• The U.S. military is “weak” overall, according to the Heritage Foundation's 2024 U.S. Military Strength Index released Wednesday.
• Dakota Wood, senior defense planning fellow at Heritage, told the Daily Caller that all branches of the military and U.S. nuclear and missile defense assets are too old, too weak, and too unprepared to handle multiple major conflicts at once. He said that he was not able to do so. News Foundation.
• “The current posture puts the U.S. military at significant risk of failing to protect America's vital national interests,” the report said.

The U.S. military is already stretched beyond its limits in responding to global threats and is too weak to address the most pressing challenges to America's national security, according to a report released Wednesday by a conservative think tank.

Heritage Foundation 2024 index The U.S. Military Power Assessment serves as a report card of the U.S. military's progress relative to the global operating environment and the capabilities of its adversaries, and rates the military as a whole as “weak,” said the editor, retired Navy. Lt. Col. Dakota Wood told the Daily. Caller News Foundation. In 2023, wars in Ukraine and Israel are joined by the U.S. response to conflicts exploding across the Middle East, drawing attention to the U.S. military and intervening at the same time as U.S. ammunition and weapons stockpiles are running low. It has been demonstrated that he has the ability to respond to the president's call. Multiple crises.

“In its current state, the U.S. military is at significant risk of failing to protect America's vital national interests,” the index's foreword states. It added that the U.S. military received a “weak” rating for the second year in a row “relative to the force we need to defend our national interests on the world stage against the real challenges of the real world, not what we want.” . (Related: Could the US be drawn into another endless conflict in the Middle East?)

Overall, all branches of the military and the U.S. nuclear and missile defense assets are too old, too weak and too unprepared, Wood, senior defense planning fellow at Heritage, said ahead of the report's formal release. He told DCNF at a press conference. release.

Heritage blames the Pentagon's decision to keep troops deployed for longer than planned, lack of funding, lack of discipline in developing and acquiring weapons programs, and constant shifts in priorities and policies that have contributed to the decline in U.S. military power. did.

“When we say the U.S. military is weak, it's not an indictment of any individual,” the military men and women explained. “If we had to fight Russia, China, Iran, or any other power in the world, we wouldn't have enough military power to go out there.”

Although the overall assessment remains unchanged from last year, U.S. nuclear forces were downgraded from 2023 in the 2024 report.

Heritage magazine rated the Army as “marginal,” the Navy as “weak,” and the Air Force as “very weak.” Only the Marine Corps has become so powerful, Wood said, thanks to a massive modernization effort focused on a worst-case scenario fight against China, but the Pentagon imposed the previous year. It is still too small to accomplish its mission.

The Air Force performed the worst, receiving a rating of “very weak.” The report says it is suffering from a pilot shortage and is operating only 75% of the ready-to-read fighters needed to fight two major conflicts at once. Pilots don't spend enough time in the cockpit, averaging less than 130 hours a year, which would have rendered them incapacitated in the Cold War, Wood told DCNF.

“The Air Force does not have a fighter squadron with the readiness, capability, and confidence levels necessary to face off against our competitors,” the report said.

The relatively young Space Force was rated “marginal,” reflecting a lack of personnel and a constellation of satellites that are beyond their lifecycles.

Wood told the DCNF that while America's nuclear arsenal is “old,” one of its most important modernization programs to replace the Cold War-era Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile is facing financial difficulties. , said the Secretary of Defense's intervention is now needed to avoid repeal.

“Nearly every component of the nuclear enterprise is at a tipping point with respect to replacement or modernization,” the report states.

Mr Wood highlighted this as an area of ​​particular concern. All other U.S. military operations rely on strong nuclear deterrence to prevent catastrophic nuclear escalation from threats from countries like China.

The 2024 U.S. Military Power Index characterizes the U.S. military as weak. #defense https://t.co/E8u0HR6yjd pic.twitter.com/cff3kd7pDS

— Heritage DataViz (@HeritageDataViz) January 24, 2024

Wood said the Army is now the smallest on record since before World War II, at a time when many are warning that the United States is in more danger than at any time in the post-war era. There will be 452,000 active-duty troops deployed in 2023, down from 770,000 since the end of the Cold War to 445,000.

Wood said the Army is too small to respond to multiple large regional conflicts at once and continues to shrink, while the weapons systems that form the basis of the Army's capabilities are rapidly aging.

For example, the M1 Abrams main battle tank began development in the 1960s. The cost of maintaining and servicing equipment will only increase as it ages, but the Army has no plans to replace it until the 2050s, Wood said.

The index “is not a futures document,” Wood told DCNF. We consider current forces and match them with the ways in which a more diverse range of threats in a more complex world may threaten U.S. security.

Although the U.S. military is preparing to deter and prosecute China if necessary, unforeseen events could prompt a U.S. response at any time, Wood said. The deployment of the U.S. Navy has been disrupted by developments in the Middle East, with Yemen's Houthi rebels virtually blockading ships in the Red Sea.

The Navy received a rating of “weak.”

At the tactical level, Wood said it performed fairly well in shooting down Houthi missiles and drones fired at commercial ships and launching counterattacks against Houthi capabilities on land. But it is struggling to maintain a global presence with a fleet half the size its commander needs, putting stress on its platforms and personnel.

The USS Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit deployed to the Middle East in July to patrol the Persian Gulf. The ship was then redeployed to the Mediterranean Sea to strengthen the aircraft carrier Gerald R. The deployment had been extended multiple times, Politico reported. report.

According to Politico, boxer ARG was scheduled to replace Bataan in November, but is currently in San Diego, California, for additional training. The Navy is being cautious about the Boxer's condition, with officials saying the ship could remain deployed “indefinitely.”

Among the military branches, the Marine Corps is the only one that has the overall strength. The army is marginal, the navy is weak, and the air force is very weak. #defense #army #Navy #Air Force #usmc https://t.co/E8u0HR768L pic.twitter.com/kO5D0mKCiS

— Heritage DataViz (@HeritageDataViz) January 24, 2024

In a panel discussion after the index release, experts warned that time is running out to reassess America's spending priorities.

Wood said military equipment has become exponentially more expensive than increases in defense spending, even after adjusting for inflation.

The report says the defense budget has not kept pace with inflation and is insufficient to replace, upgrade, and expand the U.S. military. The US defense budget increased by 3.5% from 2023 to 2024, and inflation rose by 8%.

“If we're being very realistic right now, this is not just about recognizing a threat,” Elbridge Colby, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development, said Wednesday. said at the Heritage Committee. “We need to reevaluate it like we would a company about to go bankrupt.”

The Department of Defense did not respond to DCNF's request for comment.

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