The vice chairman of the joint chiefs pushed back on campaign trail rhetoric that today’s military is “gutted,” and instead said it’s the strongest it’s ever been in his lifetime.
Gen. Paul Selva on Tuesday told reporters that the military faces challenges recovering readiness that’s been lost over the past decade of war, but that it is far from the ineffective force some presidential candidates have described.
“I will take umbrage with the notion that our military has been gutted. I stand here today a person that’s worn this uniform for 35 years, and at no time in my career have I been more confident than this instant in saying we have the most powerful military on the face of the planet,” Selva said.
“In your joint force today, you have the most powerful Army on the planet, the most flexible and determined Air Force on the planet, the most capable Navy on the planet, and a Marine Corps no one can match. I would argue that’s far from gutted,” Selva continued. “I don’t engage in politics. This is the reality of the men and women that serve.”
The military has taken a beating on the campaign trail with many Republican presidential candidates saying that the Obama administration’s lack of funding has left it unable to perform.
“In this administration, every weapon system has been gutted,” former Florida Governor Jeb Bush said at a debate last month.
Donald Trump has also called the military a “disaster,” according to reports.
