This entry is based on information from https://www.thebalance.com. It is listed under Success as it is good to understand what our government is doing with our money. Just to get readers interested, below are some highlights from an article on the USA’s Military Budget. The link at the end of this entry is the full article. “US Military Budget, Its Components, Challenges, and Growth”.
Apparently, despite closing hundreds of bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States still maintains nearly 800 military bases in more than 70 countries and territories abroad—from giant “Little Americas” to small radar facilities. Britain, France and Russia, by contrast, have about 30 foreign bases combined.
Congress won’t allow DOD to close bases. The Bi-Partisan Budget Act of 2013 blocked future military base closings. Few elected officials are willing to risk losing local jobs caused by base closures in their states. Blog comment: Another great example of vision and leadership! It’s about elected officials’ jobs, not the country!
Some perspective: In 2018, US military spending was about three times more than China’s military budget of $250 billion and 10 times bigger than Russia’s budget of just $61.4 billion.
The Defense Department knows it needs to become more efficient. It now spends a third of its budget on personnel and maintenance. That will rise to 100% by 2024, thanks to retirement and medical costs.
Ironically, the DOD base budget does not include the cost of wars. That falls under Overseas Contingency Operations.
https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-military-budget-components-challenges-growth-3306320
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Success & Excess 