Comments by "Doncarlo" (@doujinflip) on "Dissecting the US Military's Challenges (Against China)" video.

End of 2021: "We invest way too much on Defense!" End of 2022: "We invest way too little on Defense!"
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I think even a regular dedicated "Fat Camp" for new recruits would help a lot, because getting paid a lower-enlisted rate to have your exercise and diet controlled wouldn't add much to the budget or time in service yet provides needed bodies for the service and a healthy extension of life for the servicemember.
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Yes climate change is an identified threat that would cause conflicts to flare up, along with the associated supply chain disruptions and mass migrations. Also reducing our need of fossil fuel for static assets like generators also reduces the risk to supply lines and the personnel who are tasked on them, because trucking fuel between bases is among the most hazardous of missions.
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Problem is our most advanced equipment could get used up quickly, and then we really are back to obsolete kit if there's any that we hadn't already disposed of. Compare that with the PLA where their stuff may not be the best, but at least it's new and thus not soaking up as much resources in maintenance and upgrades for a while. Plus with the consolidation of competitors, we lack the multiple independent lines of effort that China's SOEs also face, but we don't have a command economy that streamlines something to happen. Much of our efforts are wasted on compliances as demanded by America's voters for the government to "save money" on strictly the lowest bidder without much consideration of product quality or vendor reputation, as well as paying for various levels of bean counters often working on a 12 month budget that wasn't authorized until a few months into the fiscal year.
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Short of guaranteed free housing and healthcare for life on VA compounds in major cities, recruits are usually looking for something much earlier in the contract like education support and sign-up bonuses.
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