It doesn't, but if it did the decline wouldn't just be relative but absolute because active military personnel is actually down almost 50% since its cold war pe

It doesn't, but if it did the decline wouldn't just be relative but absolute because active military personnel is actually down almost 50% since its cold war peak. The US military is significantly leaner nowadays across the board. In terms of spending too, something like 8% of GDP at its peak compared to 3.x now. https://usafacts.org/articles/is-military-enlistment-down/ https://usafacts.org/articles/is-military-enlistment-down/