The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
The People’s Liberation Army Navy’s Approach to Maintenance Management: Cooking Dumplings in a Teapot
English Summary
The PLAN is rapidly modernizing its fleet and will adopt a hybrid maintenance strategy to sustain its growing inventory of advanced combatants. While promoting self-sufficiency through series production, the analysis finds that organic units still rely on higher echelons for sophisticated repairs, creating logistical strain. This rapid buildup complicates maintenance pipelines and places immense stress on the workforce due to both technological complexity and sheer volume of new assets. Strategically, these challenges suggest that while the PLAN is improving its processes, maintaining efficiency and managing skill gaps will be critical points of vulnerability in future competition.
中文摘要
解放軍海軍（PLAN）正在快速現代化其艦隊，並將採用混合維護策略來維持其日益增長的先進戰鬥資產庫存。儘管透過系列生產推動自主性提升，但分析指出，本土單位在進行複雜維修時仍依賴更高層級的後勤支援系統，這造成了巨大的後勤壓力。這種快速積累使得維護流程變得複雜化，並由於技術複雜性和龐大的新資產體量，對人力資源構成了極大負荷。從戰略角度來看，這些挑戰表明，雖然解放軍海軍正在改善其作業流程，但維持效率和管理技能差距將是未來競爭中的關鍵脆弱環節。
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