What We Need: Extravagance and Shortages in America's Military [Hardcover]

Barrett Tillman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2007

In early 2006 the Army chief of staff reported about $440 billion in expenditures. A dollar bill is a smidgen over six inches long. If 440 billion greenbacks are placed end to end, they would extend 220 billion feet, or 41,600,000 miles. That is 1,664 times around the equator. If the greenbacks had Andy Jacksons picture instead of George Washingtons, that line still would run well over 2,000,000 miles. That is about four trips to the moon and back. So, then.....

On $440 billion, how is it possible that soldiers still lack sufficient body armor, training facilities and ammunition, and high-tech bandages? 

On $440 billion, how is it possible that there is not enough money for vehicle maintenance and repair? 

On $440 billion, how is it possible that GIs still write home asking folks to send socks and sheets and batteries?

What We Need addresses The Great American Dichotomy: we allocate vast sums for our military, yet inevitably we spend most of that treasure on technical marvels that we do not use. And if we do not use them, we are entitled to ask how much we need them.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Despite the longest period in American history without a major war, the U.S. military continues obtaining extremely expensive weapon systems that it seldom, if ever, uses: advanced fighters, stealth bombers, “boomer” submarines, and ballistic missiles, to name a few. Why, then, do American soldiers continue to carry an often unreliable, small-caliber rifle more than forty years old? Why are they without body armor, and their tanks without protection? This book examines the fakery and intellectual dishonesty that characterize the defense establishment in its supposed efforts to outfit our forces. And, at a critical moment in our military history, it suggests some remedies.

From the Inside Flap

So, what do we need? First and foremost, we need an eyes-open, rational appraisal of what threats the country needs to defend against. Perhaps we need to be more succinct: What is War in the age of global terror?

We Need People: Our armed forces, particularly the boots-on-the-ground U.S. Army and Marine Corps, are shorthanded. We need more, “especially more of the experienced, knowledgeable men and women who make things work.”

We Need Training: In particular, we need marksmanship training. We need lots of ammunition and many more rifle ranges to shoot it on, and time on the schedule to practice.

We Need Logistics: Nobody does logistics—moving stuff from where it is to where it’s going to be used—better than the U.S. military. But we are faced with the world’s most monumentally difficult logistical equation: supporting American combat forces deployed around the world. We need to be better organized so that the right stuff in sufficient quantities is delivered in a timely manner to where it’s needed. For example, we need airlift. All the pointy-nosed, supersonic fighters in the world aren’t capable of transporting an infantry battalion to a combat zone or following up with a pallet-load of ammunition to resupply the shooters. And for the massive amounts of stuff, particularly really heavy stuff, needed by American forces in the field, we need better sealift.

We Need Guns and Gear: An experienced noncommissioned firearms instructor says that the standard M16 round used by most of the American military “doesn’t work real well on skinny people. We saw that in Mogadishu where emaciated Somalis took repeated hits and kept on shooting. The 5.56[mm round] just seems to zip through torsos without much muscle. . . .” We need more and better body armor. Tragically, we even need adequate quantities of bandages, which were in short supply in 2005and 2006. And, we need spare parts for the equipment we’ve already bought and paid for.

In this provocative examination of the American defense establishment, critically acclaimed author and military historian Barrett Tillman provides expert analysis of American force structure and the challenges of the “real” new world order. Engagingly written, What We Need also provides workable prescriptions for how we can get not just more bang for our buck, but how we can get much more appropriate bang as well—the bang we need.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Zenith Press; 1st edition (September 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760328692
• ISBN-13: 978-0760328699
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,048,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Barrett Tillman (b. 1948) was born into a NE Oregon ranching family and developed an early interest in aviation history. He learned to fly as a teenager, was first published at age 15, and graduated from the University of Oregon with a journalism degree in 1971. He has worked as a newspaper reporter, book publisher, and magazine editor, but has been self employed all but seven years since graduating from college. Though best known for his histories of US naval aviation, he also has published six novels plus short stories, and has sold a screenplay.

Tillman continues writing nonfiction books and has written more than 550 articles in the US and abroad. He frequently appears as a commentator on TV documentaries in addition to his speaking appearances. The recipient of six writing awards, he lives with his wife in Arizona.

