{"id":56294,"date":"2018-10-04T00:25:59","date_gmt":"2018-10-04T00:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/10\/04\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:10:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:10:41","slug":"can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/10\/04\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\/","title":{"rendered":"The US may not be able to fight two big wars at once"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. military would be able to handle itself adequately in a single major regional conflict while maintaining smaller operations around the globe, but its \u201cmarginal\u201d capabilities mean America would struggle if forced to take on a second major conflict<\/a> at the same time, a new report has found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is the conclusion of The Heritage Foundation\u2019s 2019 Index of U.S. Military Strength, which offers reviews of the past year\u2019s defense-policy issues. The index looks at both the global operating environment and an internal assessment of U.S. military strength. As in previous years<\/a>, all topics are rated on a five-point scale: \u201cvery weak,\u201d \u201cweak,” \u201cmarginal,\u201d \u201cstrong,” and \u201cvery strong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense News was given an exclusive interview with Heritage expert Dakota Wood<\/a>, who edited the nearly 500-page report, ahead of its formal release. The full report can be read here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the whole, the report sees progress over the last year in bringing some new equipment into the force, filling gaps in manpower, and rebuilding some stocks of munitions and repair parts. But broader problem trends persist in force readiness, declining proficiency in key areas like trained pilots, and continued uncertainty across the defense budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report concludes that to fix everything plaguing America\u2019s military would take a decade or more of increased funding, something Wood acknowledged may be easier said than done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFY19 is now the ceiling. It\u2019s not the floor to build from,\u201d Wood said. \u201cWhat folks on the Hill and OMB and others are looking at is the domestic political situation \u2026 to argue for even more spending on defense is just politically not a real viable prospect. Because you\u2019re talking about a future danger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

International Concerns<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the whole, the authors conclude that the threat to U.S. interests from abroad remains \u201chigh,\u201d as America faces challenges from what the Pentagon has deemed the \u201c4+1 threats<\/a>\u201d \u2014 Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and terrorism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest change to the operating environment, said Wood, is a positive one: that partners have in the last year truly \u201cawakened to the fact that everybody is back in big power competition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re a European country, you have finally gotten serious in your intellectual awareness of the challenge Russia presents. If you\u2019re South Korea and Japan, you\u2019ve had to get serious about what to do with China,\u201d he said. \u201cRecognizing a problem and actually doing something to deal with that problem are two different issues, but if you don\u2019t have the recognition, your actions are never going to change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out of the state actors challenging the United States, only North Korea has become more benign, as a result of outreach efforts in the last year by the Trump administration. But the report sees no downgrading in North Korean capabilities, with the nation having done \u201clittle if anything to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Heatmaps from the Heritage Foundation showing the change in global threats since 2015.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, China has become more aggressive in the last year, while the report finds no change in Russia or Iran\u2019s capabilities nor stance towards the United States. And when looking at non-state actors, threats from Afghanistan-Pakistan based groups have gone down while groups in the Middle East have ratcheted up their activities against the United States even as their capabilities remain steady.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That last point seems to go against the common wisdom that the Islamic State group has been degraded significantly in the last year. Wood agrees that ISIS has taken a hit, but he says the assessment reflects shifts in the same threat category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou might have one group that goes down, like the Islamic State, but Hezbollah might be on the rise, so there\u2019s kind of a balancing effect when you give an overall score,\u201d he said. In addition to Hezbollah, that score includes al-Qaida, Hamas and al-Nusra, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite all that, Heritage concluded that the global operating environment for the United States remains favorable, the result of strong military alliances in both Europe and Asia, with partners in both regions increasing their defense spending year over year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domestic Challenges<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The index gauged America\u2019s armed forces as \u201cmarginal\u201d in their ability to win wars against two major adversaries simultaneously, a scenario that the study authors deem the key yardstick for determining what the nation needs. The report judges each service in three categories \u2013 capacity, capability and readiness \u2013 before offering a final score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the report, Heritage calls for an Army of 50 brigade combat teams, a Navy of 400 ships and 624 aircraft, an Air Force of 1,200 fighter\/attack aircraft and a Marine Corps of 36 battalions. In reality, the Pentagon\u2019s numbers fall well short of that, even in the department\u2019s most optimistic dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall the report gives the Army, Air Force and Navy a \u201cmarginal\u201d grade, essentially a C. That\u2019s actually good news for the Army, which rose from \u201cweak\u201d in the previous index, a change driven entirely by improvements in readiness, which moved from \u201cweak\u201d to \u201cstrong\u201d \u2014 the only positive ranking among all the American military service categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In last year\u2019s version of the index, just one-third of the 31 brigade combat teams were assessed as being at acceptable levels of readiness, with only three BCTs at full readiness. That increased to 15 BCTs at acceptable levels, with eight fully ready \u2013 better, but still below the two-thirds mark that the Army has said it wants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wood credits Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis directly for that change, noting \u201cMattis comes in, during his testimony he says he was \u2018shocked\u2019 at the extent which the military had declined in readiness,\u201d Wood said. \u201cTo me, that was a big signal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike the other services, where readiness is tied directly to systems, Wood said the Army has been able to quickly change the focus of its training to make it more relevant \u2013 something possible because of the dwell-deploy ratio allowing solders more time stateside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBased on the capacity of the Navy and Air Force, the number of pilots and airplanes and ships, [the current] operational dynamic is more strenuous on those services,\u201d Wood said. \u201cAnd so it\u2019s more difficult for them to catch up on maintenance, to affect the kinds of training they need and to be confident in the air.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A chart from the Heritage Foundation’s most recent Military Index shows the challenge facing the Navy’s carrier fleet. (Heritage Foundation)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
