What role will automation play in the military drawdown?

It's always better to throw technology at an enemy rather than warm bodies. That being said, victory on the battlefield will never arrive unless it is the hands of an infantryman. I only hope that we can afford it.

Technology costs a lot. Hopefully, we can pay the price without sending our soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen to the poorhouse. We've already seen too many young service families living below poverty levels. We see them driven to near homelessness as politicians shift assets to illegal aliens. Our VFW post is sending toys for Marine tots while Marines are collecting Toys for (civilian) Tots, and donating diapers and other essentials to their families. Why can't we pay them a living wage? Why can't those deployed to battlefields half way around the world be free of concern for the well-being of the wives and children they leave behind?

Let's invest in the technology, but don't forget the people...

I put other because automation is a good thing but you still need the human element. If we go to remove all human from all jobs well it will go to hell quick.

Automation generally moves onto the scene too fast, before all of the assorted bugs and negative ramifications have been worked out. There are a few areas that automation should intrude on at a snails pace. I also believe that the bean counters will discover that it is cheaper in some cases to risk that bag of blood, rather than an over priced hardware system. There is precedent for this mindset in the auto recall industry.