Yes you are right the Military made a concious decision to design themselves for short sharp decisive wars a la Gulf War I, and "never again" to Vietnam like conflicts, they also designed the military in that they could not operate in significant conflicts without calling up the Guard and Reserves, as they had a fear after the end of the Draft that they could be in a pposition of being sent to an unpopular war with little support and most of the country not caring as they had no personnel comitment.

The idea of embedding the Guard and Reserve to such a degree was to try and ensure they would only be used in substantial conflicts if there was national consensus.

In terms of the Air Force and Navy yes they want big new toys because they have to be bigger and sexier than the previous generation, because, because,.....

When you ask who on earth they might be used against you get scenarios where the equipment would not help or which are simply unbeleivable.

i.e. A Chinese aircraft that has not yet been designed, is built, sold in quantities to Iran, and we then need to support Kuwait or Iraq against Iranian aggression!!
The much more likely scennario is a coup or revoloution in Egypt or Saudi and they have all those nice shiny US made weapons to use.

China is regularly built up as a potential threat for the future in Air Force and Navy propaganda and there are 2 scenarrios were there is potential US China conflict

1. China takes Taiwan

2. North Korea, implodes or moves South and either way China gets involved.

The idea of scenarios in paperbacks of China sending a carrier strike at Pearl or the Panama canal are so far away that Michelle Obamma will be finishing her second term in 2024 first.

The Taiwan scennario is a real possibility but the second one the more likly scenario at present would be US and China co-operating to minimise the Chaos post the Kim regieme in Korea.

Does the US public realise that a very large % of their Military budget in the end can only be justified not by defence of the US but by Defence of Taiwan, as there is no country on the planet who is not already a US ally which in Air-Force and Navy terms would not be beaten by the US reserves, with the exception of China or Russia.

Russia if there was a conflict would need actual US Navy and Air-Force rather than reserves but if there is a possibility of conflict with Russia you need to double or tripple the size of the Army as well as buy high tech kit for the Air-Force, if you are happy with an Army around the present size then you do not beleive in a conflict with China or Russia, and the high tech weaponry is being bought to artificially create jobs, profits, and because a burocracy does what a burocracy does replace things whether you need them or not!

The Dems need to start thinking about how to frame a debate in saying some of this expenditure can be released for more useful things while not being painted as "weak on defence".

i.e. in Carriers the US not only has 12 Super Carriers but the USMC has a further 12 small Amphib Carriers, but the "small" USMC carriers are bigger than anyone else on the planet.

So
US 24
UK 2
Fra 1
Russia 1
Spain 1
India 1
Italy 1
Thailand 1
Brazil 1

or US 24 v Rest of the entire planet 9
or US and NATO 29 rest of the planet 4,

The ratios with most other high tech equipment is similar, there is not a conventional military threat to the US forom any nation on the planet or any combination of nations realistic in the next 2 Presidential terms.

there are threats to the US national intrests but they are AQ and other similar groups, Piracy and criminality on the high seas particularly off Somalia and a few similar areas, not things were an F-22 or a Nuclear Submarine is going to help.