Regarding the third element of the sizing standard, without a sense of against whom or when abuildup might be required, it is impossible for the military to judge how much equipment or which people and capabilities should be retained as it downsizes today in order to have the ability to expand in the face of a larger future threat.
He also had good fortune to govern California at a time when surging Japanese investment, the high tech boom and, perhaps most important of all, the militarybuildup accelerated by the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan generated a remarkable economic boom.
General Electric bought RCA in 1986 in a belated effort to benefit from the Reagan militarybuildup, but sold the military part of the business to Lockheed Martin during the defense-sector consolidation that followed the end of the Cold War.
Since the buildup to the fiscal cliff deal, military contractors have been left in a state of great uncertainty about what to expect for their businesses, which are dependent on federal funds.