According to news reports, the US military will be cut dramatically:

"Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has proposed shrinking the Army to its smallest size in 74 years through a series of base closures and troops cuts, and by completely eliminating several Air Force aircraft fleets.   

The move comes as the U.S. Army moves into the final phases of a massive troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, and Congress raises new red flags about American deficit spending.  

Hagel surprised some observers on Monday when he outlined a global military philosophy that removed America from the center of its universe.  

'The development and proliferation of more advanced military technology of other nations - it means that we are entering an era where American dominance on the seas, in the skies, and space can no longer be taken for granted,' Hagel said.  

'As a consequence of large budget cuts, our future force will assume additional risks in some areas,' he added.  

That sets the table for a coming congressional battle over what to keep and what to toss out."

To be fair, we need to reevaluate our military from time to time.  We need to understand that future wars are more likely to look like Afghanistan or targeted missions against terrorist cells than D-Day or the Tokyo bombing raids.

However, I oppose these cuts because they will confirm that the US is in retreat. 

This is the wrong message when we have China rising and sending its warships around.   

It is also the wrong message for President Putin, North Korea, Iran and other enemies of the US, as my friend Bill Katz posted today.

Question:  What happened 74 years ago when we had this size of a military?  It was 1940 and we should remember what happened after that.  We had to rush to build our forces because we weren't ready for world challenges!

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.