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Obama on defense

Sen. Barack Obama’s positions on some key issues:

Iraq pullout:

Obama wants to remove forces from Iraq at one to two brigades a month. At that pace, the pullout would be complete in 16 months. He says, however, that meeting that timetable will depend on the situation on the ground. At the conclusion of the drawdown, Obama says, a small force will remain, focused on guarding U.S. diplomats and counter-terrorism. He has often been quoted as saying, “We should be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in.”

Afghanistan buildup:

Two more brigades would be sent to Afghanistan to fight the growing threat from the Taliban.

End strength

Obama supports the drive to grow the Army by 65,000 soldiers and add 27,000 Marines to the Marine Corps. He has not staked out a position on the sizes of the Navy and Air Force. The Navy is drawing down. The Air Force was shrinking, but that was halted recently.

Stop-loss:

He would seek to end the policy for reservists and active-duty troops.

Military families:

Obama would create a Military Families Advisory Board to cut burdens on spouses and families.

Pay rates:

He plans to bring basic pay levels in line with the private sector. The campaign has not released specifics.

“Don’t ask, don’t tell”:

Obama would work to repeal the controversial law governing gays in the military. He said the law has deprived the armed services of troops with crucial skills.

Guard and reserves:

Obama wants them to deploy one year out of every six years, and cap cumulative deployment time at 24 months.

Veterans:

Troops coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan would have mental health screeners in every state. Veterans also would have up to five years to enroll to receive care from the Veterans Affairs Department, versus the two years now allowed.

Weapons programs:

All major programs would be re-evaluated based on current and future needs. Trade-offs would be made between systems designed for the Cold War and other new aircraft, such as unmanned aerial vehicles and cargo and refueling aircraft. Although not going into specifics, Obama called for “unparalleled air power capabilities,” adding that “relying solely on old systems from a past century will not suffice.” Obama calls for modernizing current ships and investing in small, capable combatants. He supports the concept of the Littoral Combat Ship program.

Private contractors:

Obama calls for greater accountability and oversight for private contractors, especially those who are working in a war zone, and would require the Defense Department to decide “where contracting makes sense and where it doesn’t.”

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