4.8: Military
Maintaining the Strongest Military in the World Other Information:
America's unrivaled military capabilities represent a second core pillar of our global leadership. After more than a decade
of war, we have an opportunity to retool our armed forces and our defense strategy to ensure we both maintain the world's
most capable military and adapt to the challenges of the 21st century. The President and the Democratic Party understand that
we have a special obligation to every soldier, sailor, airman, Marine, and Coast Guardsman who puts their life on the line
for our nation. We must send them into harm's way only when it's absolutely necessary. When we do, we must ensure they have
the equipment and the support that they need to get the job done. And we have to take care of our troops, their families,
and our veterans when they come home. Eleven years of continuous military operations and repeated deployments to Iraq and
Afghanistan have stretched our forces and strained their families. Going forward, our troops will face fewer deployments,
allowing them more time to train and ensuring that they are ready for the full range of missions they may have to face. In
our current fiscal environment, we must also make tough budgetary decisions across the board—and that includes within the
defense budget. The Budget Control Act enacted by Congress last year, with the support of Republicans and Democrats alike,
mandates reductions in federal spending, including defense spending. The administration has worked with Congress to make these
decisions, which has been a strategy-driven process. As we look beyond the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—and the conclusion
of long-term nation-building with large military footprints—we will be able to ensure our security with a more agile and more
flexible force. At the same time, we will continue to emphasize forward engagement in critical regions, while enhancing robust
security partnerships to share the burden. And we will continue to get rid of outdated Cold War-era systems so that we can
invest in cutting-edge technologies and maintain a versatile set of capabilities required to execute a wide range of military
missions.
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