A chart from the Heritage Foundation’s most recent Military Index shows the challenge facing the Marines as they seek to modernize equipment. (Heritage Foundation)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While keeping the service\u2019s overall grade the same, Air Force readiness was downgraded to \u201cweak.\u201d Navy capacity was also downgraded to \u201cweak,\u201d but its capability status increased to \u201cmarginal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Marines once again received a \u201cweak\u201d grade, as the Corps’ small size mixed with low readiness of its aviation assets and a shortage of amphibious capabilities combined in a negatively potent package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report also looks at America\u2019s overall nuclear capabilities. It found that while delivery platform reliability has gone down due to the continued aging of systems like the B-52 and the Minuteman III, allied assurance has actually increased in the last year as the result of the U.S. investing in new nuclear capabilities<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m Germany or England or Japan and I\u2019m really concerned about Russia or China, I want to be reassured that the nuclear umbrella is viable, is recommitted to being there for us,\u201d Wood said. \u201cThe perception of our allies is the United States will continue to be there and that we\u2019re making necessary investments in maintaining a viable nuclear deterrent capability. Their confidence level is higher now this year than it was last year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe Gould in Washington contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

America’s \u201cmarginal\u201d military means the U.S. would struggle if forced to take on a second major conflict at the same time, a new report has found.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":114988,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","middle-column","home","left-column"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"4":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"5":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"6":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"7":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"}}},"categories":[160,36,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3378],"class_list":["post-56294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters","category-pentagon"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"A3MZIYVJHJCCZL3KVUORJMXTH4","arc_canonical_url":"\/pentagon\/2018\/10\/04\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nThe US may not be able to fight two big wars at once - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"America's \u201cmarginal\u201d military means the U.S. would struggle if forced to take on a second major conflict at the same time, a new report has found.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The US may not be able to fight two big wars at once\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"America's \u201cmarginal\u201d military means the U.S. would struggle if forced to take on a second major conflict at the same time, a new report has found.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/10\/04\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-10-04T00:25:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T00:10:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Aaron Mehta\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Aaron Mehta\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\\\/#article\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"author\": {\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t },\n\t \"headline\": \"The US may not be able to fight two big wars at once\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2018-10-04T00:25:59+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:10:41+00:00\",\n\t \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"wordCount\": 1312,\n\t \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-886721318-1.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"articleSection\": [\n\t \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t \"Newsletters\",\n\t \"Pentagon\"\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\\\/#respond\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"The US may not be able to fight two big wars at once - Defense News\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-886721318-1.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2018-10-04T00:25:59+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:10:41+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"America's \u201cmarginal\u201d military means the U.S. would struggle if forced to take on a second major conflict at the same time, a new report has found.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\\\/\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-886721318-1.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-886721318-1.jpg.jpg\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"Pentagon\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/pentagon\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"pentagon\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 3,\n\t \"name\": \"The US may not be able to fight two big wars at once\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t \"logo\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t },\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The US may not be able to fight two big wars at once - Defense News","description":"America's \u201cmarginal\u201d military means the U.S. would struggle if forced to take on a second major conflict at the same time, a new report has found.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The US may not be able to fight two big wars at once","og_description":"America's \u201cmarginal\u201d military means the U.S. would struggle if forced to take on a second major conflict at the same time, a new report has found.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/10\/04\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2018-10-04T00:25:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T00:10:41+00:00","author":"Aaron Mehta","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Aaron Mehta","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/10\/04\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/10\/04\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"The US may not be able to fight two big wars at once","datePublished":"2018-10-04T00:25:59+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T00:10:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/10\/04\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\/"},"wordCount":1312,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/10\/04\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-886721318-1.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Newsletters","Pentagon"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/10\/04\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/10\/04\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/10\/04\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\/","name":"The US may not be able to fight two big wars at once - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/10\/04\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/10\/04\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-886721318-1.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2018-10-04T00:25:59+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T00:10:41+00:00","description":"America's \u201cmarginal\u201d military means the U.S. would struggle if forced to take on a second major conflict at the same time, a new report has found.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/10\/04\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/10\/04\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/10\/04\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-886721318-1.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-886721318-1.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/10\/04\/can-the-us-fight-two-big-wars-at-once-new-report-casts-doubts\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pentagon","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/","ad_zone":"pentagon"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The US may not be able to fight two big wars at once"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-886721318-1.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56294"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56303,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56294\/revisions\/56303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56294"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=56294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}