THE DANGER PERSISTS:  As we debate our domestic issues, the danger to this country from foreign enemies continues to grow.  No one will give us a time out to settle our tax policies.  The secretary of the Navy, rarely heard from, is issuing a warning about the current state of our military readiness.  Please take it seriously.  From Fox: 

Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro warned Wednesday that continued support for Ukraine will be difficult if weapons makers don’t ramp up production in the next six to 12 months. 

The comments came on the sidelines of the Surface Navy Association conference in Arlington, Va. Del Toro was asked to respond to remarks by Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, that the U.S. Navy may ultimately have to decide between arming itself or the Ukrainians. 

Del Toro said the Navy wasn’t "quite there yet," but argued that the supply chain would be stressed if the conflict goes on for another six months. 

"It’s obvious that … these companies have a substantial pipeline for the future," Del Toro said. "They now need to invest in their workforce, as well as the capital investments that they had to make within their own companies to get their production up." 

During his talk, Caudle chastised defense companies for blaming the COVID-19 pandemic on missing weapons delivery deadlines, Defense One reported. 

"I’m not as forgiving of the defense industrial base. I’m just not," he said. "I am not forgiving of the fact that you’re not delivering the ordnance we need. All this stuff about COVID, this … supply chain, I just don’t really care. We’ve all got tough jobs."

Later clarifying on his remarks, Del Toro said the Department of Defense has been working "very, very closely" with the industry "to motivate them to find out what their challenges or obstacles are, to be able to increase their own production rates."

"It’s obvious that these companies have a substantial pipeline for the future. They now need to invest in their people, again, their workforce, as well as the capital investments that they have to make within their own companies to get their production rates up," he said. 

"So, when that occurs, we’ll be in a better place. How long that takes often varies from weapon system to weapon system." 

COMMENT:   Douglas MacArthur once said that all military disasters started with two words:  "too late."   I fear we may be heading in that direction.  We just went through a major midterm election campaign without a single discussion of foreign policy.  We know there are serious threats from China, Russia, and Iran, and yet they get only minor mention on most news programs. 

It may take a major jolt, another 9-11, to wake us up.  Not a happy prospect, but democracies always seem to be behind the times, and behind their enemies. 

January 11, 2023