Tillman's web site and blog are found at www.btillman.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Disturbing but Essential Reading, September 11, 2007

By 

Check Six (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What We Need: Extravagance and Shortages in America's Military (Hardcover)

Barrett Tillman is best known as an historian (Clash of the Carriers and LeMay) but in What We Need he proves a keen if acerbic commentator on current events.

In analyzing military procurement, Tillman arrives at a fundamental conclusion: the US defense community spends vastly more on politically popular programs rather than what the troops in contact with the enemy actually need. He observes that for the cost of one stealth fighter canopy, we could purchase far more useful items including radios, batteries, and body armor--items often lacking in the front lines.

Perhaps the most disappointing revelation is that the armed forces (especially the Army) continue sending poorly trained troops to combat zones. Based on personal observation, Tillman describes soldiers who literally cannot shoot to save their lives. The fact that such lapses ever occurred is bad enough: the fact that they continue six years into the global war on terror is unforgivable. The Army is jealous of the numerous multi-billion dollar Air Force & Navy programs.

The outlook is bleak. The services all want to spend on big ticket items that advance program managers' careers & set them up with cushy double dip jobs once out of uniform. The DoD doesn't do its job in restraining these impulses & enforcing a rational acquisition strategy based on our real defense needs (although to Rumsfeld's credit, he did kill the Army's desired new howitzer under transformation rationale). Finally, Congress always has its own agendas that usually no more than accidentally coincide with what's in our national best interest.

Pick up What We Need at your own risk. It is not happy reading, but it's an important message that should be widely disseminated.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Provocotive- and a fun read, August 30, 2007

By 

R. J. Morgan (St Louis MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What We Need: Extravagance and Shortages in America's Military (Hardcover)

What was Tillman thinking!?! Well, find out- this book is pretty much a stream of consciousness effort- of noted military author Barrett Tillman, and covers what he thinks is wrong with the military and its many issues- including training, supply and choice of weapons, among many items. You may not agree with the author- but he's done his homework and tapped an amazing number of contacts to provide some delicious food for thought.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Tools Our Troops Need But Don't Have, April 17, 2010

By 

Mr. Robert C. Bonds (McAllen,TX-Rio Grande Valley) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: What We Need: Extravagance and Shortages in America's Military (Hardcover)

It is somewhat ironic that I would review this book just days after Mr. Obama claims the US military does not need the C-17 Globemaster. Well it is obvious that Mr. Obama nor his military advisers have read Barrett Tillman's seminal work on properly arming and training our military to win the Global War on Terror and future low intensity combat.

Tillamn is not some sort of malcontent who has made a career writing disparingly of our military establishment and its leaders. During his writing career, Tillman has contributed more than 500 articles to various military journals, including International Defense Review, Naval Institute Proceedings and USAF Fighter Weapons Review. His works have received awards from both the US Navy and US Air Force. This accomplished author has the credentials to write this needed critique of the failure to adequately equip, train and arm our military for current and future combat.

So let's go back to Mr. Obama's announcement that the C-17 Globemaster transport is no longer needed in our Air Force. In Chapter 4 of this book entitled "We Need Logistics" Tillman spells out the essential role that a well tuned logistics system plays in providing the troops in the field both the "beans and bullets" needed to stay engaged with the enemy. He devotes an entire section of this chapter on our overworked and underplaned military airlift that when he wrote this book in 2007 was in dire straits and has not purchased any transport aircraft in the intervening 3 years. Our transport fleet flies 24/7 because we do not have the needed logistics infrastructure in foreign nations to meet all of the troops needs. Just reading this chapter alone regarding our military logistical system and the infrastructure of planes and ships it needs, then take that and imagine if we had to go to war in Korea; we are sunk.

Whether it is men, not women to put combat boots on the ground; realistic training that develops combat skills; logistics which is the backbone of the troops in the field; or guns and gear, especially guns (rifles and pistols) that can delivery a lethal round; Barrett Tillman makes a clear cut case for a major overhaul of our military establishment. This overhaul, long overdue needs to come from both ends; from the policy makers and star wearers in Washington all the way down to the drill instructors who are tasked with molding our youth into warriors.

While this book will never be on the recommended reading lists that come from the service Chiefs, this retired Air Force officer highly recommends it to those officers and non-commissioned officers who truly believe in service to the nation. Careerists need not waste their time on this tome for future military leaders, irregardless of branch or corps of service.