"Less than one percent of Americans do what you do: put yourself on the line for the rest of the 99 percent of the Americans you represent."
The actual number of active duty is 1.3 million which is less than one half of 1 percent of the U.S. population. whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/…
The actual number of active duty is 1.3 million which is less than one half of 1 percent of the U.S. population. whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/…
The number of active duty troops could expand with just under half a million national guard members. In active theaters like Centcom there are 1.5 contractors to each military member. America also have a vast military industrial complex. csis.org/analysis/us-mi…
If you add "Homeland Defense", US-based contractors, and the supply and service system it becomes increasingly larger. Here are 2018 numbers: washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/… 
Defense jobs are around 10% of the U.S. economy. In 2010 Robert Reich complained of using the military and the support sector as a jobs program. Pointing out that shrinking it would dramatically increase unemployment. csmonitor.com/Business/Rober…
Defense sector growth is stable in 2021 around 2.8% for over $2 trillion mark. America sells weapons at an impressive rate. The problem is that the largest customer for weapons worldwide is Saudi Arabia. 73% from the U.S. state.gov/u-s-arms-trans…
The problem seems to be the use of our weapons and technology to protect a dictatorship which has little in common with U.S. interests but relies on us to protect a family petro business if they screw up. brookings.edu/blog/order-fro…
Based on simple geography. Our military appears to be bottling up Iran for the protection of Gulf families. A dynamic that began in the late 70's when Iran became hostile. There were at least two attempts to start a war under the previous administration washingtonpost.com/world/where-us…
Our relatively tiny operational and overseas long tail military appears to do everything everywhere. Training, supporting, hunting, deterring, defending and tracking a wide array of threats in a wider number of locations in an increasingly complex world. smithsonianmag.com/history/map-sh…
In my opinion a dangerous tread is the transfer of U.S. technology to Gulf nations who seek to build and export their own weapons systems and conflicts to developing nations under their own agenda. What we are seeing in Eastern/Northern Africa right now. tradearabia.com/news/IND_37861…
This creates a conundrum. Less equipped U.S. forces pursuing U.S interests but strengthen partners who have a different agenda but access to our weapons, intel and technology skills. And proliferation of weapon and manufacturing to nations we would never do business with.
For example, meet Abu Rasasa America's biggest weapons buyer. "MBS had sent an envelope containing a bullet to an owner who deigned to refuse to sell a plot of land to him.theafricareport.com/64595/saudi-ar…
Again let's meet Abu Rasasa...America's biggest arms buyer.
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