when the federal debt ceiling was only $14.3 trillion?
After
months of congressional discussion about the underlying cause (more federal
spending than federal taxes) a decision was reached: (1) borrowing authority was raised to $15.2
trillion, (2) some cuts were immediately enacted, (3) additional cuts were to
be identified by a “super committee” that the congress would then pass, and
most importantly (4) if the Super Committee could not agree on additional cuts
or the congress could not pass their recommendation, automatic across-the-board
cuts would be made.
Our
sovereign debt rating was downgraded from AAA to AA+ on August 5th and
if the 6 Democrats and 6 Republicans of the Super Committee can’t find
additional trillions, or the whole Congress can’t go along, our debt could be
rated still lower, which would make further borrowing more expensive,
aggravating the whole problem. That is
why automatic cuts were part of the deal (that was written into law) last
summer.
And
that is how the Department of Defense could be slashed without regard for
strategic purpose.
The
Supercommittee and the Darkhorse
Regiment
November
2, 2011 9:39 A.M.
By
Joel Arends
The
2011 Budget Control Act signed into law by President Obama will break the
Marine Corps if the Supercommittee fails in its
mission to reduce the budget deficit.
According
to a report by the House
Armed Services Committee, the Marine Corps will lose 57,000 of its 202,000
Marines and would “require a significant re-evaluation of the Marine Corps’
missions.”
Not
only will the Marine Corps shrink to post–Korean War levels, six of 29
amphibious landing ships will be decommissioned, modernization plans for short
take-off aircraft shelved, and the reset of equipment for ground forces will be
postponed indefinitely.
Before
the congressional supercommittee hollows out the
Marine Corps, they need to know the story of the Darkhorse
Regiment.
For
those unfamiliar with the Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment — over
a year ago 1,000 Marines deployed to the Helmand Province in Afghanistan and
suffered the highest casualty rate of any Marine unit during ten years of
fighting.
This
week, National
Public Radio featured the men, wives, and families of the 3/5 Darkhorse Regiment. This is how the Marines described their
fight with the enemy:
Sgt.
Daniel Robert describes it as “hell.” Lance Cpl. Jake Romo
calls it “the Wild West.” Lt. Col. Jason Morris says he’d heard it described as
“the most dangerous place in Afghanistan.”
The
Marines of 3/5 lost 25 brothers while fighting in Sangin
in Southern Afghanistan. In response to the mounting losses, the Obama
administration’s first reaction was to quit. Then secretary of defense Robert
Gates suggested
that the Marines should have temporarily pulled out of the area:
The
Marines’ top officer, Gen. James Amos, said “absolutely not.
“We
don’t do business that way. You would have broken the spirit of that
battalion,” Amos says.
Instead
of pulling Darkhorse out, the military sent hundreds
more Marines, as well as mine-clearing equipment.
General
Amos was right — the Marines had to take the fight to the enemy in order to
make progress. The results:
Two
months went by. By January, things started to get better.
Capt.
Chris Esrey remembers that getting “more boots on the
deck really increased our patrolling,” while Sgt. Daniel Robert says it became
easier for the Marines to get some rest.
The
fighting let up. Morris says life returned: markets opened; children were on
the streets.
Progress
came at a price: 25 dead and 184 wounded, with 34 losing at least one limb over
the course of the deployment. But the Marines say it was worth it.
“Every
single Marine that was over there — and saw the beginning and saw the end — saw
the 180-degree change in that place,” Morris says. “We changed it. We changed
it completely.”
“It
went from total war-fighting of three months to saving lives and rebuilding
homes,” says Sgt. John Decker.
Even
Lance Cpl. Baron, who lost one eye, one leg and some of his closest friends, agrees:
“It was worth it. If I say it wasn’t worth it, what about my friends that died?
I’m disrespecting them, like they died for nothing.”
The
war on our enemies won’t be won by quitting, even if temporarily. And we
certainly won’t win by hollowing out the Marine Corps while they are still
fighting on the battlefield.
—
Joel Arends is a veteran of Operations Iraqi and
Enduring Freedom. He currently serves as a captain in the Army Reserve and as
chairman of Veterans for a Strong America.
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/281979/supercommittee-and-darkhorse-regiment-joel-arends
back to ALL
MISSIONS
PostScript: Letter
sent by 33 Republican senators to the Super Committee on November 3, 2011.
update, November 21
News Release
The failure of the Congressional Supercommittee to
reach an agreement on deficit reduction is a setback for the country’s
efforts to achieve fiscal responsibility while protecting our national
security. If Congress fails to act over the next year, the Department of
Defense will face devastating, automatic, across-the-board cuts that will
tear a seam in the nation’s defense.
Despite the danger posed by
sequestration, I join the President in his call for Congress to avoid an
easy way out of this crisis. Congress cannot simply turn off the sequester
mechanism, but instead must pass deficit reduction at least equal to the
$1.2 trillion it was charged to pass under the Budget Control Act.
In
my four decades involved with public service, I have never been more
concerned about the ability of Congress to forge common-sense solutions to
the nation’s pressing problems. Since becoming Secretary of Defense, I have
made it clear that the Department has a responsibility to help the country
get its fiscal house in order -- and we are doing that. I have been leading
a strategy-driven effort to achieve the more than $450 billion in cuts over
10 years required by the Budget Control Act. We will move ahead with that
plan.
But as Secretary of Defense, my primary responsibility is to
protect the security of the nation. The half-trillion in additional cuts
demanded by sequester would lead to a hollow force incapable of sustaining
the missions it is assigned. If implemented, sequester would also jeopardize
our ability to provide our troops and their families with the benefits and
the support they have been promised. Our troops deserve better, and our
nation demands better.