Defense

The Department of Defense oversees a vast array of people and assets at home and abroad. We would improve the nation’s security by reducing our global overreach and adopting a more restrained and defensive strategy. We should cut the number of military personnel and reduce overseas deployments to save money and relieve burdens on military families.

The department will spend about $688 billion in fiscal 2012, or $5,800 per U.S. household. It employs 2.3 million people, and it spends $230 billion a year on procurement, research, and construction.

Spending Cuts Summary

Here are proposed spending cuts to save about $1.2 trillion over 10 years.

Downsize This!

Refocusing U.S. Defense Strategy. The department’s budget is built on an excessively ambitious strategy that tries to do too much, but leaves the nation less safe from true threats. Defense is a core federal function, but much of the work of today’s military has little to do with protecting our vital interests.
A Plan to Cut Military Spending. U.S. ground forces should be reduced by one-third over time, which is possible without reducing U.S. security. The Navy should be restructured to operate as a surge force, rather than being a permanent global presence. We should also shift more of the burdens of defense to other prosperous democracies.
Rightsizing U.S. Ground Forces. Rising personnel costs have added to the ballooning defense budget. The Army and Marines have grown 15 percent since 2001, driven by the view that future wars will resemble those in Iraq and Afghanistan. But it is not in our interest to topple foreign regimes and attempt long-term nation building. For combating terrorism, we do not need such a large Army as we have today.

Recent Blog Posts on Defense

Timeline of Government Growth

See this timeline for key events in the department’s growth.

Reading Room

Here are background studies that examine the department’s activities.

Cato Experts

Christopher Preble, Vice President, Defense and Foreign Policy Studies
Benjamin Friedman, Research Fellow in Defense and Homeland Security Studies
Justin Logan, Director, Foreign Policy Studies
Ted Galen Carpenter, Senior Fellow
Doug Bandow, Senior Fellow
Malou Innocent, Policy Analyst

"Our problem is to achieve adequate military strength within the limits of endurable strain upon our economy. To amass military power without regard to our economic capacity would be to defend ourselves against one kind of disaster by inviting another."

President Dwight Eisenhower, State of the Union address, February 2, 1953.