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.
After the RAF Fairford incident, the UK should develop its homeland defence forces
English Summary
The RAF Fairford incident highlights the UK's critical vulnerability in defending its homeland infrastructure against sustained hybrid threats from actors like Russia and Iran. Currently, UK land forces are optimized for overseas deployment, leaving domestic protection fragmented and lacking a dedicated, permanent force. To address this gap, the analysis recommends adopting structural models, such as those used by Poland, by establishing locally based reserve units purely for domestic defense. Furthermore, the UK must treat homeland protection as a permanent, budgeted national function, rather than a temporary contingency, ensuring proactive planning for all military operations on British soil.
中文摘要
雷伊空軍費爾福德事件凸顯了英國在抵禦來自俄羅斯和伊朗等行為者持續的混合威脅時，其本土基礎設施所面臨的關鍵漏洞。目前，英國陸軍的優化重點為海外部署，導致本土防禦體系碎片化，缺乏專門且常設的部隊。為彌補這一缺口，本分析建議採納結構性模式，例如波蘭所採用的模式，即設立純粹用於本土防禦的本地預備單位。此外，英國必須將本土保護視為一個永久性、有預算編列的國家職能，而非臨時應變措施，從而確保所有在英國本土的軍事行動都能進行主動規劃。
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