The U.S. military is weak. This is what the new study of The Heritage Foundation-an activist American conservative think tank-claims.
US Army soldiers stand in formation next to a US flag and a US Army armored vehicle as they take part in the NATO "Noble Blueprint 23" joint military exercise at the Novo Selo military ground, northwestern Bulgaria, on September 26, 2023.
After describing the U.S. military as a weak one, the organization warned that the lack of action of leaders could leave American troops incapable of defending critical U.S. interests.
The Heritage Foundation's latest index, which is a 664-page report, addresses numerous issues within the U.S. military, claiming that none of its branches can defend the U.S. if a major conflict happens.
Is the US Military weak? The Heritage Foundation Says Yes
The latest index of The Heritage Foundation raked the U.S. military as "weak" for the second consecutive year. It rated the military's branches based on the strength of their capability, capacity, and readiness.
They are either ranked as "very weak," "weak," "marginal," "strong," or "very strong." Among the six military branches, the U.S. Air Force is considered to be the weakest as it received a rating of "very weak."
USAF's capacity and capability were both marginal. But, its readiness was rated weak. Because of this, the Air Force received the lowest rating among the six departments.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy received a weak rating for readiness, marginal for capability, and very weak for capacity. Combining all these ratings, the Navy received an overall rating of "weak."
"For 10 years this index has monitored the U.S. Navy's slow decline while China's Navy has modernized and grown at a fast pace," explained the Director of the Allison Center for National Security at the Heritage Foundation, Robert Greenway.
"Meanwhile, the Navy has had too little shipyard capacity to keep its fleet maintained, too few ships to pace the threats, and misguided leadership that has instigated a recruitment crisis," he added via Fox News.
Greenway further explained that advanced capabilities are not enough to change the downward trend. What military branches need is to take action to reverse it.
US Defense Official Criticizes The Heritage Foundation
Dakota Wood, The Heritage Foundation's senior research fellow for defense programs, said that an anonymous defense official criticized their ratings for the six military branches.
He said that Pentagon leaders were not pleased with their findings. The unnamed defense leader even claimed that the think tank's scoring was "silly and dangerous."
But, Wood said that defense officials should start caring more about their capabilities to defend U.S. interests instead of focusing on their self-esteem.
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