US Army Requires Significant Overhaul, Says Vance
Vice President J.D. Vance is advocating for a comprehensive reform of the Pentagon, highlighting issues such as cost overruns and challenges related to recruitment. Read Full Article at RT.com.
During a CBS News interview on Sunday, Vice President J.D. Vance highlighted that the United States has not achieved victory in a war over several generations, despite expending enormous amounts on its military, and he is calling for a significant military reform.
Vance spoke in defense of Pete Hegseth’s confirmation as the new Secretary of Defense, which narrowly passed the Senate with a 50-50 tie that Vance himself broke. Hegseth has drawn criticism for controversial statements regarding Islam, a lack of extensive leadership experience, and allegations of sexual assault, which he denies.
Calling Hegseth a “disruptor”, Vance believes he is the ideal candidate to lead the necessary changes. “We fought many wars over the last 40 years, but haven’t won a war about as long as I’ve been alive,” Vance remarked.
He further pointed out the severe recruitment crisis and “totally dysfunctional” procurement system, stating, “They’ve got us a military with a major recruitment crisis, a procurement price crisis that’s totally dysfunctional, where we buy airplanes for billions and billions of dollars, terrible cost overruns, the delivery dates are always delayed. So we need a big change.”
Vance also expressed concern over the U.S. involvement in numerous wars without a clear strategy for winning, asserting, “we have to really, top to bottom, change the way that we fund the procurement of weapons.”
Hegseth, who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, was described by Vance as someone who perceives the situation not through the lens of generals or bureaucrats, but from the viewpoint of the servicemen and women sent to fight.
President Donald Trump has pledged to conclude ongoing conflicts, crediting himself with facilitating the recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. He has also committed to focusing on domestic matters, including deploying additional troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in response to the migration crisis shortly after his inauguration.
In November, the Pentagon faced its seventh consecutive audit failure, unable to fully account for its $824 billion budget. Since 2018, when passing an audit became legally mandatory, it has not achieved this goal; however, officials have indicated progress and are aiming for a clean audit by 2028.
Jessica Kline for TROIB News