The lowest rank the nation’s armed forces has received in 9 years.
Each year, the Heritage Foundation puts out its Index of U.S. Military Strength. In their report for 2023, they say the U.S. military has gradually diminished in strength over the years. It is the first time in the index’s nine-year history that the country has been rated so low.
“It is rated as weak relative to the force needed to defend national interests on a global stage against actual challenges in the world as it is rather than as we wish it were,” the index said. “This is the logical consequence of years of sustained use, underfunding, poorly defined priorities, wildly shifting security policies, exceedingly poor discipline in program execution, and a profound lack of seriousness across the national security establishment even as threats to U.S. interests have surged.”
The Heritage Foundation measured the military’s overall ability to secure victories in two major conflicts at once in different areas of the world. However, it concluded the military force is at risk of being unable to “meet the demands of a single major regional conflict” and would be “ill-equipped to handle two nearly simultaneous” conflicts.
In rating the military branches, the Marine Corps held the lead in overall strength, while the Air Force fell to the bottom of the list, receiving an overall “very weak” rating. The Navy and Space Force were “weak” and the Army was “marginal.”
The report also analyzed the country’s nuclear capabilities compared to other countries, rating U.S. nuclear weapons as “strong” but trending toward “marginal” or even “weak.”
“No matter how much America desires that the world be a simpler, less threatening place that is more inclined to beneficial economic interactions than violence-laden friction, the patterns of history show that competing powers consistently emerge and that the U.S. must be able to defend its interests in more than one region at a time,” the report said.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For the president as commander in chief to look to the Lord for guidance.
- For Secretary Lloyd Austin to be prudent as he heads the Defense Department.
- For the secretaries of each branch of the U.S. military to seek God’s direction as they fulfill their roles.
Sources: Washington Examiner, Heritage.com
