Reimagining our military amid the rapid pace of technology?

[Jayson G]

Hey guys, 

I have been reading this book called "The Kill Chain" .. and this really was a wake up call like no other book I've read. I highly encourage reading it. It's currently the #1 best seller book in "military public policy" on amazon. It was written by the former staff director of the senate armed forces committee and the senior policy advisor to senator john mccain. 

The book talks of how the biggest threat and priority of the us military should be (but is not at all) the rapidly transforming military of china since 1993. He showcases how china's military is already way ahead of us' in terms of technological advancement, but also it's rapid data-decision-action networks. 

It got me thinking of a lot of things ..

Creating serious change in the US military through a) building a brand raising awareness, bringing new innovative solutions to US military, etc. for both the citizens of america and the us military itself. 

The US military, according to this book, prioritizes platform over network, just investing in better versions of older technology rather than a) new types of technology altogether (that threaten the existing ways of doing things), and b) new ways of thinking, doing things, re-imagining the US military. 

I don't think its stressed enough in the media how great of a concern this is over the coming decades. 

What do you think about turning this into part of a life purpose? Do you think it's safe to discuss these matters? I would plan to remain conscious, non-attacking, just raising awareness, caring about humanity at large, and mostly preventing disaster through strengthening US military. 

Also, WHY is this not talked about enough in US society? 

How great of a concern do you think this is? 

There's one incident he talks about, "little green men" in 2014 in Ukraine, where (I think Russian) forces demonstrated technological superiority to Ukraine, but that scared US because of how advanced it was compared to our technology in the military. And China, according to this book, has astronomically more advanced technology, ALREADY. 

I have been reading similar things, such as China's silicon valley, and it's sort of all coming together how a) China's military advancement is growing at an astronomical rate and b) how AI, biotech, and other rapidly growing technologies can really move so fast compared to our gov't's willingness to adapt to this rapid pace of innovation and technological advancement. 

This is concerning. 

What are your thoughts?

@Leo Gura What are your thoughts too? 

There's one AI researcher who said the 3 biggest problems facing humanity is 1) AI, 2) nuclear war, and 3) global warming .. I think one thing that unifies all this is the theme of the rapid pace of technological innovation that is so rapid that its getting out of hand, out of our hands, out of our inability to move fast enough and control things. 

Do we even have hope as the decades go by? How do we wake up US military, society, govt? 

[Raze]

I don’t really agree.

- I doubt China’s military is that effective. They’ve had basically no real war to test themselves in recent history, just border clashes with India and incursions into Vietnam, and they didn’t do that well there. They only recently ordered ballistic vests and are known for huge amounts of nepotism and corruption at all levels of government.

-China’s not actually a military threat to the US. China hasn’t invaded an overseas country in over a thousand years and rarely a bordering country. It’s just that the US has is a plutocracy and has a military industrial complex that is desperately trying to provoke and trigger a war with them and stop their economic rise. 

-China probably can’t socially maintain a war effort. The popularity of local governments is very low, the population doesn’t have savings and is relying on their sons to support them as they age, and it has a ton of debt and relies on foreign investment. China risks a brain drain as some of their brightest want to leave because they prefer living standards elsewhere.

-If we actually go to war with China odds are military technology and tactics will have little effect, what matters more is avoiding the destruction of all of human civilization from nuclear war which would be likely (even if not from China, it could happen by triggering Pakistan and India, North Korea, or Israel and Iran) , avoiding a civil war and revolution inside the US and China due to how the population will react to what the government will have to do to maintain a war effort at that level, and then getting allies involved as China is surrounded by powerful US allies such as India, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam Philippines, Malaysia, Australia and Taiwan, China probably can’t take all of them on at once and definitely not at the same time as the US. 

Edited January 1 by Raze

[Jayson G]

@Raze You do have a point about China not doing any serious invasion, but at the same time a) that 9/11 presented them with a strategic opportunity against US, and b) they are in a competitive arms race with US, and c) just because they havent done anything in the past doesnt mean they cant do something in the future. 

But idk tbh, Im still trying to figure this out. I definitely think its possible that something is here worth looking into, but I guess I'll have to keep digging into this. 

Of course, as you mention nuclear war is of a great concern and thats undeniable. That's definitely worth raising awareness about, and generating important solutions for. 

[BlueOak]

@Jayson G

I think Raze's post is a good indication of where your population is headed politically, into a preferred isolationism with limited interventionism. So you should plan for that. What do you need to secure north, and possibly south America, as Brazil and certainly Argentina should be becoming more worrying from your perspective. History has shown me, what Americans won't accept is that what they want in overseas regions, carries a lot less weight or influence when they no longer guarantee them or their trade militarily. It took A LONG time for Britain to accept it was no longer an empire (Some Brexiters act like it still is), Russia still struggles with accepting it isn't an empire now, it will be the same for you as the decline on the international stage following this course becomes impossible to ignore.
 
Being European, and having relied on our close ally America for security, I hate that reality, but it is the reality. It will be a more turbulent period in history, which is going on right now.

China is a massive threat to anyone they choose to be, they've swallowed up whole countries in recent history and extended into others. Their military is massive, perhaps too big to supply, their naval capacity will overtake the US in a matter of decades. Especially as they have the political will for it and America frankly doesn't anymore. So yes as far superpowers go, they are the single strongest country in the years to come on the planet. Unless you believe the people saying their economy is going to collapse, which it might in part, or they continue to overreach in too many directions at once. Their technology doesn't surpass the US yet, but with Taiwan's semiconductor industries, it more than likely will as they will have a stranglehold over all technology.

To counter that you need to protect your trade routes and allies in the Pacific, which is largely air and naval power, as nobody is invading China any time soon by land. Deterring China from war with Taiwan by Naval assets is still the most sensible choice, until you have a functioning semi-conductor industry of your own. The UK want to continue to buddy up to America, for obvious reasons, and we are working on Naval power more than anything, we are increasing the navy at the moment to three carrier groups, with the third supposedly in production. You have 11 aircraft carriers and 9 helo carriers if you are wondering. Our modest island still gives you an easy door into the new European politics, however they shape up whenever you want it, without committing to a large overseas force as we've plenty of bases of our own.

More insidiously is BRCIS's influence over business and politics within all our countries. Which needs special dedicated attention to make sure they stop stealing technology and having undue influence over our internal affairs.

It is almost a guarantee there will be more wars - two are happening right now, Ukraine vs Russia and effectively Iran vs Israel, as the US influence pulls further back the world will go through a period of adjustment, and people will see where and how they can expand. It won't come from directions you necessarily expect either. I didn't expect countries in central Asia to start fighting each other for example as Russian influence got readjusted in international perception.

Even if you pull out of any Taiwan defense or the defense of the Pacific entirely (which is unlikely), other countries won't just stand by and let China keep taking over their territorial waters, or islands and ports without any resistance.

Edited January 1 by BlueOak