To Avoid A Bloodbath, The U.S. Army Needs To Demonstrate Its Relevance In The Pacific (From The National Interest)

The rise of China is the one overarching national security challenge for the foreseeable future, and it will be vital to continue maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific region through deterrence measures. Complicating those efforts is the need to modernize and restructure the U.S. military. The Pentagon’s plans to expand the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, reorient the Marine Corps and build a Space Force with warfighting potential are being pursued largely with the growing threat from China in mind. However, the Service largely being left out is the U.S. Army. The Army has not been able to articulate a substantive role for itself in the Indo-Pacific region. Unless it does, the Army risks suffering a significant reduction in resources and end-strength. I have written more on the Army’s potential role in this theater here.