Lost in the political pontificating and posturing of the current presidential election year is a terrible truth that transcends politics. Call it our incredible shrinking military.
Five years ago, our Army strength stood at 566,000 men and women, standing strong and true. Since then, our Army has lost nearly 100,000 soldiers, including thousands of battle-tested officers and noncommissioned officers, who together form the backbone of our premier ground force.  
This downward trend in Army strength is not just a quantity problem. It is a quality problem with potentially dire consequences, for our Army and our nation. Despite quixotic notions to the contrary, the Army can’t just “hire” a corporal, captain, or colonel off the street. Training, education, and socialization into the military all take time, dedication, considerable effort, and expense.
It looks like this downward trend will continue for the foreseeable future. For example, our Army’s estimated end strength in 2017 will be 460,000 soldiers. Worse, it will plunge to 420,000 soldiers in 2019. If that happens, the USA will have the smallest standing Army since 2000, when it had 471,633 soldiers on active duty.
Meanwhile, the demand for Army forces has increased roughly 23 percent since 2012. The cumulative effect of increased demand and decreased supply places a heavy burden on our brave soldiers who serve and sacrifice for us, and on their families and loved ones as well. 
Multiple, frequent deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, and other trouble spots put a strain on family life and soldier morale. In turn, this affects combat readiness and retention.
This is not just an Army problem. Its adverse effects are being felt more and more by the other branches of the military, too. For example, our Marine Corps will soon number only 182,000,  down from its 201,000 or so in 2010. Our Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard are also facing deep cuts in personnel, weapons and other material.
Nor is this just a military problem. It is a national problem. Sadly, though, most Americans don’t have a clue about the necessity for military readiness in a dangerous world. Moreover, their lack of awareness is eclipsed only by their lack of interest. One of the many downsides of an all-volunteer military force is the isolation of the active-duty volunteers from the greater society they are sworn to protect and serve.
Another downside is the lack of military service among our national political leaders. From the White House to both houses of Congress, military service is seen mostly as “peachy keen,” for others, they mean. Very few of their sons and daughters will ever have to serve a day in the military.
Still, the problems cited here could be resolved if we had the right kind of national political leadership, and the national will to do so. I hope and pray we find both and soon, for our sake and our nation’s sake. Otherwise, our children and our children’s children could be facing a bleak and fearful future.
Retired Army Col. Thomas B. Vaughn can be reached at tbvbwmi@blomand.net.