X-ray of the most powerful army in the world

Washington"There is no army in the world that could have done what we did tonight, not even close. There has never been an army capable of doing what we did." A week after the watered-down military parade In mid-June, when Donald Trump attended more a history class than a show of strength, the American president was boasting about having "completely destroyed" three nuclear facilities in IranThe extent of plant destruction remains a matter of debate in Washington – preliminary reports suggest that It would only have delayed the nuclear program by several months., while the White House insists on the narrative of total destruction—but Trump has nevertheless managed to pull off the display of martial force he so craved.

"Although it was not the primary objective, the attack sends a very direct message from this new administration: Washington is willing to use overwhelming force," former Defense Department advisor Ilan Berman explains to ARA. "The United States has demonstrated its military dominance with this operation." Beyond Donald Trump's bombastic rhetoric and his obsession with projecting an image of a tough and powerful leader, Operation Midnight Hammer has once again demonstrated that the United States remains the leading military power on an international scale.

The reason the White House did not continue to use Israel as a regional screen to attack the ayatollahs' regime is precisely because only Washington had the B-2 aircraft, the only ones capable of carrying the nearly 14-ton GBU-57A missiles, which could cause some damage to the plant meters underground.

The outcome of the operation also cleanses the tarnished image of the migrated formations of soldiers marching listlessly down the National Mall during Trump's anniversary. The latest data from the Defense Manpower Data Center, as of March of this year, estimated the number of active-duty troops in the U.S. military at home and abroad at more than 1,307,000. There are also more than 700,000 reservists, including more than 300,000 National Guard troops—among them The 4,000 agents sent to Los Angeles by the government–. In addition, it's also necessary to count the 788,470 civilians who work for the Pentagon and contribute to military spending. These figures are approximate, as there may always be other assets not included in official statistics because they are classified information.

Building the ranks of the U.S. military isn't easy. Over the past three years, the government has spent more than $6 billion recruiting new soldiers and retaining those already serving, following declines in enlistment. in the balance sheets for fiscal years 2022 and 2023. It wasn't until 2024 that the proposed goal was reached again, albeit with a small catch: the expectation of 61,000 active soldiers had been lowered to 55,000.

For this fiscal year, the milestone of 61,000 recruitments has been recovered again and for the moment a post-pandemic record has been reached, which has been reached four months ahead of schedule, partly as a result of this multi-million dollar investment that the government has been making for some time to add extras and ranks.

The United States manages to have such a large army in part because of the large bonuses that being enlisted entails. In a country where most people must go into debt to have a university degree or to receive certain medical treatments, being in the military means that your studies are paid for and you are given medical coverage without having to worry about insurance.

An Indiana National Guard soldier explained to ARA, on condition of anonymity, that he ended up joining the reservist because it was a way to get the education he wanted. "Plus, you don't have to worry about the whole health insurance thing. As a reservist, you only have to show up for training some weekends." Another soldier, enlisted in the Army, also cited the same reason. Military service isn't necessary because material conditions in other areas of life already act as motivators to enlist. In fact, it's one of the few social elevators for many low-income Americans.

The United States allocates more than 10% of its budget to defense. In fiscal year 2023, it allocated approximately $820.3 billion, or about 13.3% of federal funds. In March 2023, the Department of Defense requested $842 billion for 2024, a 2.6% increase from the previous year.

In terms of weapons, beyond the famous B-2 bombers, the US Air Force has 5,004 active aircraft, mainly fighters, with about 1,610 units. As for the ground force, only considering Abrams tanks, there are approximately 2,640 in active service, to which must be added about 1,500 reserves, according to data collected by the Weapon systems handbookQuantitatively, the US is the NATO country with the most tanks and combat vehicles, with a total of 4,640 vehicles, far ahead of Turkey, which occupies second place in the Alliance with 2,238.

The two competitors the US military may have right now are Russia and China. Still, Berman points out that, in the current context, US military strength remains unrivaled. The Russian military is a player to be reckoned with, because the Kremlin has shifted toward a war economy, and they are now making every effort to rebuild their military capabilities in the context of the invasion of Ukraine. But just after that turning point of one million casualties in the war in Ukraine, Moscow has a military problem for the future. "Right now, they're not nearly as strong as the United States. And the same is true of China. That's why I think what you saw in the Middle East was a demonstration of American capability," the former defense advisor reflects.