This is a WWI soldier. WWI was very much rudimentary war. The weapons were state of the art, but, the art wasn't that sophisticated.
This is a tank to the right. The upper right is a plane, but, the blimp was also used as a war ship.During World War One a variety of weapons were used. (click here)
Below are the weapons used in WWII. The war was huge and the Allies badly in defeat when the USA entered the war, so large amounts of soldiers were needed to progress to a defeat of the Axis. There is also the reality the defeat would have been more difficult and prolonged if Russia hadn't turned the corner on Berlin.
Then there was the Enola Gay that delivered the first and second uses of nuclear weapons on a nation of people. Innocent people were in the way as well. But, easily the Allies had it's challenge and Russia wasn't coming to the Pacific to stop the maniacal emperor. So, the USA survived the war and still stands today as a sovereign power. It has continued to stand as a sovereign power through all the wars after this and even in the face of terrorism (the war by individual).
Then was the soldier of Korea (to the left) and Vietnam (below).
The Air Force following WWII played a far greater part in any warfare. Vietnam was dependent on helicopters, but, there were plenty of bombers to make the land bare. That was an actual strategy in both Korea and Vietnam. Laying the land bare inhibited the movement of those the USA opposed. It got to be such a strategy that in Vietnam the USA used defoliants, one was Agent Orange and nothing to do with oranges.
With each 'war profile' the American soldier became more and more deadly with the technology they brought with them. The WWI soldier was nearly a one-on-one relationship in combat. Oh, there were cannons, but, the war really needed a commitment to put human lives on the line. War could not proceed with the soldier. WWII saw a better armed soldier, but, the casualties were still high because 'taking the assault' to the Axis powers required an overwhelming amount of human sacrifice to remove movement forward. The large amounts of soldiers involved after the USA joined the war literally stopped the advancing front by human sacrifice alone.
The Korean War had a higher profile Air Force presence. There were soldiers and there were many deaths, but, the American soldier was now becoming 'protected' in a strategy by commanders. The Americans soldier was not necessarily a disposable commodity as they were given extensive training and it wasn't simple to pump out able soldiers in 10 to 12 weeks.
Vietnam was the somewhat protected soldier. Napalm, helicopters, more sophisticated medical attention and weapons that increased the number of opposition soldiers killed, maimed and stopped by one USA soldier. The lethality of the American soldier was becoming increasingly greater. Vietnam was the war that raised the American conscience about war. It was more televised to the realities of war and it became a matter of morality when the American people realized what their military was doing to the people and the land.
Vietnam called Americans home to become a sincerely defense force and not an assault force. Vietnam was the first war when Americans realized there was a payoff for Wall Street in military spending. Vietnam was pivotal and those that wanted to conduct war realized they could not repeat the losses of Americans as they occurred with a draft of young American men.
Returning soldiers from Vietnam, the Veterans today, believe they were hated as baby killers and pot heads; but, in fact it was more than that. It was a new realization of what war means to those that like a lot of money. It was war that made few people wealthy while the nation paid for the war with treasure and our own children.
Then came Afghanistan. Post terrorist attack on USA soil, the USA was compelled to war in a country basically unarmed. There were Mujahideen that were actually created and armed by the USA, but, there was no national military. Afghanistan in reality was not in need of an invasion so much as an intelligent invasion to root out al Qaeda and ending it. The full fledged war simply scattered the individuals within al Qaeda and they literally were hiding in Pakistan. Probably still are.
The invasion by the USA caused more and more radicalization of the people of Afghanistan because civilians were killed. The Taliban was basically defeated in the war into Afghanistan, but, reconstituted in Pakistan when the USA abandoned a legitimate invasion for a 'chosen' war
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The war in Iraq became another teaching moment for the American people. Not only was the war completely wrong and killed many innocent people from initial inception, but, the American soldier now had a lethality of 200 to 1.
Iraq provided the reality of the advanced technology available to soldiers and the level of lethality that technology carried. It was amazing to realize there was actually a war with opposition using road side bombs and improvised explosive devises. IEDs. OMG. The USA had invested all kinds of money only to realize their soldiers were dying at the handy work of IMPROVISED bombs.
Bringing down the military budget in the year 2014 into the future, especially when it is primarily the number of soldiers that are being reduced, will never end the lethality of the USA. Mechanization and Techno Military and the Bush/Cheney Michelin Man for 'components' that work when wanted will insure the USA has sufficient killing power.
- Are theater non-specific, (click here) can rapidly "swing" across theaters (global surveillance and strike, mobility, some SOF, cyber and space, ETC.)
The reason the number of soldiers is not necessary, is because the American people will not tolerate their children being sent into battle. The American people have been betrayed in many instances over the course of multiple modern day wars. The lethality of the American military by invoking computer warfare is being justified because the people are UNABLE to defend themselves in a meaningful way when called upon. The American War theater is no longer in consent of the people, but, basically the war that the Commander and Chief wants; "...for the best interest of the country, of course..."
There was a betrayal in Vietnam to the heinous killing by the nation, in Afghanistan when it was abandoned and in Iraq when it was begun.
There will never be another World War. Earth is too small and too delicate to even consider that option, especially for nuclear exchange.
The future of the American military is downsized to defend borders and ending the wars on foreign shores to allow so called national defense. Launching into wars never solved any problem. It destroyed land and killed massive numbers of innocent people while creating new enemies of the country. Osama bin Laden was responsible for the attacks on the USA, but, he was elusive until the 'Special Forces' were called upon with intelligence that was sufficient to define the understanding of the location of the real enemy. The invasion into Afghanistan did nothing to end the danger to the USA, it escalated it.
The Iraq War has only created a civil war that has spread throughout the region. There will be no more Saddams, Gaddafi or any other surrogate Western power to control the outcomes of the people of the Mideast. Israel has more than enough national defense and willing to use it at a moments notice to any threat.
There is no need for a Superpower when it stands alone and becomes a global nuisance.
The challenge to the American people is to move forward more and more into a nation of peace willing to prove it. The problem with the Ws and Cheneys of the USA is that the American people are disconnected from any understanding of the deaths they have caused, the destruction of infrastructure it has destroyed and what sincerely 'constructs of peace' look like.
The basic lesson of the recent decades is relatively simple. The more the USA spends on war, the less it spends on the people, the more taxes to be paid, the deficits in infrastructure, an inferior education for their children and a very shaking future as a senior citizen. Oh, let me not forget the ever growing national debt as it's Techno Wars are very expensive to develop and achieve.
The American people have to continue to be disgusted in the ability of the USA to kill people anywhere in the world within days if not hours. Smaller military budgets might mean replacing aged conventional war infrastructure, but, to be willing to wage war in space is completely insane. The future of American military is to become obsolete because 'We war no more.'
