The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
Out of Ammo: A Two-Year Sprint to Rebuild the American Arsenal and Deter China
English Summary
The report argues that the U.S. military's current arsenal is insufficient to deter or defeat a Chinese attack on Taiwan due to depleted stocks and industrial bottlenecks in high-end systems. To bridge this gap, the U.S. must rapidly pivot its defense strategy toward scaling 'precise mass' capabilities—low-cost, easily reproducible items like drones and sensors. Policy recommendations demand that Congress and the Department of Defense (DOD) immediately overhaul procurement rules, prioritizing speed and scale over traditional cost or quality concerns to build necessary combat power within a two-year window. Failure to implement these industrial reforms risks leaving U.S. forces critically unprepared for conflict in the Western Pacific.
中文摘要
該報告主張，由於高端系統的庫存耗盡和產業瓶頸，美國軍方現有的武裝陣地不足以威懾或擊敗中國對台灣的攻擊。為彌補這一差距，美國必須迅速調整其國防戰略，轉向擴大「精準大量」（precise mass）能力——這類低成本、易於複製的物資，例如無人機和感測器。政策建議要求國會和國防部（DOD）立即徹底改革採購規定，將速度和規模置於傳統成本或品質考量之上，以便在兩年內建立必要的戰鬥力。若未能實施這些工業改革，美國軍隊將面臨在西太平洋地區發生衝突時處於極度準備不足的風險。
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