Topic: Military Stability

General Mark Milley addressed the scale of the U.S. military, noting that approximately 180,000 soldiers are currently deployed across 140 countries. He argued that the size of the Army and Navy is relative to the task of maintaining the global system, which has defaulted to U.S. leadership. This framework provides context for the $600 billion defense budget and ongoing tensions regarding NATO allies' financial contributions to collective security.

U.S. military strategy in Europe is shifting toward rotational brigade combat teams to satisfy NATO Article 5 commitments. Concurrently, Amendment 50 halts nuclear threat reduction activities with Russia until the Kremlin proves it is not supporting the Syrian government's suppression of its people.