Quote:
Originally Posted by Stormieweather
He said, "Well governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets."
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The National Defense Act approved on 3 June 1916 set the peace strength of the Regular Army at 220,000 officers and men and of the National Guard at 450,000. In 2012, US Army (Active) was 547,400 with an Army Reserve of 205,000 and Army National Guard of 358,200.
If we average to just one bayonet per soldier, that would give us:
1916 - 670,000 bayonets
2012 - 1,110,600 bayonets
Soldiers and Marines have really taken to heart the comment about the bayonets. The saying goes, "Every soldier is a rifleman first."
I haven't counted the number of horses, but I will concede there are fewer horses. Oh Lord, don't even mention the crack about ships diving underwater. The USS Holland (SS-1) was the United States Navy's first commissioned submarine and was launched on 17 May 1897.
Yes, I realize President Obama was just trying to make an illustration of a point. It has just struck a nerve on the military boards