Kerby Anderson

Jerry Hendrix says that the US is in a “coffin corner.” In case you are not familiar with military lingo, this is not good. You might remember in the recent movie, Top Gun: Maverick, that when the pilots hit their target and climb out of the steep valley, the admiral (played by Jon Hamm) announces they are now in “coffin corner.” All the g-forces, airspeed, and weight of the planes work against each other. That is when they are most vulnerable.

Most Americans don’t usually think about military strategy, but there are three issues that should concern every American. First, the Heritage Foundation released its annual “Index of US Military Strength.” This is not a report card you would want to receive. For the first time in the history of the index, it rated the US military as “weak.” Nearly every branch is in poor shape (the Marines are the exception).

Second, he points to the earnings report of Lockheed-Martin corporation. The company has expanded its production of missile launchers because so many have been sent to Ukraine and others are on the way. It will take years to restore its inventories of these and other weapons.

Third, is the announcement by the Biden administration that it would withdraw another 15 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This program was developed to provide the nation with enough oil to survive a crisis. It was not intended to be used to lower the price of fuel at the pump prior to a midterm election.

We have a military strategy that assumes we might have to fight two major regional conflicts simultaneously. This country faces an active threat in Europe and the possibility of a threat from China to Taiwan. These three critical issues make me wonder if we could even effectively fight one regional conflict.