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> In a large scale war consumer electronics and massive quantities of consumer goods would not be a priority. Thing s like food, bullets, clothing, fuel, tanks

by tivert 8y ago

> In a large scale war consumer electronics and massive quantities of consumer goods would not be a priority. Thing s like food, bullets, clothing, fuel, tanks etc would be and all of that can easily be manufactured in the US. I'm not so sure. A modern army also needs things like radios, navigation aids, data-link terminals, etc. in massive quantities. The supply chains for those things have more in common with consumer electronics than with those for food, fuel, and bullets. In WWII, I understand that the US converted its civilian manufacturing base from making things like civilian cars to making tanks and airplanes. I'd think it'd be a lot easier to covert a manufacturing base than to build one from scratch.

Retric 8y ago
US military has ~100% US supply chains specifically for that stuff. But also clothing, MRE’s, chemicals, and everything else it needs. Of note, the minimal types of equipment, large existing stockpiles, and lower percentage of servicemen vs civilians even in a total war situation makes this a vastly smaller market than consumer electronics. The risk vs benifits of offshoring is simply not worth it. Especially becase it allows congressional spending in specific districts. PS: While manufacturing would need to be expanded, stockpiles allows for a significant ramp up period.
- tivert 8y ago
  I guess part of my point was that having more domestic or allied consumer electronics manufacturing capacity is what would provide the ability to ramp up the production. I'm skeptical that peacetime military-dedicated manufacturing capability + peacetime stockpiles would be able to scale to meet wartime needs. I would think it would be significantly advantageous to have plenty of slack, state-of-the-art civilian capacity (+ related expertise) in all needed areas.
  - Retric 8y ago
    -600 + Billion every year buys a lot of ‘toys’ and T-shirts. At 1.3 million active duty military and more than 800,000 reserve forces the infrastructure to maintain that is already significant manufacturing capacity. Training more people takes time so you get various projections around force mobilization vs war footing etc. But while some lag is expected, you can get a lot done with even 1 year of critical supplies on hand. Remember this is the same group that designed the internet to keep working even as major cities where nuked. Going to war is very much part of long term planning.

by tivert 8y ago

Retric 8y ago

US military has ~100% US supply chains specifically for that stuff. But also clothing, MRE’s, chemicals, and everything else it needs. Of note, the minimal types of equipment, large existing stockpiles, and lower percentage of servicemen vs civilians even in a total war situation makes this a vastly smaller market than consumer electronics. The risk vs benifits of offshoring is simply not worth it. Especially becase it allows congressional spending in specific districts. PS: While manufacturing would need to be expanded, stockpiles allows for a significant ramp up period.

tivert 8y ago
I guess part of my point was that having more domestic or allied consumer electronics manufacturing capacity is what would provide the ability to ramp up the production. I'm skeptical that peacetime military-dedicated manufacturing capability + peacetime stockpiles would be able to scale to meet wartime needs. I would think it would be significantly advantageous to have plenty of slack, state-of-the-art civilian capacity (+ related expertise) in all needed areas.
- Retric 8y ago
  -600 + Billion every year buys a lot of ‘toys’ and T-shirts. At 1.3 million active duty military and more than 800,000 reserve forces the infrastructure to maintain that is already significant manufacturing capacity. Training more people takes time so you get various projections around force mobilization vs war footing etc. But while some lag is expected, you can get a lot done with even 1 year of critical supplies on hand. Remember this is the same group that designed the internet to keep working even as major cities where nuked. Going to war is very much part of long term planning.