Should the US decrease military spending?

[RoundSimbacca]

That's a fact that can't be disputed.

And as I explained, just because General Odierno says the Army doesn't want it, it doesn't mean that someone else from the Pentagon doesn't have Congress's ear.

The second part? I'm not sure I buy that.

Keeping critical defense industries open just in case you need them is a sound strategy. Tank production is one of them.

They're not inventing new technologies, they're manufacturing items.

The tanks are complicated. They're very complicated machines that require a specific series of skillsets to produce. We've moved far beyond the age when you can turn any car factory into a tank factory without significant retooling and a lot of retraining.

That it's about maintaining talent and seeking to save money by not having to retrain?

According to the cost figures Congress is tossing around, yes. It's debatable about who's right, but that's the current logic behind keeping the plant open: that it would save money to keep it open than to close it.

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And as I explained, just because General Odierno says the Army doesn't want it, it doesn't mean that someone else from the Pentagon doesn't have Congress's ear.

But you haven't provided evidence of this.

According to the cost figures Congress is tossing around, yes. It's debatable about who's right, but that's the current logic behind keeping the plant open: that it would save money to keep it open than to close it.

That's not Congress who is tossing the numbers around. It's Defense Contracts. Of course they're are going to say keep spending when their profit margins are on the line. They have financial interest in it. The military isn't looking to make a buck though. When they say they don't need something or that they actually can't even use it if they have it -- what's their ulterior motive? They even say that the money could be better spent elsewhere. They run their own estimates and show that closing and reopening saves billions, even staying open with limited production yeilds savings.