Why the fighting force is ‘ever shrinking’ despite robust Defense budgets

On this edition of On DoD, Jared Serbu speaks with Maj. Gen. (ret.) Arnold Punaro, who’s just released a new book, The Ever-Shrinking Fighting Force.

Punaro, a former staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee who’s advised Defense secretaries of both parties on reform issues, argues there are three main categories of cost growth that have steadily decreased the military’s tooth-to-tail ratio over the last several decades, and offers several ideas for how to begin to move the balance in the other direction.