{"id":2543190,"date":"2026-01-19T05:53:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T10:53:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-first-resort-use-of-military-has-succeeded-but-it-has-its-limits-4\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T05:55:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T10:55:12","slug":"trumps-first-resort-use-of-military-has-succeeded-but-it-has-its-limits-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-first-resort-use-of-military-has-succeeded-but-it-has-its-limits-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump&#8217;s &#8216;first resort&#8217; use of military has succeeded but it has its limits"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrumps-first-resort-use-of-military-has-succeeded-but-it-has-its-limits-4%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2543190&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article argues that even though the U.S. possesses the world&#8217;s largest military, it cannot be everywhere at once, so President Trump&#8217;s increased tendency to use military force as a &#8220;first resort&#8221; requires frequent repositioning of costly assets and creates trade-offs. Over the past year the administration has conducted a short conflict with Houthi forces in the Red sea and launched Operation southern Spear in the Caribbean to counter drug trafficking, moving carrier strike groups, destroyers, and other forces between the Indo\u2011Pacific, Middle East, and Western Hemisphere. High operational tempo strained units: the USS Harry S. Truman&#8217;s deployment saw collisions, aircraft losses, and other mishaps, and carriers are expensive to operate and replenish. Successes include seizures of suspected smuggling vessels and impacts on trafficking networks,but missions have caused injuries and several U.S. deaths, underscoring that such operations are not risk\u2011free. Tensions with Iran have prompted consideration of further redeployments (including moving carriers from the Pacific or Caribbean to the Middle East), even as aging carriers are being retired and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >replacements face delays &#8211; highlighting<\/a> the limits of projecting sustained power worldwide.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Trump&rsquo;s &lsquo;first resort&rsquo; use of military has succeeded but it has its limits<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2473091\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Despite being the largest military in the world with a $1 trillion budget and roughly 1.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/military-begins-discharging-service-members-declining-to-take-coronavirus-vaccine\/\" title=\"... Begins Discharging Service Members Declining to Take Coronavirus Vaccine\">3 million active-duty service members<\/a>, the U.S. does not have the ability to deploy significant assets across the globe at one time, so every place of emphasis results in a deemphasis somewhere else. As a result, air, land, and naval assets are frequently moved around the globe in response to world events.<\/p>\n<p>With the operations President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\">Donald Trump<\/a> has approved in the past year, ranging from a short, hot war with the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/houthis\">Houthis<\/a> in the Red Sea to the monthslong <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3886847\/hegseth-operation-southern-spear-narcoterrorists\/\">Operation Southern Spear<\/a> to eliminate drug smuggling from Central and South America, that means assets have been going back and forth across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/4423229\/trump-battle-in-the-arctic-greenland-bessent\/\">Trump preparing for &#8216;battle in the Arctic&#8217; with Greenland acquisition effort, Bessent says<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/4423044\/us-kills-al-qaeda-terrorist-syria\/\">US kills Al Qaeda terrorist with ties to slaying of three Americans in Syria<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4422173\/iran-halting-executions-big-impact-delay-us-military-action-trump\/\">Iran&#8217;s halting of executions had &#8216;big impact&#8217; in delay of possible military action: Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The president &ldquo;is reaching for the military instrument much more quickly than the past,&rdquo; Rosemary Kelanic, the Middle East Director of&nbsp;Defense&nbsp;Priorities, a think tank that advocates a more restrained U.S. foreign policy, told the&nbsp;<em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, adding that he&rsquo;s &ldquo;resorting to military force more as a first-order resort, rather than a last resort, like we typically see&rdquo; from U.S. presidents.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-trump-s-military-operations-prompt-asset-repositioning\">Trump&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-first-resort-use-of-military-has-succeeded-but-it-has-its-limits\/\" title=\"...&#039;s &#039;first ...&#039; use of ... has succeeded but it has its limits\">military operations prompt asset repositioning<\/a> <\/h2>\n<p>The first major U.S. military operation during the second Trump administration was the roughly seven-weeklong war with the Houthis. