“We’re sending equipment, ammunition, and a lot of other things over there, but we’re not replenishing it here," Army Lt. Col. (Ret.) Darin Gaub, a former UH-60 Blackhawk pilot, tells American Family News.
According to the Department of Defense, in its own press release published two months ago, the United States has sent "more than $30 billion worth of gear to Ukraine."
That DOD announcement boasts the U.S. sent approximately $400 million in artillery shells that are 105mm, 155 mm, and 25 mm, as well as armored vehicle-launched bridges. The list also included demolition munitions, and diagnostic equipment and spare parts for combat vehicles.
Like many other military veterans, Gaub has watched the Russia-Ukraine conflict ever since the first Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine in February 2022. The conflict continues in many ways as expected, he says, but the entire ordeal has gone on quite a bit longer than many expected.
“During the time, one of the things so many people really have not been paying attention to as Americans is the direct cost in military readiness to Western nations,” he warns.
The drawdown of U.S. armor, vehicles, munitions, and parts affects our own military's ability to train properly, Gaub explains, but the bigger problem created by poor training is a lack of readiness by our own troops.
"And this could have a grave impact on national security," he surmises.
Though retired, Gaub is personally aware of one Army aviation unit that has over a dozen aircraft and “if they were told to launch right now, they couldn’t.”
He says it is past time for Congress to investigate the readiness of the U.S. military and “the true cost of sending so much [equipment, weapons, and more] to Ukraine.”
Just how bad is the U.S. military's stockpile? Back in January, the U.S. informed Israel it was taking 300,000 U.S.-owned munitions stored in that country, 155 mm shells, and sending them to Ukraine.
In a similar transfer, South Korea agreed in April to loan the U.S. 500,000 rounds of 155 mm artillery shells owned by that country to resupply U.S. stockpiles, the Reuters wire service reported.
As the U.S. military depletes its resources, Gaub points out the American economy is also suffering.
“So, how can we grow the military back to strength on a weakened economy?” he questions.
“Whether it's unintentional or by design, America is depleting itself the longer this war goes on,” according to the retired Blackhawk helicopter pilot. “We’re putting ourselves in a bad position on the world stage, militarily and economically.”
'Focus has to come back home'
Guab questions whether the American people truly understand the country’s failures and what’s at stake. In one example, he says, China continues to threaten Taiwan.
“Based on the messaging [of a failed Afghanistan withdrawal] and what’s happening in Ukraine, I’m sure China is thinking that if we’re going to move on Taiwan, we need to do it before Joe Biden leaves office,” he contends.
“Issues like this paint a much broader picture than what’s actually bubbling up from below the surface,” he says. “There are deeper issues right here at home that are being largely ignored, including currency, energy, an out-of-control border, and more,” he notes.
But there’s a reason why much of the American population is blind to many of the country’s challenges, Gaub argues.
“Media often keeps us looking in one place when there’s so much more to see,” he explains. “Isn’t it strange that fewer people are conveniently no longer talking about the Biden crime syndicate?”
For America to remain as strong as it should, he says, the U.S. must be "impregnable" to enemies Russia and China, who know they will lose in a war. The ability to convince them of a sure defeat is not happening right now, the retired Army pilot fears, and will only worsen as the Russia-Ukraine war drags on.
“One day, the focus has to come back home,” he urges. “And when we’re strong again, we’ll actually be able to engage the world and do our part better.”
