Deb Fischer: “over the years, many historians have studied how exactly the United States was able to rapidly mobilize during World War…”

“over the years, many historians have studied how exactly the United States was able to rapidly mobilize during World War II. It was truly a remarkable thing. One book, ``Freedom's Forge'' by Arthur Herman, summarizes the feat well. American manufacturers produced ``two-thirds of all Allied military equipment used in World War II. That included 86,000 tanks, 2.5 million trucks and a half a million jeeps, 286,000 warplanes, 8,800 naval vessels, 5,600 naval merchant ships, 434 million tons of steel, 2.6 million machine guns, and 41 billion rounds of ammunition--not to mention the greatest super bomber of the war, the B-29, and the atomic bomb.'' In the blink of an eye, entire manufacturing industries retooled their factories, and they began pumping out everything from fighter planes to ships to critical munitions. There is no doubt that our immense production capacity was a critical factor behind why the Allies won the war. The threat environment that we face today is much different. There are a wide range of scenarios that our Nation has to be prepared for. And, of course, the way our economy is structured is also much different. This raises an important question: Are we prepared to respond to the changing threat environment of the 21st century? Repeating that incredible moment in American history would not be easy. What we can and what we should do is identify which investments we can make to effectively meet these threats and deter any adversary.…”