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier <em>Harry S. Truman<\/em>, which cost about $13 billion <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/01\/25\/1226791291\/middle-east-mission-was-a-chance-to-justify-aircraft-carriers-price-tag\">to build<\/a>, including the nine-squadron air wing with about 80 aircraft aboard the ship, led the U.S. campaign and was supported by the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/news.usni.org\/2025\/06\/01\/uss-harry-s-truman-is-back\"><em>USS Stout<\/em><\/a>  and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stripes.com\/branches\/navy\/2025-06-09\/uss-jason-dunham-returns-deployment-18066683.html\"><em>USS Jason Dunham<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Navy has <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/aircraft-carriers-usa-navy-e7904f8dd1ba1f65a9d07a31fd9fb8eb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-v-china-a-menacing-national-security-trend\/\" title=\"US v China: A Menacing National Security Trend\">11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers<\/a><\/a>, which are a formation of naval vessels and submarines surrounded by the carrier, which also have aerial assets, that are generally either deployed, preparing to deploy, or getting maintenance and repairs after a deployment. They are also very expensive to operate, maintain, and then restock when assets, such as missiles, are used and need to be replenished.<\/p>\n<p>The heavy tempo of operations exhausted the carrier strike group, which had incidents during its deployment that <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3904514\/mishaps-harry-s-truman-navy-investigation\/\">investigators found were avoidable<\/a> before returning to Norfolk, Virginia, last June. The carrier collided with a merchant vessel, shot down one of its own fighter aircraft, lost another one of its fighting aircraft while trying to evade an incoming Houthi ballistic missile, and lost a third fighter jet due to an arresting cable failure as the pilot attempted to land on it. The two aircraft lost at sea totaled more than $90 million of sunk equipment.<\/p>\n<p>The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.navy.mil\/Press-Office\/News-Stories\/display-news\/Article\/4275695\/carl-vinson-carrier-strike-group-returns-from-9-month-deployment\/\"><em>USS Carl Vinson<\/em><\/a>  was also involved in Operation Rough Rider against the Houthis and stayed in the region after the <em>Truman<\/em> left the region. The <em>Vinson<\/em>, which was accompanied by the&nbsp;Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser <em>Princeton<\/em> and two Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, the <em>Sterett<\/em> and the <em>William P. Lawrence<\/em>, was in the region amid the tension between Israel and Iran in June.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. had the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2025\/06\/16\/uss-nimitz-heading-to-middle-east-defense-official-says\/\"><em>USS<\/em> <em>Nimitz<\/em> aircraft carrier<\/a> sail from the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East in mid-June to join the <em>Carl Vinson <\/em>Strike Group. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3449992\/us-has-completed-bombing-of-iranian-nuclear-sites-trump\/\">American B-2 bombers<\/a> took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and carried out the bombings of three Iranian nuclear facilities with support from the assets already in the region.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This image provided by the U.S. Navy shows exterior damage of the USS Harry S. Truman, viewed from a ship&rsquo;s rigid-hull inflatable boat following a collision with merchant vessel Besiktas-M, Feb. 12, 2025, while operating in the vicinity of Port Said, Egypt. (Cody Beam\/U.S. Navy via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The <em>USS<\/em> <em>Nimitz<\/em> is the oldest of the nuclear-powered carriers and will be <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/news.usni.org\/2025\/12\/16\/carrier-uss-nimitz-returns-to-bremerton-wraps-final-deployment\">decommissioned this year<\/a> while her replacement, the <em>USS<\/em> <em>John F. Kennedy<\/em>, which will be the second <em>Gerald R. Ford<\/em>-class aircraft carrier, is behind schedule and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/petersuciu\/2026\/01\/01\/this-us-navy-supercarrier-will-be-out-of-service-until-2029-or-later\/\">will not be commissioned<\/a> at least until March 2027. The <em>Kennedy<\/em> is estimated to cost <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/maritime-executive.com\/article\/carrier-uss-john-f-kennedy-set-for-final-voyage-to-shipbreakers\">more than $13 billion<\/a>, according to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/crs-product\/RS20643\">Navy&rsquo;s FY2026 budget submission<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Navy subsequently reduced its presence in the region to bring more personnel and firepower to the Caribbean in the summer and fall as part of the administration&rsquo;s decision to prioritize the region and carry out the department&rsquo;s Operation Southern Spear, targeting drug cartels in Central and South America.<\/p>\n<p>Secretary of War <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pete-hegseth\/\">Pete Hegseth<\/a> ordered the USS <em>Gerald R. Ford&nbsp;<\/em>aircraft carrier and several associated warships to redeploy from European waters to the Caribbean.<\/p>\n<p>At its peak, the military had 11 warships and roughly 15,000 sailors and marines in the Caribbean, marking one of the largest concentrations of U.S. power in the Western Hemisphere in decades. Since the mission to capture now-former Venezuelan dictator <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nicolas-maduro\">Nicolas Maduro<\/a>, they have slightly reduced their presence there.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-despite-vast-resources-military-options-aren-t-risk-free\">Despite vast resources, military options aren&rsquo;t &lsquo;risk free&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>U.S. forces have killed more than 100 boaters whom the administration said are drug smugglers heading for America&rsquo;s shores and have seized six <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-first-resort-use-of-military-has-succeeded-but-it-has-its-limits-2\/\" title=\"...