A Well Informed 21st Century Citizen

"A well informed 21st century citizen is a person who an access all areas of technology and know how to utilize them. They also are aware of current events and happenings."

That was my first rendition of what a well informed 21st centiry citizen was, I still mainly agree with what I said because in todays world, one has to be cable to access and utilize all areas of technology to be truely successful. Also, one should be aware of current events, in the way if talking to people in public one does not sound like they were living under a rock and can have an in depth conversation with another. Another thing I'm adding is one should participate somehow in politics, from simply voting to going to rallys. If one shows some kind of interaction, they will gain knowledge about candidates and current issues. So overall my opinion really hasnt changed except about the fact that people should engage somehow in politics, but all in all that is my definition of a well informed citizen

Final Exam - Blake

Why should the government should not cut spending on advanced weapon technologies?
1.) Reaper/UAV
2.) Stealth Technologies: B-2 Spirit, F-22 Raptor
3.) Abrams Tank Division  

In America we have by far the most advanced military in the world, and I believe we should keep it that way. In the recent years the government is trying to slice military spending by a dramatic amount. Which definitely has pros and cons but there can be alternatives to cutting spending like having a soldier capacity, because one soldier can be a very large expense. And if we stop funding on weapons technologies, America can lag behind other countries and lose our seat on the throne of most powerful. So I am going to narrow it down a little bit and cite three examples to why the government should continue spend on military development. First off, the Reaper/UAV Program (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), secondly, stealth technologies (B-2 Spirit/F-22 Raptor), and lastly, the Abrams Tank Division (M1, M1A1, and M1A2). All three of these areas of spending are so crucial to the military because all of these products are in use today and they keep American soldiers safe and protected from the enemy.

In today's warfare scene the best type of fighting is fighting with out using soldiers but rather man operated machines. This way, instead of sending in a platoon of soldiers to engage the enemy we can have two pilots hundreds of miles away send in the MQ-9 Reaper. The Reaper falls into the UAV class (unmanned aerial vehicle), the Air Force and the Navy have many different uses for them. You have the Grey Eagle which the main purpose is for scouting and surveying possible targets and to assist ground soldiers. Next up is the Predator which is the predecessor to the Reaper, it’s main role is attacking and supporting ground troops. Another positive about UAVs, when they are at their cruising altitude they are blind to the unassisted eye and you cannot hear them. For the enemy that means one second you are up to no good and the next an AGM missile has just struck your position. With this affect only a small few have been shot down. And when you look at the broad view, if we sent in armed soldiers to the Reapers missions instead, the military would’ve sent home a lot of folded American Flags. I believe the government should continue the funding for the UAV project because it is way more efficient than foot soldiers and it saves lives. Currently the Government is spending 2 billion on UAVs and that could possibly increase but with more of these aircrafts, they can replace more soldiers so the cost could balance. So i think its a no brainer to keep spending a revolutionary program that doesn't put soldiers at risk and performs their missions with great success.

Another program that should continued to be funded by the government is the Stealth Fighter/Bomber Division. Stealth technology has been so crucial to the military the past few decades. With its creation during the Cold War and its great success in the middle east, the Air Force could always rely on the stealth bombers/fighters to get the toughest jobs done. Although the stealth program is expensive, the planes rarely ever get destroyed so you only pay for a few and they last a long time. The only way to see a stealth fighter is to physically see one because the aircrafts are invisible to radar, and at 40,000 feet the naked eye cannot see the plane lurking above. With this invisibility comes safety, since nobody can find or see the plane, the pilots are safe under the cloak of stealth technology. So I think it's ludicrous to not continue to fund the stealth fighter/bomber program because they keep the pilots safe, they do not need to be replaced that often, and they almost always come home with a mission success. Currently the U.S. is spending just over ten billion dollars on the stealth division, mainly going towards replacing the F-22 Raptor with the F-35 Lightning. But in our arsenal now is the B-2 Spirit Bomber and the F-22 Raptor Multi-purpose Fighter. Both have large rap-sheets of success and the things they are able to do are phenomenal and that's why the government needs to not cut funding to this branch of the budget.

And the last reason to keep military funding up is the M1 Division of Abrams Tanks. The first Abrams tank entered service in 1980 replacing the outdated M60 tank. Since then, the Abrams has been the go to vehicle for land strikes and is the muscle of the Army. The M1 is crawling with technology, from its high-tech weaponry to its top secret armor, the Abrams is the most advanced tank on the battlefield. But with all of the technology comes amazing safety and protection. In the entire Gulf War of the 1990s no Abrams tank was fully destroyed by enemy fire and there was only one fatality in an Abrams tank throughout the war. To me, that is absolutely amazing! You would think that with such small amount of fatalities of tanks or soldiers that the tanks did not see much action, but they saw plenty. The main reason the Abrams had such good success was because they were up against very out dated old Soviet Tanks that lacked superior firepower and technology. You could say that the Abrams is only good against lesser tanks but the Abrams is still having great success in today's current skirmishes in the middle east. Currently the Government is planning to shut down the plant that produces these tanks in the years 2013-2015 so ultimately ending the further creation of these magnificent vehicles. Why they are doing it? To try and save 1 Billion dollars, but feel there are other ways to do that than stop producing such a revolutionary machine that saves American lives but gets the job done.

So all in all, the Government should not cut spending towards advanced weaponry because they are very powerful, they keep the operators very safe, and all of them get great results when put on the battlefield. The three things I am talking about is the Reaper UAV, B-2 Spirit Bomber/F-22 Raptor, and the Abrams M1 Tank division. Those sections are three good reasons why the Government should not stop funding to the advancement of weapon technologies. Because to me I want America to continue having the most powerful military because in the future I do not want to speak Chinese or Russian....

Sources:

1.) Wikipedia (used a bit for each section)

2.) http://www.af.mil/information/factsheets/index.asp

3.) http://www.army.mil/factfiles/equipment/tracked/abrams.html

4.) http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/b2/

5.) http://defense-update.com/products/p/predatorB.htm