Apparently, Mr. Rupar’s understanding of national defense is limited to expenditure bar graphs. While they do provide some information, they are not the defense story of this or any other nation. And Mr. Rupar should learn far more than he apparently has before he entertains writing on this subject again. For openers, the chart of expenditures reflected in this piece is a direct monetary unit conversion to US dollars— it is not reflective of local buying power within the economies of the countries involved. Therefore, they do not accurately represent the ‘real’ expenditures of the countries listed in terms of actual lethality.

I invite Mr. Rupar to get out of his progressive comfort zone and study the international threats that currently exist, as well as those on the developmental horizon. I would also like him to study the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and see for himself how long it takes to accurately perceive a future threat, conceive of its mitigation strategy, design, build, test and field today’s military weapons. Until he’s done that, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

And he wants to base military expenditures and national defense posture on the desirability of parades relative to Nazi Germany? Is he serious?

Because of sequestration, the United States is still flying B-52s, aircraft built in the 1950s. These aircraft are twice as old as many of the pilots flying them. Of all the air assets in the American military, only 30% are available for combat operations — the others are ‘hangar queens’ awaiting parts for which there is no budget. As a result, aircraft on display in museums are being cannabalized for spare parts to keep active duty aircraft operational. That’s the kind of thing that goes on in ‘Banana Republics’, not the United States.

Likewise, the purpose of seemingly over-large expenditures in US military equipment and sophisticated weapons is to save the lives of its military personnel. Study what some of the countries on the chart above think of their military personnel: read what China, Russia, and Japan have historically thought when it comes to the lives of their military personnel and you’ll get an idea of the difference between them and the United States. In those countries lives are cheap - American lives aren’t.

And Mr. Rupar wants to determine the defense posture of the United States by using expenditure bar graphs and a piece on military parades? Such a naive, juvenile approach. Give me a break!

A United States Air Force Veteran