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.
America’s Missing Military Revolution
English Summary
The article argues that the U.S. Department of Defense's procurement system is dangerously outdated, operating with a bureaucratic slowness ill-suited for modern warfare. This rigid process, rooted in post-WWII regulations, prevents the military from rapidly adopting commercially derived technologies—such as AI and autonomous systems—which are now central to global conflict dynamics (e.g., Ukraine). If not fundamentally reformed to embrace risk and speed, this systemic failure threatens U.S. military superiority and its ability to deter major rivals like China. Policy action must focus on transforming the Pentagon's culture from compliance-driven caution to one that facilitates rapid technological adoption at scale.
中文摘要
本文論述美國國防部（DoD）的採購系統已過時且存在致命缺陷，其官僚式的緩慢節奏無法適應現代戰爭的需求。這種根植於二戰後規定的僵化流程，阻礙了軍方快速採用商業技術——例如人工智慧（AI）和自主系統——而這些技術現已成為全球衝突動態的核心要素（如烏克蘭）。若不進行根本性改革以接納風險並提升速度，這種體制性的失能將威脅到美國的軍事優勢及其遏制中國等主要競爭對手的能力。政策行動必須著重於轉型國防部文化，使其從過度遵循規定的謹慎態度，轉變為能夠大規模促進技術採用的模式。
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