via Military.com
Gates told the cadets that as the Army competes for money in the tightening economy, it must realize that high-end conflicts will mainly require Navy and Air Force engagements, not a head-on clash of big land forces. The Army must not lose its ability to wage the kind of irregular warfare it has honed on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, and be prepared to face off against insurgents, militia groups and rogue states.Gates also warned the cadets that the U.S. so far has a perfect record of never accurately predicting what the next war will be. But one thing, he said, is certain.Any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should "have his head examined," Gates said.
