Congressional commission’s examination of military readiness fails on all levels.

A congressionally mandated Commission on the National Defense Strategy issued its report at the end of July. If you thought the United States was on track to address peer and near-peer threats around the world, you would be wrong — very wrong. The direction the Biden administration is heading demonstrates that its defense strategy is inadequate and not likely to change course.

Commission Highly Critical of National Defense Strategy

The previous report, released in October 2022, did not build confidence in the Pentagon’s understanding of the threats the nation faces. As Liberty Nation News reported at the time, the persistent reference to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a “pacing challenge” and not a palpable threat revealed a national security naivete that does not serve America well. The purpose of the commission’s work, as described by Defense News:

“Every four years, Congress gathers a group of outside experts to review the country’s national defense strategy. The goal is to have an independent board assess US national security like an accountant audits a company’s books. To do so, the eight commissioners spoke with lawmakers, US allies, members of the administration and leaders in the Pentagon, including the secretary and deputy secretary of defense.”

The “threats the United States faces are the most serious and most challenging the nation has encountered since 1945 and include the potential for a near-term major war,” the commission warned. “The nation was last prepared for such a fight during the Cold War, which ended 35 years ago. It is not prepared today.” For evidence of this observation, the commission observed various factors foundational to national security. The Strategic Environment, Domestic Constraints and Visions of Success, Force Sizing, Capabilities, and Posture, the Defense Industrial Base and Defense Production, and Personnel and Readiness were among the elements necessary to secure America’s safety.

Regarding the current warfighting fitness of the United States, the unanimous conclusion of the commission was that “the US military lacks both the capabilities and the capacity required to be confident it can deter and prevail in combat.” It added that “the US defense industrial base [DIB] is unable to meet the equipment, technology, and munitions needs of the United States and its allies and partners.” An inadequate DIB hobbles a prompt buildup of production of existing equipment, ammunition, and weapon systems. Manufacturing capacity, tooling, and a skilled workforce do not exist, leaving America vulnerable to running out of warfighting materials in one major conflict, let alone more than one separated geographically.

Even though the Biden Defense Department thinks it’s accomplishing something with its National Defense Industrial Strategy, as Liberty Nation News explained recently, “Unfortunately, the document falls far short …” Nothing substantive has been done, leaving the DIB strategy as “more wishful thinking than real.” And even if the industrial base were capable, America’s military would be woefully undermanned.

Military Recruitment a Shortfall for Readiness

The commission reported, “Recent recruitment shortfalls have decreased the size of the Army, Air Force, and Navy. Redoubled recruiting efforts, new incentives for service, and more flexible personnel systems are needed to offset a lack of propensity for and interest in military service among the eligible population.” Though “redoubled recruiting efforts” seem the logical fix, young people must want to join an all-volunteer armed force. Service in the military must be appealing on some level.

In a recent article in The American Spectator, Jed Babbin provided one reason for the current failure of recruiting efforts and a pessimistic outlook for the future: “Biden has forced ‘wokeness’ on our military. If we began today, it would probably take twenty years — and the firing of a lot of generals and admirals — to rid the military of it. [Kamala] Harris won’t end the military’s devotion to wokeness: she will instead worsen this enormously dangerous problem.” Until the Defense Department discards its social justice agenda in favor of warfighter readiness, recruiting problems will persist.

Perhaps the most damning of the findings: “The US public are largely unaware of the dangers the United States faces or the costs (financial and otherwise) required to adequately prepare. They do not appreciate the strength of China and its partnerships or the ramifications to daily life if a conflict were to erupt.” The commission rightly declared there must be a “call to arms” that includes a realistic understanding of the threats America faces and what the costs of failure will be. “The support and resolve of the American public are indispensable,” and the fact that citizens are unaware of the devastation they would face should a major conflict arise is an indictment against the current administration and its national security team.

This is a sobering call to action for the Biden administration, Congress, and the American public. However, if the past is any indicator of the future, it will go unanswered.

The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliate.