Our service members are our bravest Americans, and they comprise the finest fighting force on the planet. Often they are not being put in a position to succeed, either at home or abroad.
Many service members are returning home with issues or injuries and aren’t receiving the right support or opportunity. We need to invest more money and resources in treating our soldiers with the care that they deserve.
Today, loose nuclear material, cyberterrorism, misinformation and other unconventional attacks pose a grave threat to America, and these are less impacted by manpower and equipment on military bases. Money and resources should be redirected to places where it can do the most to protect us from the actual threats we’re facing today.
Problems to be Solved
- checkThe military budget makes up 54% of all discretionary spending, much of which is focused on defending against threats from decades ago as opposed to the threats of 2020.
- We need to build a military designed for the challenges of 2020, which are going to be determined as much by technical superiority and resilient systems as they are manpower and artillery. We have massive needs here at home that our men and women of the military can help us meet that will also help them develop valuable skills. Whatever we do, we should be investing resources to adequately equip and care for our men and women in service and afterwards.
Goals
- checkRefocus the military’s focus on modern threats, such as loose nuclear material and cyberterrorism
- checkUtilize the vast talent of our soldiers in areas outside of warfare, such as infrastructure repair
- checkEnsure that our armed forces service members have ample preparation and resources both during and after their service
As President I will...
- Invest in the treatment of veterans, and ensure that soldiers are treated with care and respect upon returning home by a system that recognizes them as assets and contributors.
- Direct the Secretary of Defense to identify areas where military spending is going to programs that aren’t making us safer in the context of modern warfare that can be eliminated or are redundant.
- Rechannel 10% of the military budget - approximately $60 billion per year - to a new domestic infrastructure force called the Legion of Builders and Destroyers. The Legion would be tasked with keeping our country strong by making sure our bridges, roads, power grid, levies, dams, and infrastructure are up-to-date, sound and secure. It would also be able to clear derelict buildings and structures that cause urban blight in many of our communities and respond to natural disasters. The Legion would prioritize projects based on national security, economic impact, and regional equity. Its independent budget would ensure that our infrastructure would be constantly upgraded regardless of the political climate. The Commander of the Legion would have the ability to overrule local regulations and ordinances to ensure that projects are started and completed promptly and effectively.
- Appoint a new Secretary of Cybersecurity to lead our efforts to secure our country’s vital systems from cyberterrorism, which is one of the leading threats to our ongoing prosperity.
- Invest heavily in counterproliferation efforts to identify and secure sources of weapons-grade nuclear material, including offering to buy such material for exorbitant prices.