Although I believe that every capability of the US military is valuable and needs to be fully funded, some capabilities are more important than others, and all of them need to be hierarchized on a list of priorities. Prioritization will ensure that US defense dollars, even if scarce, will be invested in military priorities first.
Here’s how a prioritized list of capabilities should be configured from the most important capabilities to the least important ones:
1) Nuclear deterrence
2) Missile defense
3) Long-range strike
4) Cyber defense
5) Air superiority
6) Naval superiority
7) ISR and early warning
8) Airlift, sealift, and aerial refueling
9) Amphibious assault
10) Ground dominance
11) CSAR
12) Counterterrorism
13) Humanitarian aid/crisis relief
14) VIP transport
