Does the US military need tanks and artillery?

The US military has expressed concern that the steady flow of weapons to Ukraine is depleting its own stockpile faster than it can be replenished. That got me thinking. Does the US military need tanks and artillery and other accoutrements to fight a land war on its own soil?

Would/could there ever be a Normandy style landing of an enemy force on the continental US — or Hawaii, for that matter? The best insurance the US possesses against any sea borne invasion is its geographical location. America is safely cocooned between two massive oceans. It took the WWII Allies enormous resources to plan and execute an invasion armada across 22 miles of the English Channel. Now multiply that by a few hundred. You get the picture.

Any significant attack on the US has to come through the air — either by missiles, or long-range bombers. Tanks and conventional artillery would not be of much use there. The US already possesses an impressive range of anti-missile defences — and none of those are being sent to Ukraine. There is also the reality — inconvenient for some — that US military is by far better trained, better equipped and better funded than its closest military rival . No nation would be foolhardy enough to attempt a military adventure against it.

One can understand why the military is voicing concern. They are reluctant to give up or reduce any of their resources. Besides, the US defence budget is sacred — and untouchable — and the formidable military-industrial complex will ensure that it stays that way. The unfortunate part is they may be inadvertently playing into the hands of the America-first MAGA crowd who are trying to trivialise the Ukraine war as a “territorial dispute”.

I am not sure if the MAGa crowd are wilfully obtuse or merely playing to their base. The grim reality that getting involved in Ukraine, although by proxy, is overwhelmingly in America’s best interests. If America retreats; and let’s Putin overwhelm Ukraine, Russia’s next target will be the Baltic countries, which are members of NATO. In such a scenario, America will have no alternative but to get directly involved in a direct military confrontation with the Russians. Will the Republicans still be gung-ho when the body bags start coming home? Oh wait; they will blame it on the Democrats.

Upto now, this has all been just a political power play to the Republicans. Latching on to the coat tails of a wannabe dictator is perceived to be politically beneficial to them. One can only home that reality sinks in to the “patriots” before it is too late.