&#039;s &#039;first ...&#039; use of ... has succeeded but it has its limits\">illegal oil tankers connected<\/a> to the shadow fleet, which is primarily Iran, Russia, and Venezuela&rsquo;s way to skirt international regulations and sanctions against them.<\/p>\n<p>During the Maduro operation, a handful of U.S. service members were injured, which exemplified the risks involved in these missions, even as they continue to have extraordinary achievements.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Certainly, these are not risk-free operations, and adversaries have a vote in this,&rdquo; retired Gen. Joseph Votel, who served as the former commander of U.S. Central Command, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;So, we shouldn&rsquo;t take this lightly, as we saw in Venezuela, we had a helicopter shot up. We had some operators wounded. I don&rsquo;t know the full extent of all that, but I think it just kind of reminds you that these things, there&rsquo;s no free chicken here. We have to recognize that there&rsquo;s risk associated with that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>There were also three Americans, two service members and a civilian, killed in December in Syria by an Islamic State group militant.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-iran-conflict-prompts-unexpected-aircraft-move\">Iran conflict prompts unexpected aircraft move<\/h2>\n<p>The U.S.&rsquo;s military presence in the Middle East is smaller than it had been at various points over the last two-plus years of sustained conflict in the region, which may be a contributing factor behind Trump&rsquo;s decision to wait on carrying out military operations against Iran over their crackdown on protests.<\/p>\n<p>The department is expected to order the <em>USS<\/em> <em>Abraham Lincoln<\/em> to travel to the Middle East from the South China Sea, according to the <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/middle-east\/ttrump-iran-military-resources-0ddf8de9?st=nrYKTw\">Wall Street Journal<\/a><\/em>, which would give the president more options. The U.S. also has to be prepared for any possible Iranian retaliation against American targets in the region.<\/p>\n<p>The possibility of moving an aircraft carrier out of the Pacific region to the Middle East is contradictory to the widespread expectation from experts and officials that the military would pivot away from the latter to prioritize the threats from Beijing.<\/p>\n<p>But it also represents the delicate balance the military has to conduct successfully because it cannot be everywhere in the world at once. There is also the balance of ensuring soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen&rsquo;s well-being are kept a priority as well.<\/p>\n<p>Admiral Daryl Caudle, the chief of naval operations, said this week that he hopes the president does not decide to deploy the <em>Gerald R. Ford<\/em> aircraft carrier group from the Caribbean to the Middle East over Iranian protesters clashing with the government because he doesn&rsquo;t want to see their deployment extended.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/3279344\/why-trump-is-likely-so-interested-in-greenland\/\">WHY TRUMP IS SO INTERESTED IN GREENLAND<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And so if the president needs options in the Middle East, we can go build out what that looks like for him,&rdquo; Caudle said during a Surface Navy Association event, according to <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.defenseone.com\/policy\/2026\/01\/cno-argues-against-sending-aircraft-carrier-toward-iran\/410677\/?oref=d1-featured-river-secondary\">Defense One<\/a><\/em>. &ldquo;I think the Ford, you know, from its capability perspective, would be an invaluable option for any military thing the president wants to do &mdash; but if it requires an extension, you know, it&rsquo;s going to get some pushback from the office&rdquo; of the CNO.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Ford<\/em> left its Virginia home port in June of last year for the Mediterranean Sea on what was planned to be a seven-month deployment.<\/p>\n<p>With the military demonstrating its capabilities in all of these different missions, the president has threatened new operations in multiple countries in addition to Iran, such as Mexico and Colombia. He also warned that with the U.S. blockade of Venezuelan oil, the U.S. would not need to militarily intervene to topple the Cuban government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump&#8217;s military-first wins but strains U.S. reach<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2671,"featured_media":2543191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2254496997.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[50462,71367,33439,50611,3634],"class_list":["post-2543190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-foreign-policy-2","tag-limits-of-force","tag-military-intervention","tag-national-security-2","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2254496997.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2543190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2671"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2543190"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2543190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2543194,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2543190\/revisions\/2543194"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2543191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2543190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2543190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2543190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}