preview

Impact of Reducing Global U.S. Troop Deployment Essay

Better Essays

Introduction The United States military is the strongest military that the world has ever seen. However if it is to continue to remain a dominant power it must remain in key positions throughout the world. The United States military is used for more than just fighting the nations wars, it is also used as a diplomatic tool, a deterrent, and to assist in stabilizing the world economy. The effects of reducing U.S. troop presence around the world will have repercussions in more aspects than simply military strength.

Deterrence
Force Projection is the ability of a nation to apply all or some of its elements of national power (political, economic, informational, or military) to rapidly and effectively deploy and sustain forces in and …show more content…

The requirements of force projection include rapid deployment of combat power to finish conflicts in a timely manner. Therefore it is logical that the closer a unit is to the contested area then the shorter amount of time it would take to mobilize that unit and quell any uprising.
All interaction, positive as well as negative, requires opportunity as well as motive. An important part of the former is geographical opportunity, which is usually proxied by some measure of the distance between the interacting parties. (Bauhung & Gleditsch)

Great distances between home bases and operational areas reduce opportunities for timely employment of military responses in emergencies. Lengthy lines of supply and communication increase requirements for long haul transportation and, if vulnerable to enemy interdiction, make users divert combat forces to protect them. (Collins, 1988: 14-15)

This statement further identifies the risk of the United States becoming an isolationist country. There are key factors that are fundamental in a country’s ability to project power. The first is a country’s power within its own borders, the second is the rate at which that power diminishes over distance. In the past the United States has reduced the diminishing rate by having satellite locations, thus not allowing the power projection to be reduced.

Diplomacy The Army

Get Access