The type of military capability advocated by this administration has everything to do with restoring deterrence, as noted by the Secretary in his "Should our enemies choose foolishly to challenge us..." line. This has nothing to do with the concept of "wanton destruction" discussed in the top article linked.
Discussions on any American topic are far too politicized at baseline. Both the Biden and Trump administrations pursued efforts to increase military standards. The Biden admin tweaked standards and increased them in certain areas, and now the Trump admin has done the same. Both efforts are improvements. Both efforts make the force more ready. However, we do feel that both administrations have not taken the CCP threat seriously enough.
The entire goal of a high capability US military is to deter conflict with other state actors. This has been very successful over the decades previously in Germany and presently in Taiwan. Indeed, if a nation's military is not "salivating for war" as you put it (AKA trained and ready) then they are not maximally intimidating to the adversary, which can cause the aggression you seek to avoid in the first place.
Being ready for war would be wise.
It's a pity that Trump and Hegseth's notions will make the US less ready for war.
https://www.deadcarl.com/p/clausewitz-on-hegseth-and-the-lethality
https://blackcloudsix.substack.com/p/canada-doesnt-need-warriorsit-needs
https://secretaryrofdefenserock.substack.com/p/the-triumph-of-the-operator
https://secretaryrofdefenserock.substack.com/p/the-rise-of-american-bushido
https://secretaryrofdefenserock.substack.com/p/american-bushido-in-practice
The type of military capability advocated by this administration has everything to do with restoring deterrence, as noted by the Secretary in his "Should our enemies choose foolishly to challenge us..." line. This has nothing to do with the concept of "wanton destruction" discussed in the top article linked.
Discussions on any American topic are far too politicized at baseline. Both the Biden and Trump administrations pursued efforts to increase military standards. The Biden admin tweaked standards and increased them in certain areas, and now the Trump admin has done the same. Both efforts are improvements. Both efforts make the force more ready. However, we do feel that both administrations have not taken the CCP threat seriously enough.
The entire goal of a high capability US military is to deter conflict with other state actors. This has been very successful over the decades previously in Germany and presently in Taiwan. Indeed, if a nation's military is not "salivating for war" as you put it (AKA trained and ready) then they are not maximally intimidating to the adversary, which can cause the aggression you seek to avoid in the first place.