Clears up the return of tanks to the Grafenwöhr Training Area (GTA)
Via NRO
One of the many reasons why it’s hard to shrink the size of government is that even when a program has ran its course, or when it’s not needed anymore, the interest groups that benefit from it will fight to keep it going, and Congress is happy to side with special interests at the expenses of taxpayers.
This is what’s happening right now with the Defense Department and tanks. On one hand, the army is basically saying, “Tanks were great but we don’t need any more of them to fight modern wars, especially given the current budget environment,” and defense contractors and Congress are saying, “Well, we’ll see about that.” The Washington Post reports:
The manufacturing of tanks — powerful but cumbersome — is no longer essential, the military says. In modern warfare, forces must deploy quickly and “project power over great distances.” Submarines and long-range bombers are needed. Weapons such as drones — nimble and tactical — are the future.
Tanks are something of a relic.
The Army has about 5,000 of them sitting idle or awaiting an upgrade. For the BAE Systems employees in York, keeping the armored vehicle in service means keeping a job. And jobs, after all, are what their representatives in Congress are working to protect in their home districts.